All the baby books you’ll ever read say creating a nighttime routine can help your baby sleep better and longer. I tried once, when Emmie was about 8 weeks old, to implement a routine. It lasted all of two nights. I gave up, we just weren’t ready for a routine yet.
I watch a boy on Thursdays who’s just a week younger than Emerson. His mom and I chat about all sorts of things our babies like to do. We discuss what works and what doesn’t, and what we’re planning on doing. After multiple occasions of her bringing up her nighttime routine, or nap routine, I decided maybe I better try again.
I finally figured out why my routine didn’t work… it was too complex. Now we’ve got a nice simple routine and it seems to be helping. Every time we’re home for a nap, we turn on our sleepy sounds, close the blinds and read a quick picture book. I used to swaddle her up, but more recently we’ve stopped swaddling. I’ll give Emerson her pacifier and tell her to “have a good nap,” and out I walk. It took a few days, but now she’s asleep in just a minute or so.
Having a routine makes naptime a lot less stressful for both myself and Emmie. No wonder all the books strongly recommend routines – they just work!
