Anybody that knows us will know that we follow no real routine with Lola. I know routine works for many families but it just hasn’t ever worked for us or Lola. There is one small routine that she does love to follow and that is the evenings, Bath, Book, Bed. She reminds us every night that after bath she needs her book and then it’s night nights. The BookTrust have a campaign Book, Bath, Bed to help establish an evening routine with your little ones as well as perfect bonding time with your child. Especially after discovering through their research that new parents were losing over 650 hours of sleep a year.
Book, Bath, Bed Campaign
One of the hardest parts of being a parent is without a doubt the lack of sleep. Nothing prepares you at all. As much as everybody tells you before you have a baby to make the most of sleep. It really won’t be enough!
We learnt very quickly that Lola would sleep better after having a bath. Whether it be that she found it tiring, or whether that it was because it was a small routine that she knew after bath was bedtime, I’m not quite sure which. I have always loved books and before Lola was even born I had bought her so many books. We made sure to introduce books from the very beginning. This also quickly became part of the routine just before bed.
Now, Lola absolutely loves telling us which books to read to her or her telling us the story! When reading to Lola you must stick to each book word for word because she certainly corrects you if it’s a book that she knows well. We’ve also been told by Lola that when baby sister arrives (in a few weeks time!) that she will be having a bath with her and then reading her a story. I love that Lola sees this as part of the routine and is already excited to be sharing this with her new sibling.
Every night as soon as we have finished reading Lola makes sure to give both of us a huge cuddle and kiss and says goodnight. She certainly knows that as soon as the book is finished it is time to get ready to sleep!
To see the full Book Trust booklet on Book, Bath, Bed follow this link to be able to download it
Naomi xx