This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sposie Booster Pads, the number one brand in diaper doublers. All opinions are entirely my own.
You wake up one day and you realize that your little baby is not such a baby anymore and is full speed ahead into toddlerhood! Gone are the days where the breast or a bottle would send your little one right off to dreamland. Toddlers are notorious for FOMO (fear of missing out.) They can’t stand that they might be missing out on all the fun you and the rest of your family might be having while they are forced to bed.
Here’s the thing about toddlers and bedtime. It CAN be accomplished drama free. We had such a hard time getting our baby to sleep when she was first born, we had no clue what we were doing and so we hired a baby sleep coach. We were told that we have a “high needs” baby and that she needed very specific things to go to sleep. She also advised that tt was very important that we stuck to a routine.
We learned a lot with our “high needs” baby and much of what we learned rolled into toddlerhood. I must say that we have put a lot of work into not having a dramatic bedtime. When we tell our girl it is time to go to bed, she goes with pretty much zero fuss. I can’t say the same for nap time, but we didn’t put the work in for naps like we did for bedtime. But let’s be honest, if she happens to not nap one day, it isn’t that big of a deal. If she makes a big tantrum every night because she doesn’t want to go to bed, or she wakes up in the night for one reason or another, that is a big deal. Like any other parent, my husband and I need our sleep so we are productive, functioning and happy adults.
On that same note, our daughter also needs a full nights rest for her overall functioning and brain development. If she is restless sleeping or waking up in the night, it doesn’t allow her brain to get the rest it needs to build itself.
Routine, routine, routine. Children thrive on routine and consitency.
Here are a few tips I have learned for an easy nighttime routine and good rest:
- Start early. You want to start a routine as soon as possible. We started our daughter with a routine at 5 weeks. It evolved as she got older, but once we start our nightly activities, she knows where we’re headed and she get in the right mindset.
- Keep it short. Your routine shouldn’t take longer than 15-20 minutes. Of course, if you include a bath, allow for more time.
- Keep it consistent. Same time every night and do things in the same order. Helps your toddler know that bedtime is last and it’s time to go to sleep.
- Do allow your toddler to make their own choices in their bedtime routine. Allow them to have some power by letting him have a choice of pj’s, which book or which tooth brush for example. You might be surprised how this little tip can go a long way.
- Avoid stimulating activities. End all activities before your bedtime routine which includes, t.v, tablets, video games etc. The blue light can affect your child from falling asleep or staying asleep. Try to turn off all screen time 45 -60 minutes before your bedtime routine.
- Avoid middle of the night waking up from a wet diaper. A lot of toddlers who are not potty trained yet may feel uncomfortable with the wetness of the diaper against their skin. Or their diaper may not hold up throughout the night and leak through their diaper and onto their clothes and possibly even their sheets. Cold and wet would wake up anyone. We have fixed that problem with adding Sposie’s diaper pads into our daughter’s diaper.
- Sposie Diaper Booster Pads hold a lot of liquid turning any diaper into an overnight diaper. Holds an additional 8oz.
- Sposie boosters wick away moisture from your baby’s skin and creates a stay-dry barrier to reduce diaper rash and irritation.
- Fragrance, latex, chlorine free, and made in the U.S.A
- Designed to work with all brands, sizes, and types of diapers.
- Available at Walmart, Target, and Amazon with a 5-star rating.
Now, what exactly do we do for our routine? Check out below. You can adjust for your toddler but this is what works for us.
Make your routine yours and you will see your night time routine going a lot smoother and the entire family getting a lot more rest throughout the night.
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