Saturday, April 18, 2009

Bedtime Routine

I put Vinny to bed just about every night (the exceptions being when I'm on travel or so exhausted that I crash early). We have a bedtime routine, in which we brush teeth, pee-pee in the potty, put on a diaper and a sleeper for the night, and then go in his room, read three books of his choosing while sitting in the rocking chair together, and then sing two songs of his choosing while he's lying in bed with the lights out, before I finally kiss him goodnight and leave.

For some reason, he feels obligated to tell Daddy that he brushed his teeth, so there's always that interlude in the routine where he has to shout to Daddy about brushing his teeth.

Sometimes, we read the same book three times. He goes through phases of liking some books above the others, but some of his favorites include Goodnight Moon, On the Day You Were Born, Ten Minutes to Bedtime, and The Little Engine that Could. We get books every month courtesy of Granny, and also one book a month from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The Little Engine that Could was the first book we got from that program.

I used to sing him actual songs, but nowadays he requests songs about various topics, such as sirens, the letter X, and Grandma Marvis. So unless I know a song that has that word in it (which is highly unlikely, since I know very few songs), I just make something up.

Finally, I give him a kiss and leave the room. Lately, we've started doing a funny little ritual where upon leaving, when I get to the foot of his bed, near the door, he says, "One more kiss!" and I go back and give him another kiss. It is the funniest thing ever, at least in the mind of a two-and-a-half-year-old.

He falls asleep pretty well, provided that I go downstairs immediately after putting him to bed, and wait for about an hour. Otherwise, he knows I'm still there and I hear shouts of "Hey, Mama!"

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