best time of day

My FAVORITE time of day is Henry's bedtime.

Not because he is going to bed(although that helps), but because I love our routine.

Its soothing, bonding, and so relaxing.

Step 1: dinner. we eat our dinner, and he eats some solids and a bottle.

step 2: a little bit of play time, usually with Daddy. Henry absolutely adores his dad, and no one can get him to laugh the way Jason can.

step 3: bathtime. henry LOVES bathtime. He splashes like mad, and Jason squirts him with his toys. When its over we wrap him in a warm towel and snuggle him till he's dry. Then we get him dressed in adorable PJ's.

Now in the summer this is when we would go on a walk with the stroller, but now its too cold.

step 4: Little bedtime snack, and a bottle, in his nursery.

step 5. I cuddle him in the rocker and sing to him this song:

Lean on me, when you're not strong

and I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on

for it won't be long

til I'm gonna need

somebody to lean on

just call on me brother, when you need a hand

we all need somebody to lean on

I just might have a problem that you'd understand

we all need somebody to lean on

I love this song and I love that it talks about leaning on each other and not just one way.

step 6: family prayer

step 7: Then we put Henry in his crib, turn on his crib toy, give him his tiny snuggle blanket, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Kiss him good night, and see him again in the morning. (well for me I see him again at midnight and 4 am. stupid wakings)

I love his bedtime routine, and I think he likes it too. It goes so smoothly and he goes right to sleep. I read a few books during the newborn stage about sleep, feedings blah blah, and while I learned a lot from each book, Henry's digestive system doesnt really allow us to strictly follow any of them. BUT the bedtime routine theory is the best thing ever, and works like a charm. We have been doing this same routine since he was born.

love it, and love that we do it as a family.