The Wind Down: Key Steps that Lead to Great Sleep

Wind down? Bedtime routine? Who has time for that?!

Us mama’s are busy and by the time we get dinner on the table, baby fed and realize it’s suddenly bedtime, there isn’t any time for a bedtime routine!

We rush to get baby down before they hit overtired (my voice in your head reiterating how important an early bedtime is?!).

So why is this bedtime routine and nap wind down routine so important??

A wind down routine is a set of steps that:

  • communicate to baby that sleep time is coming.

  • Calms baby and helps them relax.

  • Gives parents the opportunity to snuggle, be close and establish connection with baby.

  • Helps baby become drowsy.

Imagine going from a stimulating environment where you are interacting, moving..like a fitness class and then having to lie down and go straight to sleep. Even us adults need a few minutes to get comfortable, sit down and calm down before we drift off to sleep. Babies need this too.

The importance is not in the length but in the repetitive steps that you take that communicate to baby that it’s time for sleep. These steps help baby relax and expect sleep, it cues them. Whether these few steps take 5 minutes or 25 minutes it doesn’t matter. What matters is that baby is relaxed and for this to happen parents need to be relaxed. Your energy is so important, if you’re stressed, baby will sense that.

This is also YOUR dedicated time with baby, precious time that is solely for cuddles and relaxation. Even if it’s only for a few minutes. Leave your phone outside the room and take a few minutes to decompress with your baby. I promise it’s worth it.

What makes a successful wind down routine: Repetition and consistency. Just like everything that has to do with sleep (seriously!) repetition and consistency are your secret weapons for success. Literally anything can be accomplished with these two magic words. Two or three steps that you do in the same order, every single day.

Is a bedtime routine only for bedtime? No, babies need some kind of wind down before naps as well. It doesn’t have to be as long as your bedtime routine but a few small steps.

For example: Dim room, turn on sound machine, put on sleep sack, a cuddle and in bed. That’s it! Enough to cue sleep and relax but not long and drawn out so that by the time baby is in the crib, they are overtired.

What if we’re not home, can you do a wind down routine on the go? Absolutely! I always recommend this. Bring your portable white noise, a cover for the car seat or stroller and your sleep sack (the gro bags have a sleep sack that you can use with the carseat). Go into a dark room, do a shortened wind down and place baby in either the car seat or stroller all ready for sleep. This will makes transferring easy as well!

Bedtime routines are great for all ages, babies to toddlers! For toddlers, it might include: bath, pjs, 10 minutes of a quiet activity (in our house our son can play with his legos, we put on a timer so that he knows when time is up, we often make it a family/building with mom or dad session-quality focused time together), then a book, some snuggles and goodnight. The expectations is set and we don’t often deviate. If we have a night where that’s not possible, then we go back to our bedtime routine as soon as we can and it all comes back (it might take a few days of repetition..but it all comes back :))

Essentially mamas, we are creatures of habit. Whether its a flexible routine or schedule, knowing what is about to happen gives us security and peace of mind. Babies thrive on this sense of security, you can achieve this through some simple, key steps and baby will respond.

As I always say, control what you can control. In this case setting baby up for success is just a few steps away.

Sweet dreams xx

Lil.

 



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Thank you, thank you, thank you Lily! We will be forever grateful to you!”
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