Just as my girls like a consistent routine each night to help lull them to sleep or at least get them to stop jumping on the bed, I also have a standard bedtime routine that helps me turn off from my world, connect with those I love, and make time for rest a bigger priority than ever before. Join me as we take a look into my bedtime routine that incorporates a number of the healthy and green tips I've learned about and posted on here over the past few years.
Let's get started with my Bedtime Routine...
For our family, "Bedtime" starts after dinner is finished. Usually Brandon head's up to get my girls started with their bath time while I prepare the leftovers for the next day's lunch. I find that by getting the leftovers ready now it makes it much faster to just grab the containers in the morning.
Also this is when I stop eating for the day. I have my dinner and a small dessert and then by about 7:00 PM I'm done eating for the day. I find that I sleep better when I have an hour or two without eating anything before I go to bed.
Then I join them upstairs for bath time. This is a funny time to me because it's all four of us just hanging out, usually getting splashed by my two crazy girls. Some nights they are best friends and play together, other nights all they do is argue and we have to place the toy divider in between them just to keep the peace.
From there Brandon usually takes Mila out first, gets her nighttime diaper on, and some PJs. Then Avery and I join them and she gets her PJs on too.
Brandon then goes downstairs to clean up the kitchen after dinner and I take on the task of finishing getting the girls ready for bed. Thank you Brandon!
They each get 10-15 minutes to watch their Kindles while I do a number of things. In case you're wondering they both have these cool Amazon Fire Kid's Edition that come with these Kid Proof Cases and we use the app Amazon Free Time Unlimited which has over 10,000 kid-friendly videos, educational games and books. The best part is they can't leave this App.
First I take out my contacts from the day and put on my glasses...ahhh my eyes feel better now after a long day! Then I throw my hair up in a messy bun and wash my face. Followed by some toner and face lotion.
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| You can find it here. |
Then I put on some lotion for the rest of my body, with my favorite Desert Essence Fragrance-Free Body Lotion.
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| You can find it here. |
Then about that time my girl's Kindle timers are going off and we head over to all brush our teeth. Then from there Brandon comes up and we do a song or two as a family, we call it "Bedtime Circle Time" as inspired by Conscious Discipline. Here's a youtube video explaining some of the meaning behind the "I Love You Rituals" (the songs we sing) to connect each day.
Then it's time to divide and conquer again. Brandon takes Avery to her room to read books and wait for me.
And I take Mila to her room to read 1-2 books. She then nurses for about 5 minutes max (she's almost 2 1/2 so there's not much milk these days) but she still likes to do it for comfort, then I put her to bed.
Next I go into Avery's room and sing a bedtime song to her and tuck her in for bed usually it's about 8:20 by this point.
Then if everyone goes to sleep as expected, then Brandon and I hang out together. We either catch up on a favorite show or just head to bed.
In the past few months I've deemed this as a no-technoglogy time....for myself. I have no problem turning my phone off, but laptop is easier said than done. I used to spend this time editing videos, checking comments, and getting one last blog thing done for the day, but it was not a healthy balance for my family life.
So instead I usually work on my videos during my girls' nap times, on the evenings we go to my parent's house for dinner, or in the mornings before school. And during my evenings, I spend time with Brandon.
From there we start getting ready for bed around 9:25 PM...which sounds kind of lame I'm sure but it helps ensure that I meet my 7 hours of sleep per night goal, with a little wiggle room. I get up at 4:45 so 7 hours from that is 9:45, but I build that extra time in because Mila will sometimes get up once per night, and sometimes that keeps me up in the middle of the night, thus messing up my 7 hour goal. But with a 20 minute bonus, I can still meet my goal.
Now don't get me wrong I don't freak out if I don't make my 7 hours, if I miss it, I just try to self-correct the next day and make up for it if I can. Life goes on. Just a goal to shoot for.
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| My sleep graph. 7 is my goal, anything over is bonus, anything under, is a sign to re-correct the next day. |
But before I tuck into bed I do a few more little things. The first of which is to check my journal quickly and mark off how I did on my Rhythm Register that you may remember me mentioning from last week's "Morning Routine" post on how I keep track of a variety of habits each day help keep me on track to reaching my goals both at home, in my teaching job, with my blog, and even with my health.
This is my daily check in time to see how I did for the day. I also note any ideas that are on my mind and things to think about or add to my to-do list the next day.
Then I do my "Daily Stretch" the same routine I did when I woke up.
Next I change into my specific pajamas that I only wear for sleeping and climb into bed. While in bed I have Mila's monitor nearby and charging and I turn on my Sound Machine.
I also have my Earthing mat plugged in and ready to go on my bed. Earthing has been one of the most helpful things I've done to improve my sleep these days, so if you're interested in learning more about Earthing click here.
As well as my Spoonk mat nearby if I need it. Sometimes it's helpful if I've been woken up in the middle of the night.
I try to keep my room as dark as possible in addition to my eye mask and I make sure there all technological devices are either turned off or on Airplane mode. Then I grab my eye mask and try to fall asleep.
So there you have it, my slightly high-matienence, bedtime routine. What's your bedtime routine like? Do you any of the same things that I do? Or do you have a favorite part of your routine you'd like to share? Post below. Also, how do you distance yourself from technology before bed? I'd love to hear how you disconnect, something I've been trying to do much more of lately, especially in the evenings before bed.
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