Operation Bedtime Routine is a go!

I decided that Milo is hard to put down to bed at night because he never knows when it's coming. We haven't really ever had a specific bedtime routine other than giving Natalie her sippy of milk before bed. Now that she's wearing undies to bed, I don't want her having a big ol' cup of milk right before. She hasn't asked for it, and we haven't offered, so that's good. Plus, we used to do baths before I left for the day, but that has been taking way too long with two kids. So I decided that kids are getting baths before bed and the whole routine starts at 7pm. Milo can go in the tub with Natalie now, with constant supervision, so it should save some time. Also, Arnel and I will take turns, though it really is a two-parent process anyways. One parent puts both kids in the bath. Milo gets washed and rinsed first and then the other parent takes him out and gets him dressed for bed. The other parent finishes with Natalie and gets her ready. Then both kids head into Natalies' room for story time. I wish Milo would enjoy stories, but he's entirely too busy moving to sit still and be read to. So he crawls around while we're reading. Then when it's lights out for Natalie, the other parent will take Milo to his room and play quietly. I kneel by the side of Natalie's bed and lay my head on her pillow with her. We talk about the day and what we're doing tomorrow. I usually lay with her for about 5 minutes. Then I'll go and nurse Milo down.

We did this last night and it worked pretty well. Natalie was not as tired as usual, since it was about 30 minutes before her usual(sometimes) bedtime. But I think she'll get used to it if we do it that way every night. She was in bed by about 7:50. Milo was down by 8:20 and both Arnel and I got a pretty good night's sleep. It helped that Milo slept through the night. I wish I knew what magic happens when he does that, so I can repeat it, but I just have no clue. It's now 6am and he's still sleeping! Amazing!!

Natalie has her second dance class today, and I believe today is parent observation day. I'll have to make sure to bring the camera so I can get pictures. She is so excited and I am too!