Polkadot Mummy Moments: Bedtime Rituals
We’ve been talking about our Polkadot Blog with lots of different mums to see what people like about it and what they would like to see in it. As the Polkadots, we have also been talking about what we would like to do with the blog… And we want the Polkadots Blog to be a place where Mum’s can share activity ideas, successes, frustrations, find great things to do with their children, share their journey. As Polkadots, we are all mums and being sisters (who are constantly together) we are always sharing parenting ideas, funny moments and much more. So we thought why not share it with all of our Polkadotty Friends! We will also share all the fun stuff going on with Polkadots, the behind the scenes stories, the exciting events we have coming up… It will be a mish mash of all that goes on in our Polkadotty Mummy World! We hope you enjoy and we look forward to hearing your feedback, your comments and your journey too!
Today we decided to share simply the Bedtime Rituals that we have found work really well with our children. ENJOY!
BEDTIME RITURALS
Our main bedtime routine is prayers, and then stories and then they want me to sing until they fall asleep. This use to be easier when they fell asleep after one or two songs.. but as they have got older.. this ritual has become a little more demanding! (as it can often take them a whole album worth of songs to fall asleep.) Luckily, now that we have a few ‘slower’ bedtime type songs recorded, I can pop those on when I just don’t have enough energy to actually sing or if I’ve got other things I need to do! That seems to keep them happy most the time.
I do love bedtime snuggles too. I know there are many who will tell you not to make a rod for your own back.. but I figure that the are only little like this for such a short time, and i get just as much out of it as they do! My little trick to it is, that they can’t expect it.. If they ask (for sulk) for me to cuddle them to sleep then it won’t happen. But if they get in bed nicely, and show me that they are trying to go to sleep on their own.. I might just surprise them and jump in and have snuggles! Love it!
Brooklyn’s bedtime routine which she absolutely THRIVES on goes as follows:
I’d like to be able to tell you that I sing my child to sleep each night with beautiful lullabies. . . But, each time I have tried to sing to my boy (since he’s been able to talk) he says, “No singing mum! I listen or Olkadots!” I remind him, “I am a Polkadot!” but it makes no difference to him, “No Mum, I listen to Olkadots!” So I have a Polkadots playlist on our ipod and every night it goes on after we have read a stack of stories. If we sway from this little ritual. . . sleep will be evaded until it happens. I don’t have any other special tips, other than “be consistent” kids thrive on routine. So find that one thing that works for them and STICK TO IT! (as best you can!)
Id love to be able to say that in the Puple Polkadot house we have a serene and dreamy bedtime ritual every night, but the truth of it is that most bedtimes in this house, with my 3 girls is very DRAMATIC and more like a CIRCUS show where im the Ring Master, dads the encouraging CLOWN and the girls are the human canon balls that the clown catapolts into bed! Seriously the girls actually WANT to be thrown into bed LITERALLY. Somesaults and backflips. They LOVE it!!! Sometimes i feel like im hearding a bunch of animals to bed haha! But on occasion if everything goes to MY plan bedtime is as follows bath or shower, brush teeth, toilet, into bed, Storytime or a song (I let the girls each pick a song or a story) prayers, snuggles and lights out!….Very rarely is it ever that simple. But im one happy mummy when MY way works. If its a Circus night, im normally so exhausted from trying to get everyone to perform and go to bed that i fall asleep before the Circus does. All i can say is bedtime in this house is sometimes a very entertaining CIRCUS ACT!ADD A COMMENT:
