For the past almost two years Leon and I have felt like bedtime was always a battle.. We had a goal to make Evelynne so tired that she'd just fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow but still to this day that has only happened a very few times. I've always dreamed of being that mom that could rock and sing her child to sleep but Honestly Evelynne would rather get up and dance if I tried to sing to her. She's like an everlasting battery that doesn't like to go down for the night. So we decided that Evelynne has a bedtime and she has to go to bed rather she likes it or not. Some days she cried and other days she screamed. I've had people tell me I'm doing the right thing and I've had others tell me I should just let her stay up until she's tired. But this is what Leon and I thought was best. We highly believe in boundaries and bed time was one of them. So even though bedtime usually ends with darkness before the light. Leon and I do try our hardest to make our way getting to the crib a fun experience.
Usually about an hour or two before Evelynne's bedtime we like to play games with her. Like chasing her around the house or let her walk when we go on evening walks to get at least some energy out of her system. And unless it's a special occasion we don't usually give her any sugar before bed. (We'd be asking for trouble!) Then we give her a bath, let her play in her room for a bit and then it's bed time. I say a fun active prayer with her that ends with tickling and I give her a book to look at until she falls asleep. She's getting better and better but to be honest I am still in no way comfortable with putting her in a toddler bed with no bars!
I honestly cannot believe that we reached the end of our series!! I hope all of you wonderful mamas have enjoyed these series as much as I have. We all loved these series so much that we are now working on round two! So stay tuned :)
May 8: Taming the Temper Tantrums
May 15: Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk
May 22: Dealing with Mommy Guilt
May 29: When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it
June 5: Traveling with your Toddler
June 12: How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all
June 19: How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood
June 26: Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)