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Monday, March 21

Tonight we sleep || Our 3-step bedtime routine

How we get our kiddos to sleep through the night has been such an incredibly requested post topic for such a long time, so I'm thrilled to finally be sharing how we do it. Especially with Daylight Saving time throwing off everyone's schedules, it's the perfect opportunity to work at implementing a bedtime routine, and today I'm teaming up with Johnsons’s® to share just that!

As a quick recap, Martin and I are blessed with 5 babies in 5 years, and they all sleep approximately 12 hours a night. Even with all the different milestones and advances, etc, keeping their sleep time regular has been something we've had to work at constantly since the day our oldest was born. But it's been such a huge blessing when everything goes smoothly at night, and in the morning!
 
I've shared our bedtime routine with so many people personally, and through emails, etc, and I love hearing success stories about how they've gotten over the struggle of bad sleepers! Keep in mind however that we're all different, and our kids are different, and there's no perfect science to bedtime that'll work for everyone. This Johnsons’s® 3-step routine, however, is universal, and really quite simple! And so worth it:) Consistency is the key. Let me break it down for you:

Step 1: Bath 
After dinner and our family activities (or maybe some straightening around the house), I add some Johnsons’s® baby bedtime wash to the tub as I'm filling it up. The lavender smell alone is what sold me on it when we were first-time parents, but it's such a good and gentle clensor overall. Usually I'll do step 1 and 2 with the four older kiddos, and then while they read books or draw, I'll bathe Evie separately in the sink as she still needs my full attention and support.

Step 2: Massage
Once they're out of the bath and getting dried off, it's time for the lotion! I can't resist the smell of my freshly cleaned babies at this point, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that obsession.haha I've loved using the bedtime oil on my littlest ones, but these days I normally just use the baby bedtime lotion for all five of them. I've learned every single one of their most ticklish spots during this ritual:) We all love it!

Step 3: Quiet Time
This is our favorite time of day together. Usually we're in the girls room with me on a bed reading while Marty brushes their hair, one at a time. We'll then sing some songs quietly together or listen to some music. Johnsons’s® recently put together a beautiful global lullaby, and while the song itself is sweet, the 'making of' video actually made me kind of emotional. Anyways, so once all the hair is brushed and the lights are low, we like to talk to the kids a bit about the best parts of the day, as well as what we can look forward to tomorrow, and then have a family prayer. Remember that overall the most important part of quiet-time, is the quiet.haha Don't let the giggles escalate too much, and no running or yelling during step 3:)
And that's the routine! I know that if you're like me than even the word routine may make you smile and shake your head.haha But if we can do it with five different types of sleepers and all of them being so young, then so can you! I may not be very good at sticking to a meal routine or a laundry routine, (and of course, I can't keep our sleep routine 100% of the time), but we take bedtime very seriously around here:)

Alright so are you excited now?! The best thing about the Johnsons’s® Baby 3-step bedtime routine is that it's clinically proven to help babies sleep better at night in just one week, so I really want you to give this a try and tell me how it goes for you too! Moving your kiddos from the bath to the massage, and then to some quiet time right before bed not only helps them fall asleep more quickly, but to stay asleep for longer. Also the free Johnsons’s® bedtime baby sleep app helps you keep track of each of your kids individually, so you can see how their nights improve as you implement your routine.

And that'd better be it for today! I could (and probably will) share additional posts with many more specific tips for infant, babies, and toddlers that've worked for our family, so let me know if that's something you'd like to see, and maybe what age your trouble sleeper is? As usual if you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments, and thank you so much for reading today!


Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Johnson and Johnson, but our family has loved using the Johnson baby bedtime products for our sleep routine for 6 years, and all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the partnerships that support The Freckled Fox!

26 comments:

  1. What a lovely post this is - lots of love to you and your family - five babies in five years, you guys are heroes!

    Rxx

    www.peppermintdolly.com

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    1. oh you're way too sweet, thank you so much! I think she and I both had a lot of fun shooting this:)

      Take care!

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  2. so, just in general... Do your kidlets take naps? About what time is bedtime? naptime? :)

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    1. About the age of three I've found that they really don't like taking daily naps, but Once a week we have a big family nap where we all sleep in mom and dads room, which I can talk about later if you'd like!
      As for times, everyone gets up around 8-8:30, Evie and Lydia both take 1-2 hour naps usually around 1-ish (sometimes John will pass out on the floor or couch.haha), and then we start our bedtime routine after dinner around 7, and they're in bed by 8-8:30! :)

      I do plan on this post being the first in a series, so I'll go into more detail there, but I hope this helps. Thanks for reading!

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  3. Hi Emily! I'm a long time reader, but first time commenter (I think). My husband and I are expecting our first baby this summer...I was wondering if you would mind if I pinned this post to my baby board on Pinterest? Pictures of your littlest one is involved, so I didn't want to do it without your permission!

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    1. Oh you're so sweet to think of that! Normally I like to put watermarks on the photos of my kiddies whenever possible which I neglected with this post, but go ahead anyways and pin if you'd like, and as I've said a few times I plan on going into more detail in more posts on this topic so if you have any questions feel free to ask!

      xoxo

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  4. I wrote about this today too! I only have 2 but like you I think consistency and routine is key to having good sleepers. I love the johnson's lotion but my youngest is allergic to scents.
    your kids are gorgeous.
    http://seeyounexttuesdayblog.com/5-sleep-tricks-mom-good-sleepers/

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  5. You and your baby are so cute! Best wishes. xx

    thetearoomsblog.wordpress.com

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  6. Such cute pictures! I think it's wonderful that you take the time to massage each of your kids every night and are making bedtime a priority. My 5 month old hates bathing (since she's been about 3 months old, no idea why it changed from one day to the next) so it doesn't help calm her down at all. We take a shower together every 2-3 days, that's all the water she tolerares at the moment :)
    I'd love to read some of your tips on getting babies to sleep longer stretches during the night. While she goes to bed without trouble every night (so far our routine is working), we're still working on sleeping more than 5 hours at a time.
    Best wishes

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  7. Such a sweet post! I remember from my babysitting days that sticking to a timeline was so key and a long bath time was always part of the routine!

    xx Kelly
    Sparkles and Shoes

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  8. Hi Emily! Do you think you could do a video or blog post about loving yourself? I've heard all the cliches and am really struggling to figure out how to make myself happy. Thanks, love your posts!

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  9. Hi Emily! Do you think you could make a video or blog post on loving yourself? I've heard all the cliches and am struggling to figure out how to make myself happy. Love your posts and pictures. Thank you!

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  10. Haha Emily as someone who works 12 hours at nite 7pm-7am I use this same routine and products for myself

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  11. Hi. Was just wondering if you have found the amber necklace your cutie is wearing helpful. My nearly 10 month old is really struggling with teething at the moment.
    Thank you xxxx

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  12. Okay, first of all, your sweet Evie is so beautiful!! These pictures of the two of you are so sweet!
    Second, I love this routine! We basically already do this (minus the bath - it makes my little one too excited), but what I'd really love to know is what your "falling asleep" routine is?! These pictures make it look so peaceful, serene & easy! I would LOVE to know how you get her to just drift off to sleep in your arms with no distraction of even the camera in the room!

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  13. Okay, first of all, your sweet little Evie is so beautiful!! These pictures of the two of you are so sweet!
    Second, we love this routine! We basically already do this (minus the bath - it makes my little one too excited), but what I would love to know is your "falling asleep" routine or how you get Evie to sleep?! These pictures make it look so peaceful, serene & easy! Does she really just drift off to sleep in your arms like that with no distraction, even with the camera?

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    1. haha I was thinking the same thing.. xxo

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    2. Thank you so much! I just love her little rolls.haha Also I'm thinking that I should re-word things a tiny bit in the post, but we don't do baths every night as I think it'd make their skin too dry, and its hard work.haha But I always just planned on this being the first in a series talking about sleeping, I just thought this was a good basics starting point, but yes this girl is the easiest to get to sleep! I usually never rock her to sleep and always just put her in her crib once we've done the steps (she has to have a binky and a blanket to hold), but I think because we were taking longer to take the pictures she just couldn't wait any longer.haha
      Anyways, sorry for the novel, but I'll definitely go into more details in the next post as soon as I get my act together:)

      THanks so much for reading!

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  14. omg these pics are precious. Great routine.. Gavin loves his nighttime bath. xxo
    Jamie
    www.jamieeverafter.com

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  15. Thanks for sharing this! We don't always do bath time before bed, but I'm going to give these 3 steps a try for at least a week! My son just turned 1, and still wakes up to nurse through the night (which is fine because I want him to get the nutrients he needs) but I'd be interested to hear about how you've gotten your kids to sleep 12- or if it's just what they naturally do...?

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  16. Emily, I love what you did to your hair. Is it balayage? I am looking forward to having mine done in a couple of weeks, but still don't know what to ask for. I've never really done salon color before (I have used henna at home for the past 8 years) and am still trying to figure out what I want, haha.

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  17. i love and lavender scents! we were bathing our little girl almost nightly for the sake of routine and to calm her down at night. but, her skin can't quite handle it anymore, and so we now bathe her less frequently. we still have some quiet time before bed, and spend time reading a few books.

    www.katelynryan.com

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  18. Oh my sweetest Emily & beautiful family. I had the misfortune to see that horrible message that person left you & my heart ached for you �� How dare she/he say such things. They obviously don't read your blog. We who know you know how honest you are. Sending lots of healing thoughts to you and Martin ������

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    1. Thank you so much for saying that Lana:) It makes me sad when people feel the need to vent their negativity on strangers via the internet. especially when they haven't taken the time to even read the post.haha It is always an effort to keep my voice and share my own content while at the same time earning a living for my family, but I know I have many more sweethearts behind me like you, and I certainly count myself very lucky!

      Again thank you for taking the time to comment:)
      Have a great rest of your week

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