Bedtime Routine

Bedtime routine in our house can get very complicated, read lengthy. Z has stalling down to an art, and he has used some Skinner-like training to get us to do an awful lot just to get him to finally settle into his bed (you know like the rat who learns how to go through an obstacle course and do a flip turn to get his treat, we’re that rat).

First we do bath and teeth (now that we have a light saber toothbrush, we have to occasionally use it for what it’s intended, sword fighting, of course).

He has Baba go first, then Mama, then we play light sabers (and by light sabers, I mean he and Nick have them and I use his foam sword, which he “turns on” for me, incidentally he is Darth Vader, Nick is Obi Wan Kenobi, and I am, wait for it, Master Yoda…), then he gets a drink of water, then I have to say “good night” just the right way, then (if we’re lucky) he lets us leave.

 

Every once in awhile, he figures out after a few minutes that a cog in the machine is missing and he screams out with urgency, “but I didn’t have my waterrrr!” or “Mama didn’t sing itsy bitsy spiderrrr!” or my favorite “I didn’t get to pick my pajamaaaaaaas!” It’s terribly dramatic, and I try to spend the majority of the time making sure we didn’t leave out one of the big things so we can avoid the rude awakening, whereas Nick, in an attempt to break him of these habits tries to see how we can get away with doing something out of sequence or leaving it out altogether (the horror!).

No bedtime post is complete without mentioning all his friends that he sleep with him. These days he is pretty specific about where some of them need to be too.

Some nights when we feel like it’s so late, or he’s never going to stop stalling we have to remind ourselves what we tell him all the time which is “be patient” and soak it up. I truly think those moments are some of my favorites!

Miss Lu on the other hand, she almost always gets her bath (as she is a messy eater), but only occasionally gets read to and rarely sung to. Is that not sad?

Oh well, so far she doesn’t know the difference, and in fact when it comes to sleep, she likes to be left alone!

I did capture the moment where Nick got to read to her a little before bed recently.

She’s got him wrapped around her little finger!