by Ashleigh Evans posted in Parenting

I have four kids, so a good bedtime routine is essential. My kids know exactly what to expect when it's time to wind down for the night, and most nights everything goes pretty smoothly.

If you're interested in establishing your own bedtime routine, here's one crucial tip: decide what you want your night to look like. Think about what you'll want and need to do every night vs. what you can do without.
At our house, getting ready for bed begins early, as in right after dinner. My husband and I need time to ourselves in the evenings, and the kids need their rest. You'll be so glad you established an early bedtime when your baby's old enough for school.

What works in our house:

Start with bathtime. Washing off the grime of your baby's day is a perfect way to calm little ones. It doesn't have to be a whole 20-minute ordeal, just a once-over that includes washing your baby's face. After we give our baby Liam his bath, the older kids start their shower rotation. Diapers. After the quick bath, we put an overnight diaper on Liam, apply lavender-scented lotion, and then sing a few songs or read. A good overnight diaper is an essential part of putting him to sleep and keeping him that way as long as possible. We use Pampers Baby-Dry, which distributes wetness evenly (through three extra absorb channels) and keeps Liam from waking up soaked in the middle of the night. Having to change sheets and pajamas in the pitch black of a nursery is such ...