What's in YOUR bedtime routine?

Beware the bedtime ritual! What may have started when your firstborn was a newborn will evolve and become part of your family culture .......... FOREVER!

This week I have been playing the role of single parent due to Mr Beehive being away. This has therefore meant I have been doing all the bedtime routines.

When Master Beehive the younger was a few months old, he started to fall asleep at a regular time most evenings, from that we moved him upstairs at that time, bathed him just before and there started the preliminary "bedtime routine". As a rookie mother I was always concerned that things needed to be "just so", after all, Gina said so!! (I soon binned THAT book!). After his bath came a massage, a feed and then bed. I would always sing to him and walk backwards (ho hum!) out of the door mumbling the same words everynight as I went "night, night darling, sleep well, mummy and daddy love you very much, see you in the morning." Only I was said it so fast, usually so as not to detain myself in the room with drowsy small babe too long, that it came out something like this:

"ni-nidarlysleewell,mummydaddylovuvermuchseeumorn." with the occasional curse added for good measure if I fell over a stray toy on the floor - well, I was walking backwards, what do you expect.

As the children got older this routine has evolved, from what was once a gut wrenching fear that any change in the "routine" would mean my baby would never sleep again and it would be ALL MY FAULT, to something now that is performed by me for fear of retribution by "THE KIDS"!!

So threefold this week has been:

Baths, massages, hair combing, books (all individual - LMB wants "pwincess books!" and Master Beehive the younger wants to read to ME! and Master Beehive the elder likes to read in his head to himself, so it is something we have never managed to do communally, except on a Friday and Saturday evening when one of us reads from our family reader to the boys.), mantras, tucking in, glasses of water, putting sleeping buddies in exactly the right places, finding blankies, blowing away potential bad dreams, kisses, songs, sunsalutations, turning around and touching my toes three times whilst saying red lorry, yellow lorry three times fast, hopping 10 times on each foot and finally the usual "ni-nidarlysleewell,mummydaddylovuvermuchseeumorn." and removing myself backwards from the room.

Tiptoeing not three steps from the bedroom there is a wimper of pain.

I return.

"You forgot to sing La Macarena whilst wearing a Cinderella costume mama........I won't be able to sleep without it."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


AGHHHHHH!