Hellobee Boards

We have a set routine: 2 stories, lights out (nightlight on), tucked in/covers, and then hugs and kisses. Before I get up I say night night, sweet dreams, I love you. She usually echoes it to me as I leave and close the door.

We say, "Goodnight H! Mommy, Daddy, Jesus, Bea, Roo, and Autumn love you!" and then cut and run. Crack the door, turn on the bathroom fan (her white noise), go to the living room, and only go back if she's desperate or the paci fell out of the crib.

We just recently started having trouble with this. We used to be able to just read the stories, turn out the lights, I would sing 2-3 songs, and then kiss her and leave. Even if she was awake, she would just lay there and fall asleep.

But a few weeks after we dropped the paci, she started being more high maintenance at bed time. Now, she'll get out of bed a million times and ask for a whole litany of stuff. She'll say she has to pee. She'll need water. She'll want a pouch. She'll say her ear hurts. And the thing that works fastest and laying next to her till she sleeps, but I hate doing that.

Last night, my husband was gone so I didn't want to lay with LO1 because then I can't hear the baby. And it took me an HOUR to get her to sleep, because she kept coming out of her room since I refused to lay with her. I need to get strict about it once the baby is well and I'm not juggling two kids crying at once since my husband often works late.

Gah, not in a good way! I usually lay down with my son and then after he's asleep, sneak out.

Part of the issue is that he can get out of the bed and leave his room, I started doing that to keep him comfortable and in the bed and now I can't seem to leave it.

My 15 mo old is asleep when I leave!

Nowadays it's sooo easy though after she went down to 1 nap. She literally is out within 5 seconds! Before she'd roll around, try to play with me, want to read 1 more book, etc.

So now it's -
Get paci and lovey
Go upstairs to change diaper and into PJs
Turn off light and say goodnight
Go into room, turn on white noise
Drink milk
Sleep

Turn off the light, sing lullaby, put her down in the crib, "Have a good night, here's your stuffed animal, I love you." Walk out and close the door. She falls asleep right after I leave.

I rock LO to sleep (9 months) and then I tip toe out......Not the greatest way at all.....I will likely have to address this at some point!

I just leave?

Once the routine is essentially over, I turn off the lights, sing one more song, and then say "Good night, ____, I love you. Have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow." and then leave and close the door behind me.

DH handles bedtime 99% of the time and we've pretty much had the exact same routine for naps and bedtime forever.

DS puts DS in his sleepsack, carries him over to me wherever I am in the house. I say "night night S, Mommy loves you" and wave bye bye. He waves back and starts making a fake crying face because he knows this means its bedtime. DH turns off the lights in the hallway outside DS' room and in his bedroom, turns on the white noise machine and humidifier, and sings him the same 2 songs every night (Jesus Loves Me twice, then the Doxology once). Then he lays DS down in his crib, hands him his loveys, covers him in his blanket, and then says a brief prayer out loud over him while placing his hand on DS' head. Then he says "night night S, Daddy loves you." And then he walks out, shutting the door behind him.

If I'm doing bedtime, I do the exact same thing.

MOST days DS has no problem with it, some days he cries, but we just walk out and shut the door and he settles in a few minutes.

I tell them both "I love you and good night". Then I leave. My 5 year old stays up to read for a bit. My 3 year old passes out within a few minutes.

I nurse them both to sleep. DH grabs one off my lap, then we both lay them down as carefully as possible and tiptoe out.

We read a couple books, turn on a nightlight and a small bedside lamp, tell him goodnight and leave.

Little brother goes to bed right after the stories too, he goes in the crib, gets a blanket and a goodnight and a shut door since he's a light sleeper. He will fuss for about 5 minutes, then usually falls asleep.

Occasionally we have a do over if they aren't ready to sleep, but we don't camp out in their rooms while falling asleep.

@mediagirl: how about telling her you are going to do XYZ and then you will check on her - he first few times come back within 60 seconds so she believes you and slowly make it longer.
I use to do that with DS - tell him I would be back after lunches and slowly but surely he was asleep by the time I came back

We leave while he is awake. 2 books, 2 songs in crib, goodnight we love you, and we leave.

since he was 6 weeks old and we started the routine, we would always do diaper change/bottle and books in the chair/put on the swaddle and then turn out the light together before laying him down.

I snuggle my four year old to sleep. We talk about our day, exchange I love yous, etc. Then we snuggle up. I leave when she's asleep. My husband and I take turns and she really looks forward to it each night.

I count to 12 while rubbing his back and then say good night. (Twelve was his pick...)

Our routine of my 7.5 month old:

Nurse
medicine (reflux)
fresh diaper
hot towel treatment (by dad)
massage (by mom)
jammies
Sleep sack
white noise on, lights off

I hold him on my chest, tell him I love him and its time for him to rest his body now so we can play tomorrow & give him a kiss. I do a few deep breaths (to try and calm him if he is upset but he usually isn't), wait for him to rub his eyes or bury his face in my chest, then lay him in his crib and say love you one more time, then walk out! (We used a sleep consultant and she recommended doing that whole breathing thing. I don't really know if it makes a difference but supposedly our anxiety can transfer to them so I figure it can't hurt!)

After our bedtime routine (prayers, 2 books, 2 songs) I tuck her in and tuck in her stuffed animal and tell her stuffed friend to keep her company if she wakes up and to take care of my girl while shes sleeping. Then I leave.

We were in the stay in the room until she falls asleep club until 2 weeks ago when I just couldn't take it anymore. It's been 15 nights of this routine and so far it's working really well!

@MrsBrewer: we still do this with our 22 month old!!!! He is my second and I swore I would not do it and he would "learn" how to fall asleep on his own. Yeah, at the end of the night mama just wants to sit on her behind and relax and the quickest way to that wins. They won't want to be rocked forever, right?!