Night Time Routine with an (Almost) 18 Month Old

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's fascinating reading and talking about other people's routine they have for their children. I like finding out new and effective ways to get Agnes ready for the day or for a good night's sleep. If you are at all interested in our night time routine, keep reading... 

We usually give Agnes some time to hang out after dinner before bath time (which is around 7-7:20pm). We sometimes eat later since Paul gets out of work around 6:30 every evening.

I give Agnes a "bath." Which isn't really a bath because she won't sit in the tub. What ends up happening is the faucet runs and I'm wash her while she plays with her duckies and cup. Usually the water is draining but sometimes I will put the plug in and she can splash around for a few minutes before bath time is over.

Then she dries off and I put her diaper on... letting her run around the apartment some more before the rooster goes off (the alarm I use) and she needs to get to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Teeth brushing has gotten so much easier over the past few months. She sometimes tries to bite off the bristles but it getting much better at the actual brushing part. Mama still helps in the final seconds, but all in all, she is a master. This is also the time I brush and style her hair... for bed. Yeah, I know, but I want to train her hair to stay out of her face. It's hasn't worked yet, but I'm optimistic :P 

In the past few nights I've learned NOT to put her pajamas on until after her teeth are brushed... due to her fascination with water. I leave the water running a little bit for her to rinse her tooth brush while brushing, but she seems to also likes to wipe her hands on her clothes.

So after a good teeth brushing, Agnes gets to read some books with Daddoo or get lots of kisses and snuggles from Mama.

At 7:50pm, we turn the lights down, the white noise on, and we say night prayers. Then Agnes gives Daddoo hugs and kisses and Mama makes sure she has her baby doll with her before Mama puts Agnes in her crib. This is where she immediately grabs and puts her pacifier in her mouth and snuggles with her stuffed animals before falling asleep... Okay, so it takes up to a half an hour of her babbling to herself but she eventually doses off.

And before I go to bed, I check on her and rearrange the animals and blanket in her crib to give her more room to roll over. :) 

So that is our routine. We keep some white noise on throughout the night. When she wakes up in the morning, she has a while to play in her crib before I go and get her. This works for us :)