Building a Bed Time Routine

Building a bed time routine is something that we have strived for since Addie came home from the hospital. In fact, even when she was in the hospital we made sure she had a consistent bed time routine. For our family, a bed time routine is something that helps us stay “normal” even though Addie has special needs and a night nurse. Our nurse is here to make sure Addie doesn’t pull out her trach at night or cry so hard that her airways slam down, but to feel like we’re doing our jobs as parents, we make sure that we give Addie a fantastic bed time routine each night.

My wishes for Addie to have a fabulous bed time routine each night started in the NICU. I remember being so nervous to change her little diaper, yet I so desperately wanted to be the one to bathe her each night. I would bring Addie’s “special” shampoos with all kinds of fun scents like Lavender and Honey Apple, put her in her adorable baby bath robe to dry her off, rub coconut oil on her skin, and then top it off with sweet smelling lotion and an infant massage before I dressed her for bed. Then, I’d give her a fresh diaper, brush her little mouth and hair, give her fresh trach ties and gauze, and open up a good book to read to her until Mathew arrived from work. Then, Mathew would get there, read and sing to her until she fell asleep, and we would go home for the night.

Now, we try to keep a similar schedule for consistency, and it’s really helped Addie to get into her routine of sleeping through the night. I truly think that the consistency is the key. Addie knows her routine and it works well because we’ve done it so long. Addie, Mathew, and I all have our two favorite times during her bed time routine- lotion time and story time. I think they just really relax us after long days of being stressed from whatever the day has brought our way. We love spending this time together and it means so much to us to do it as a family. Story time is also our time to just be silly after a long day, and we have fun with new books and puppets. My mom is a librarian so I always grew up to love books, and I want Addie to feel the same way. We introduced Addie to books early on into her NICU days, and I love finding new books to surprise her with. Her collection is so large already!

I love growing her book collection (it’s the teacher/ librarian’s kiddo in me) and actually came across this adorable shop, Bookroo. Bookroo is a monthly children’s book subscription service that allows you to select a book type, pick a subscription, and get your books delivered to your home. Their pricing is $19.99 and up depending on how many months you’d like to keep your Bookroo subscription going.

We have been getting our Bookroo books for 2 months now and absolutely love it. The books are all age appropriate and usually have really sweet themes that I know Addie enjoys. The books come individually wrapped in pretty wrapping paper so your child can have fun being surprised, and you get 3 books each month. Bookroo has done a fabulous job helping us build our library collection and I’m always so excited to see what Addie gets each month. Addie has SO many toys right now that I’m always asking for people to give her books instead, so if you know someone in the same situation, gifting them a subscription to Bookroo would be an awesome alternative.

We truly have been blessed with Addie learning her bed time routine. It took us a while (pretty much right up until her 1st birthday last month), but now once we do story time with her puppets (and Mathew’s silly voices) and her night time bottle she lays down and knocks right out. Addie is such a one of a kind girl and I’m so thankful to be able to do such seemingly little things with her at home. Although we spent 10 months in the NICU/PICU trying to establish a bed time routine, everyone knows it’s pretty much impossible to get sleep when you’re in the hospital. Now that Addie is home, our bath time, story time and bottle, to crib bed time routine works like a charm. I thank God each and every day that we can experience such a wonderful gift of having a bed time routine in our very own home. She is such a precious gift.

Want to pass some time? Try this adorable little quiz on Bookroo right now to test you on how well you know your classic children’s books. I’m not gonna lie- I had fun trying to guess them all.

 

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