Our Bedtime Routine

Our Bedtime Routine

Life with three children can be pretty full on and I'm not going to lie to you, some days I can't wait for the bedtime routine to start. It is one of my favourite parts of the day (and not just because they are all being put to bed!).

It's the time of day that is the most relaxed and fun for me, and them I think. It is also a time where they all have a little play together and we spend some quality time, chatting and playing with they are in the bath and I love snuggling up with them and reading to them at night. Usually Daddy is home to help out which is good and it helps things go a lot smoother when there is an extra pair of hands. He doesn't see them at all in the day because of work so he likes to spend time with them in the evenings doing their bath.

So I thought I would share with your our little bedtime routine. Bean is 9, Little Miss J is 5 and Little Boy is 2 so they all have different bedtimes which works out well and means we can spend some one-on-one time with each of them as they are put to bed. I think that special bit of time is really important as they will quite often share their thoughts and worries with me in that intimate time.

We all have dinner at 5 o'clock and Daddy is home by 6 when we are just clearing up and finishing pudding. He normally sits down to eat his dinner while we are clearing up and finishing off homework and tidying the playroom.  By half past 6 we have run the bath and the children are ready to hop in. They all share a bath unless one of them is out at an after school club. They love playing in the bath together and Little Boy loves giving his sisters cuddles (and weeing in the bath much to their amusement!).

By 7 o'clock they are wrapped in towels, teeth brushed and are heading upstairs.

Daddy usually gets Little Boy ready in his PJ's with a clean nappy, cream all over and nappy cream. We love Bepanthen cream as it really helps when he gets a bit of nappy rash. I love the smell and I always make sure a tube of it is in every gift I give to a new mother!

It's free from fragrance, preservatives, colours and antiseptics which means we can use it at every nappy change and it really works. Little Boy has slept soundly through the night from 7 months old which is important for him, and important for me too! Bepanthen ensures that his little bottom is kept comfortable all night long - meaning no awful middle of the night nappy changes!

I dry Little Miss J and put her cream on. Occasionally she might have a sore bottom from where she hasn't wiped properly at school and occasionally she will put a little Bepanthen on herself too! It's such a versatile product and definitely not just for babies.

Bean is old enough to get herself ready so when the girls are dressed I take them downstairs to my bedroom to blow dry their hair.

I bring back up with me some milk for the youngest two. Daddy then snuggles up with Little Boy, reads him a book and he drinks his milk before going to bed. I head into Little Miss J's room and we snuggle up and she reads one of her school books before I read her a more difficult book. We sit and have a chat about her day until Daddy has finished with Little Boy and then he comes in to sing her a lullaby and I move into Bean's room to read her a story. We take a page each and work our way through a big novel. She's not very patient though and she reads ahead of me when I've gone!

 I've made a little video of our bedtime routine, just because as I was writing this I thought I want to remember these times in the future, as this won't be our routine forever. One day they will all be putting themselves to bed and I'll miss washing their little faces and seeing them splash in the bath. I'll miss cuddling up with them and reading them a story so I want to treasure these memories while I can.

This post is an entry for #BepanthenBedtimeChallenge, sponsored by Bepanthen. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/Bepanthen or www.bepanthen.co.uk