Alexander playing before bedtime!
Getting the Boys into a Relaxing Bedtime Routine.
Life is always busy with two kids and a freelance career but I pride myself on having the children in a routine-not a super strict, crazy routine but a healthy one where dinner is at a similar time each night, where we sit down as a family to chat, laugh and sometimes shout (it’s the Greek way of talking) before we start winding down for bedtime.
My husband is an amazing hands on Daddy who works from home so shares the bedtime routine and sometimes stressful pursuit of getting two little monkeys away from Cbeebies (they’ll even watch the Cbeebies Off Air screen, demanding Mr Tumble’s return) and to bed!
The baby only wants me to put him down so Peter will take Oliver to bed. Alexander and I tend to read through First Words and picture books and we chat about the ‘MOOOOON’ (his other obsession along with football) and he on his on accord, practices the words he’s learnt from the day.
It melts my heart to snuggle up to him and breathe in his gorgeous baby smell and twirl those angelic little curls.
I adore this special time for just us in absolute quiet (in the same way I love Oliver and I having a special day midweek to ourselves where we play, draw and head to galleries and museums when we can)-it can be hard to have quality time one to one with each child when you have two but I’m trying-how do parents do it with three or even four kids do it?! Hats off to them!
Both boys have really turned a corner with their sleep recently. Teething pain is subsiding with Alexander (16 months) and my eldest Oliver (just 4) is over his most recent ear infection and back into his sleeping routine.
The following things are also really helping the boys too:
A relaxing bath-sometimes together too which is sweet.
Then off to their own rooms, we each read to them and I’ve been using 4 Litle 1’s Sleepytime organic massage oil gifted to us from a range of all-natural products to help both kids sleep.
It’s been developed with Jo Tantum, the UK’s leading baby sleep specialist and includes a relaxing room aroma and organic massage oil which is utterly and instantly relaxing.
Formulated with soothing lavender and Roman chamomile, it’s just one of Jo Tantum’s Seven Secrets of Sleep, and is quite frankly the next best thing to having Jo herself come put my kids to bed.
…I rub the ‘magic oil’ in to both boys’ hands, arms and feet following the baby massage movements I learnt when I had Oliver and I even use it on myself too, rubbing it into my shoulders and back before bed (perfect for Mummy and baby)! £7.99.
…Also if the boys have a cold, we use 4 Little 1’s Baby Nose Clear Room Vapour – Pure essential oils to ease breathing and help the kids sleep. The room vapour can be added to a warm bowl of water in their bedroom or to the inhaler dummy from three months. RRP £7.99. This beauty was also sent to us for review.
Before we know it, both boys are asleep and with all that oil and relaxation, it’s not long before we are too…
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