At my house, bedtime is one of our favorite times of the day. We start with a bath, get into our pjs, brush our teeth, and then my boys are allowed to cuddle in our bed and read a book for about 10-15 minutes, then they get into their room, turn their sound machines on, get in bed, and we turn out the lights.

It’s nice to have that dedicated time cuddling so there’s no arguing once they’re in bed since we’ve already checked that off the list!

Why are routines helpful??

Time to transition between activities is super helpful for children of all ages…and that’s exactly what a routine is! It’s a set of activities completed every day (sometimes multiple times per day) between two major activities. In your baby’s world, that might be between playing and sleeping, or sleeping and feeding. Specifically, a bedtime or naptime routine is the set of activities between a state of wakefulness and a state of sleep.

Did you know that even little babies, before 2-months of age, can start to recognize routines? Using a bedtime and quick naptime routine can help your little one recognize that after you do a certain set of activities, they can expect what happens next…sleep!

Daily routines you do with your baby can also help them distinguish between daytime and nighttime, easing any day/night confusion they may have had.

Elements of a Quality Bedtime Routine

You’ll want to make sure the bedtime routine is a calming and connected time. You can dim the lights in the house to signal that it’s now nighttime. A soothing bath and massage with lotion can help lull your little one to a calm state and prepare their body for sleep. One thing to note, though, is that if your child hates bathtime, you should do it during another portion of your day – a sad and overstimulated baby is one that’s hard to get to sleep.

Use this time to focus on your little one and pour into them. Snuggle, read books, and talk about all the things they did during their day. Tell them what they’re going to do tonight – sleep and have sweet, sweet dreams!

If your little one is younger than a year, you will also want to include a bottle or breastfeeding session in the routine. If they’re older, you may want to include a protein-packed bedtime snack to ensure their little tummy stays full all night.

Sample Bedtime Routines

You’ll notice that appropriate bedtime routines vary a bit by age. There are different needs at different stages of development, so this might be a post you want to bookmark and come back to later!

All bedtime routines should take about 30-40 minutes from start to finish. You also don’t have to do a bath every night if you don’t want to, and the routine on those nights will be shorter.

Newborn Bedtime Routine:

1. Bath
2. Fresh diaper on
3. Lotion and massage
4. Pjs on
5. Full feeding or bottle
6. Burp
7. Read/show one book
8. Swaddle
9. White noise on and lights off
10. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their bassinet or crib

Infant Bedtime Routine

1. Full feeding or bottle
2. Bath
3. Fresh diaper on
4. Brush teeth and gums
5. Lotion and massage
6. Pjs on
7. Read two books
8. Sleep sack on
9. White noise on and lights off
10. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib

Toddler/Preschooler Bedtime Routine

1. High energy playtime
2. Bedtime snack – yogurt, cheese, or whole grain toast with peanut butter are great options!
3. Brush teeth
4. Bath
5. Fresh diaper on
6. Lotion
7. Pjs on
8. Read three books
9. Sleep sack on
10. White noise on and lights off
11. Kisses, cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib or bed

The Difference Between a Bedtime Routine and a Naptime Routine

You should also use a routine to transition to a nap. You can’t expect your little one to go to sleep if you just plop them into their crib straight from their floor playtime – I guarantee they won’t be happy about that!

The nap routine should be a condensed version of their bedtime routine and should take maybe 5-10 minutes.

Here’s a quick example:

1. Diaper change
2. Read one book
3. Sleep sack or swaddle
4. White noise on and lights off
5. Kisses cuddles, prayers, song, etc. and into their crib or bed

Over time, and as you start implementing a consistent bedtime and/or naptime routine, you may notice that your little one starts to yawn as you go through the routine. You’ve trained their body to know what comes next – sleep!

Having a solid bedtime routine is just ONE way to help your little one sleep better tonight. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. And, if you find that you’re struggling in other areas of sleep, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I’d love to help you.