Bedtime Routines when you have two kids

When I had one kid, I thought bedtime routines were tough. I recall days when I couldn't get anything done because the baby woke up in 10 minute intervals during afternoon naps. I would put her down, creep out of the room silently and then "Waaaaaaaaaaaah!" I wanted to cry along.

So when I had two kids, I thought that bedtime would be tough. I struggled over the decision of whether to let them go to sleep at the same time or have their bedtimes staggered. I tried both and I discovered that staggering their bedtimes took too much time. By letting them have the same bedtime, they would inevitably disturb one another but once they got used to it, it was ok.

I still remember how exasperated I felt when my daughter would wake the baby up and then fall asleep, only to be woken up by the baby in the next instant, but thats over now, thankfully. Bedtime routines are smooth sailing now. Yippeee!

This is our bedtime routine:

• Drink milk while watching tv
• Brush teeth, wash face and hands
• Change to pyjamas then off we go to the bedroom
• Read a book or sing some songs and rhymes
• Lights off then breastfeed baby and tell my girl more stories in the dark (usually she requests for 3 stories ie thats the limit) or we chit chat about our day if it was eventful
• Zzzzzzzzzz (Baby will continue to mumble or sing to himself or play with his toycar by himself till he falls asleep if he hasn't fallen asleep during the breastfeed and his sister will wait till baby sleeps and then ask me to stroke her hair if she is still not asleep by the time baby is)

The entire process takes about an hour sometimes more. If I am very tired sometimes I even fall asleep before they do but usually not.

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