Ever since my battle with postpartum when Will was a couple months old, we’ve had a solid sleep routine. My angel night nurse Nadia set the schedule and I’ve stuck to it. Bath – books – bed. We deviate sometimes now and skip the bath (especially in summer…because really a chlorinated pool kills all that ails you right??). Will is a great ‘going to bed’er’ and I attribute that to Nadia starting his routine and me sticking to it.
The thing that I’m struggling with now is the time this routine should start. Lately, it just seems to be getting later and later – which I’m not loving. BUT. I want more time with him at night. Sometimes, if I go all Martha and cook a decent dinner, by the time we eat and clean up (no – three is not too young to load the dishwasher) it’s time for bath. I know this is just going to get worse in the summer when we want to be outside.
It’s a tricky one though. I’ve been reading up a ton on this whole stuttering bizz and they say to make sure your child is getting lots of rest. So this week, I’ve been focused – making sure he’s in bed, routine done by 8:30. Last night, his old daycare teacher was babysitting, and I think in her subtle way, she was letting me know it was too late. She had him in bed at 7:30 and asleep by 7:45.
I’m learning a couple things. The later he goes to bed, the longer it takes him to fall asleep. AND sorry new moms, it doesn’t matter how early or late the kid goes to bed, the wake up time seems consistent. This morning I had to shake him awake at 6:30.
So how do we balance it? We want the time with the kids but they need to sleep!
How many hours do your kids sleep?
We stagger it, probably because that’s how my mum did it with my sisters and I.
So it’s 7:30 (Eva), 8:00 (Cuyler) and 8:30 (Cam)
I don’t care what you do in your room, but you have to stay there…read, play, colour…whatever. It’s “down” time before sleep time.
I’m like Tracey – I need MY time at night to catch up on blogs, tv, reading. Or I could spend 4 hours playing DrawSomething…like I did last night (any other addicts out there???)
my hubby likes to use bedtime as his “catchup” time cuz he’s working all day. therefore, they don’t get the lights out until 9 and it drives me nuts. you’re so right about the waking up…they could go to bed at 3 in the morning and they’ll still wake up at 7. when i put them to bed, they’re done by 8:00 (or am i done?)
I like the no-later-than 9 PM bedtime too, but I REALLY prefer 8:30, especially for her – she’ll put herself to bed when she’s ready anyway. Oliver wakes at 7 AM (out the door for school 45 minutes later) and she rises usually as he’s leaving home, so I reckon that’s enough. Once in a while, someone will pass out for a nap, if they need one – fortunately, they both seem to level out fairly easily and naturally, so it won’t hugely affect the night routine. My only issue is wanting as much evening time for the adults as possible… it never seems like enough. (Balls.)
My kids have always been good sleepers too and until they were in school full time they slept 12 hours most nights. At one time they were good at sleeping in if they stayed up late but now they get up at the same time every day, no matter when they went to bed. So, I have to make sure they get to bed at a decent time. At nearly 8 and 10 they still go to bed at the same time – no later than 9 (I prefer 8:30) and get up between 7 and 7:30, usually well rested and ready to start the day. The older one sometimes has trouble sleeping so while she probably needs fewer hours total, she’s in bed the same amount of time as the younger one. I find the quality of their sleep makes a huge difference to their disposition, school performance and ability to enjoy after-school activities