Incorporating books into bedtime routine

LorMor · January 2014

People who have reading as part of bedtime routine, when do you do it? I'd really like to, but there doesn't feel like a natural place for it.

At the moment we are:
LO's dinner
bath
I nurse her to sleep.

I guess we could fit it in after bath, before boob, but I don't want her to get too excitable before boob.

Other ideas? Before dinner? What works for you?

lady dixneuf · January 2014

I always do it right before bed.

When I was still nursing I did book, nurse, bed.

pb_bride · January 2014

We only bathe LO 2x/wk and it is always during the daytime. Our routine:

6:30-7pm dinner

7-7:30pm storytime with dada

7:30-7:45pm play a little while DH gets his room ready

7:45-8pm bedtime routine - diaper change, PJs, brush teeth, wash face/hands/feet, lotion, sleepsack. DH reads him the "Going to bed book" while getting him into his sleepsack. DH reads it from memory so there is no actual book invovled.

Asleep by 8:15pm

Melidee82 · January 2014

We do dinner, bath, nurse, brush teeth, read, bed. We sit her in our lap in the rocking chair while we read and she really starts relaxing so I you might find reading calms her, especially once the routine is established.

morrkim · January 2014

We do pajamas, books, prayers, then nurse to sleep. Sometimes she does get too excited so we stop reading say our prayers then nurse, but I at least try to read.

By excited I mean she's tries to run off and play.

Wally3 · January 2014

I nurse then read him a book. I find it very relaxing not exciting. Chose a low key book and read in a soft voice, I think good ones are Good night Moon, The going to bed book, start with a pretty short book. You could right read before nursing cuddle up and read. If LO is too excited for the boob and doesn't want to wait to read before eating. You could either nurse and read at the same time or read when you switch sides nursing. It doesn't take long to work it in a night routine.

CnAnA · January 2014

Bath, lotion, jammies, teeth, 2 books, extra snuggles, lay her down.

Ken&Anna · January 2014

We aren't very consistent about reading books since LO doesn't always sit still long enough to read through a whole book, but when we do it, it's the last thing we do before nursing and going in the crib.

Rachelilly23 · January 2014

We do dinner, bath (on bath night), jammies, teeth brushed, book, bed. When I nursed I would do book right before nursing and then bed.

hilsy85 · January 2014

We always had a book. It used to be bath book boob, bed. then I stopped nursing to sleep so it became bath, boob, brush teeth, book with daddy, bed.

Starry Again · January 2014

We just added books to the bedtime routine two weeks ago, before that we read to her every night but not before bed. We don't do baths every night. Our routine is:

Gets a sippie of milk approximately 30 minutes before bed - some days more interested in that than others.

At bed time:

Change diaper

Put on pajamas (if she didn't destroy her clothes at dinner and get pajamas early)

Put on sleep sack

Brush teeth (I hold her while we brush)

2-3 books

Put her down in crib awake

LorMor · January 2014

Thanks so much everyone. This is a big help. We've started tonight. She was excitable at the beginning of the story and then settled down and now she's chomping away.

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