Bedtime Routine

I *think* Nate is starting to have a bedtime routine. Sleeping through the night has definitely not happened, but last night I got a 4 hour stretch, 2 hour, then 3 hour. Way better than EVERY 2 hours. Yes, I wish he would sleep a tad longer, but what can you do...the kid wants to eat.

He gets tired around 8:30. I (or Jason) put on his night time diaper, jammies, and "worm him up (swaddle)". I put on his white noise maker, then nurse him for about 20 minutes. Burp, then lay in bassinet and start to rock him away to dreamland. Side note: What do you think babies dream about? Milk? toys? Anyways, I rock him and he is asleep around 9:15-9:30. That hour sometimes go really fast or really sllooowww...depending on the night. It's usually pretty fast. One thing I have realized is I need to start putting the bassinet cover down. There are 2 little bears that hang from it and Nate has made friends with them. He will babble and smile at them until I completely turn off the light and he can't see them anymore. Note to self: no toys when he's older or he'll never go to sleep. I feel like I can already tell he might like to stay up late...we'll see.

Last night I changed 2 things in his routine. One: I pulled the cover with hanging bears down so he couldn't have a late night convo with his besties. Not okay, son. Two: I read some books to him. Normally, I read to him every other day in the day time. I want him to have a love for books and to start hearing the language. I also want him to have bedtime stories. Does any kid not like being read to at night?

I read Time for Bed, Nighty-night, and The Going to Bed Book. They are super short and cute little books. I got Nate in his jammies and sat him on my lap and read to him. I don't know if he was actually listening or paying attention, but he acted like it. He sat on my lap with his little cute hand resting on my arm. He didn't wiggle (which he does A LOT now). It was just a really relaxing little 10 minutes with him. I also enjoyed it because I haven't had much time to read myself, so it was nice to read in bed like "the good ol' days". No, it wasn't an adult book, but when he starts sleeping better I'll get back to my own books. For now, reading about animals going to bed is just fine.

When did you start reading to your kids? Is it something you enjoy? Let me know what your favorite story is (children's or adult)!