mamashonestjournal

There was a time when bedtime felt impossible.

Let’s just say the newborn days were SLEEPLESS. Wake windows, colic, cluster feeding, and nursing all night long. I truly wondered if we would ever sleep again and sometimes would curse into the night.

Now bedtime is a million times easier.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve kept a simple routine that just works for us.

And I always want to say this clearly, this is what works in our home. Every child and family is different.

First, we make sure her tummy is nice and full. A solid dinner and sometimes a little extra snack.

When she goes to bed with a nice full belly, she sleeps so much better. That has helped us a ton!

Then we slow everything down. We read her a book, say our prayers, and have that quiet little moment together.

She sometimes decides to run around like a crazy chicken but eventually she gets sleepy.

After that, lights off and sound machine on.

That sound machine deserves an award. The second it turns on, it’s like a signal to her little brain that it’s time.

At this point it might work better on me. It’s less sound machine and more coma machine. That sound machine could knock me out during WWIII.

I nurse her, we cuddle, and she usually sleeps through the night. She hardly wakes up these days, sometimes just mumbling in her sleep like she’s having the sweetest dreams, probably about milk.

It didn’t always look like this.

But consistency and time changed everything. No more wake windows. No more all night nursing. Just rhythm, a full belly, prayer, white noise, snuggles, and sleep.

Thank God.