A Peek: Good Night Sleep Tight

So back to my voyeuristic curiosity.  Thanks to everyone who commented or left a link about the inside scoop on your bath time routine.  I'm a little disappointed that no one else admitted to peeing in the shower, but I understand that not everyone is up for putting it all out there for everyone to see.  (Surely that's why no one responded, right?!?) 

Ok, so next up, let's talk about bed time, which has been an issue in my house lately.

What's your bed time routine with your kids? Does it work for you? Do you read books? How many books? Does your child ask for 500 sips of water before bed? Do you lay down with them before leaving the room? Do you sneak out of their room? Do you enjoy the routine or loathe it?


So up until exactly two nights ago Lukas was still in his crib and our bedtime routine went something like this.  

START: 7pm(ish)

-Convince little man to take off his clothes and try to pee pee in the potty.  This involves reminding him that he will receive 2 m&ms and a sticker on his potty chart if he goes.  He loves chocolate so most nights he can make at least a little water (yes, we call it "make water" or pee pee).  High-fiving and dancing ensues after a successful potty attempt.

-Diaper and PJ changing is next.  We learned the hard way that we must wait to give the m&ms until AFTER the diaper and pjs are put on. 

-Next up we pick out the books we're going to read.  Usually 4-5 books.

 -Lukas then kisses mommy or daddy goodnight and the "off duty" parent leaves.

-Lukas then closes his bedroom door.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLOSE THE DOOR FOR HIM.  Tears will follow if you do along with shouting that "it's my turn" over and over until you re-open the door for him to close it.

-Did I mention that many nights he has a cookie and a glass of milk while we read books?  Yea.  Well. That.  No comment.

 - We sit on the glider together and begin reading the books.  About half way through Lukas will request water or milk (whichever beverage he doesn't currently have).  So up we go to get water.  Again, must let Lukas close the door once we're back in the room.  (Might he have some OCD tendencies?  Or is that just a 2 year old?)

- We get to the last book and I remind him that this is the last book.  After this book, it's bed time.

- We read the last book and he demands "one more book".  Sometimes I give in.  Ok, usually I give in.  We read one more book.

- He must go "hug and kiss daddy".  Mommy must remain in the bedroom during this time.  And of course Lukas must close the door.

- He'll usually ask for one more book again "in my crib".  I usually agree.  We pick the book but rather than getting in his crib he insists that he sits "on your lap."  So we sit on the floor and read one more book.

- "Hug and Kiss daddy again".  Off he goes.  Are we suckers? 

 - Don't answer that.

- Back in his room.  He shuts the door.  Now I lift him up to turn off the lights (again, it is ALWAYS Lukas' turn to turn off the lights.  Always).

- Now he asks to rock.  So back in the glider we go and we rock.

 - Yes we are suckers.

- Between 2-5 minutes later it's time to go in the crib.  Lukas walks over to the crib and climbs up on the edge and you have to hoist him half way up so he can climb in, otherwise there are tears.

- "Need water." 

- Administer water.

- "One more book?"  I usually don't give in, but if I do it's Goodnight Moon because that's the one book I know by heart and can read in the dark.

- Eventually we finish all the stall tactics and he lays down.  Now you have to master putting the blanket on him just so.  This can take up to 5 minutes.

- I rub his back and give kisses, say "night night" and tell him I love him.

- But then: "Mommy lay down." 

 - If I don't do as I'm asked told, there are tears and screams.

- Mommy lays down. - Mommy tries to sneak out 2-5 minutes later.

- Mommy fails.

- Mommy lays back down and eventually sneaks out.

 END: 8pm(ish)  

Yes, bedtime takes a full hour most days.  And many days I end up in tears because I end up laying on his floor for 20 minutes and he still screams when I leave.  I've decided I'm not emotionally stable enough to handle a crying it out session, even though I know we're being manipulated.  My working-mom guilt kicks into high gear at night when he cries and begs me not to leave his room.  And I just can't handle that right now.  So we decided we needed to switch it up.  

Saturday morning Mr. Cob turned the crib into the toddler bed (aka Lukas' new "big boy bed").  Lukas was SO EXCITED when he saw his big boy bed (and has been telling everyone he sees about his new bed -it is adorable).  And so far bedtime has been a little less stressful.  We still go through the entire book-reading/milk-drinking/daddy-hugging/rocker-snuggling process, which is the part I honestly love.  But now when it's time for him to actually go to sleep, something has changed.  He walks over and gets in his big boy bed.  Mommy or daddy sits down next to his bed, puts the blanket over him and rubs his back for a few minutes.  We give kisses and ask him if he wants us to leave his door open.  He says yes and we leave his room WITHOUT ANY LYING ON THE FLOOR!!!  I realize our sample size is only 2 days, but it's been 2 very stress-free bedtimes in a row, so I'll take it!   

And the kicker, he doesn't get out of his big boy bed until one of us comes in his room in the morning.  He even took an hour and a half nap in his big boy bed without any sleeping this weekend but never once tried to get out of the bed!  Again, this could be a complete fluke, but so far the transition to the big boy bed has been WAY better than I anticipated. 

My non-napping napper.

So that's our bedtime routine.  What's yours??

A Peek: Rub-a-Dub-Dub

So, let's chat about soaping up, shall we?

What I'm curious about: When do you shower and do your hair?  At night?  Every morning?  Do you pee in the shower? And if you shower at night how do you not have the dreaded bed head look every day?  And the little ones.  Do you give them a bath every night? Every other night?  Or do you shower with them say on the weekends?  On the days you don't bathe them, do you wipe them down with a wash cloth and soap?  How do you get the dirt out from under their nails on non-bath nights?

For me, I shower every.single.morning.  Unless it's the weekend and then I might shower sometime in the afternoon, or not at all if we have no plans to see anyone.  I've tried to shower at night but my hair just looks a mess the next day and I spend all day feeling unclean.  I wish I could get over the hump because showering at night sounds SO appealing.  Mainly because you could sleep in an extra 20-30 minute.  But for now, it's not for me.  I have recently started washing my hair every other day (which is huge after being a wash every single day no matter what sort of girl for years), so that helps cut down on the getting ready time.  I can even push it out a third day if I use dry shampoo, but more times than not I'll end up washing my hair the third day for fear of looking really greasy.

Can I tell you a secret?  Most days I don't wake up until 7am or 7:30.  And some days I feel really guilty about that.  I always thought you had to wake up early when you have little kids.  But if Lukas is still sleeping, I'm still sleeping.  Mr. Cob and I don't have a fancy bed, but it is ridiculously comfortable and sucks you in.   Most mornings we each hit snooze on our alarms until the last possible minute.  I am really not a morning person anymore.  On our average morning Mr. Cob is awake and showering before I get up.  Then I get Lukas up and dressed while the husband dresses.  And my boys are both out the door around 7:30.  And the house is all mine.  Some days I make myself breakfast and watch TV.  Other days if I need to get to work for a meeting, I'll race upstairs and hurry to get showered and dressed myself.  On a good day I've showered and dried my hair before Lukas wakes up, so I only have about 10 minutes to finish up before they leave (10 minutes is all it takes to do my makeup (I could probably use some pointers in that department) and throw on a dress - my go to work outfit).  My mornings alone at home are one of my guilty pleasures.  I also know they are very short lived with a new baby on the way.  Soon enough we'll be hanging out at 6am. That is, if he lets me sleep in...

Oh and yes, I pee in the shower.  I don't understand why you'd waste water by flushing the toilet mere seconds before getting in the shower and just doing your thing in there.  Mr. Cob found this habit of mine repulsive when he first learned of it years ago.  Now, he's a convert.  It's liberating, trust me.

Ok and now on to bathing the little man.  Full disclosure here: I worry some days that Lukas is the dirty kid at school.  (That might also be part of my inferiority complex at our school where many days I feel like we don't belong because these the moms and dads drive such fancy cars, dress their kids in designer duds, have huge diamond rings and are all probably better off than we are.  Not that I notice. Sorry, where was I?)  I don't think you can tell Lukas hasn't been bathed every night, but it still worries me. I try to give him a bath every other day, but it's just really hard during the week.  And he has super sensitive skin that gets really dry if he's in the bath too often. It's not that he hates the bath, he loves it.  It's just another thing to do at night and some days it's 7:50 before I could even think to get him in the tub, so I tend to wait until he must bathe.  Like when he gets Fig Newton in his hair like last night.  I wish he would shower, which seems to be a much quicker process than the bath with all the bubbles and toys, but Lukas hates water in his eyes and over his head so showers are out.  It's possible he once went four days between baths.  But I won't admit anything.

And no, I don't usually clean him down with soap and water and a wash cloth on his non-bath nights.  Occasionally, if I remember, I'll wipe him down with a baby wipe during a diaper change.  Yes, a clean wipe.  (Which by-the-way are also great for taking off eye make up, getting stains out of clothes and wiping down your counters/toilet seats.)  If his hair is wild in the morning I'll throw some water on it and run a comb through his hair.  And let's not talk about brushing his teeth.  Not because we don't do it, just because I know you don't care.  OK?  Ok.

A baseball cap is also good for hiding dirty hair.   So I've heard.

As for the dirt under his nails, I've decided this is a little boy honor badge and no longer worry about it.  New dirt just piles on minutes after a good scrubbing anyway.  But if you're trying to be all fancy for your in-laws or some hoity-toity friends, an old toothbrush and soap works wonders for that "I do bathe my child regularly look".  If that's your thing.

Ok, so now it's your turn to answer my questions and give us a peek into your hygiene routine. Leave a comment or join the Linky Party and link up to your own blog post on the topic!

A Peek Inside

I'm always interested in what people eat for dinner.  How do you decide what to cook (or buy) each night?  When do you go grocery shopping?  Who in the family goes grocery shopping?  Who makes the grocery list?  Do you even make a list?  Who cooks dinner? When do you cook dinner (crockpot in the am before work?  big day of cooking once a month to freeze that you then defrost nightly?  the minute you walk in the door? from a take-out store on the way home?)   How do you manage to get food on the table with little ones at home?  Do you eat with them or after them?  Do you eat the same thing?  Do you eat with your spouse?  Do you eat at the table or in the living room?  Is music playing while you eat?

 

And bathing.  When do you shower and do your hair?  At night?  Every morning?  Do you pee in the shower? And if you shower at night how do you not have the dreaded bed head look every day?  And the little ones.  Do you give them a bath every night? Every other night?  Or do you shower with them say on the weekends?  On the days you don't bathe them, do you wipe them down with a wash cloth and soap?  How do you get the dirt out from under their nails on non-bath nights?

 

What's your bed time routine with your kids?  Does it work for you? Do you read books?  How many books?  Does your child ask for 500 sips of water before bed?  Do you lay down with them before leaving the room?  Do you sneak out of their room?  Do you enjoy the routine or loathe it?

 

When do you connect with your spouse?  How do you divvy up the chores?  Who does laundry and the dishes and the taking out of the trash and the feeding of the dogs?  Do you outsource any of this work?

 

Basically I want to know what other people do to make life go round so that I can determine (a) if I am normal in my way of doing things or (b) if I can be more efficient or learn anything from your way of doing things.  I also wonder how different a working mom's routine is from a SAHM's routine.  We both have to eat, bathe and keep our living spaces clean and try to maintain a relationship with our loved ones.  So let's talk about these things.  I'll give you a glimpse (also-known-as way more information than you ever wanted to know) about how things operate in our house and you leave me a comment and let me know how it works for you!  K, promise?  Great, thanks.

 

I'll hit up how we Swans stay clean in the first/next post in this fun new series.  But in the mean time, what else are you curious about?  What other glimpses of someone else's life do you want to know about?  What people do for date nights?  How often other married couples actually have sex?  At what point is a bra considered dirty?  Do other moms wipe (or not wipe) their kids bums if they're only changing a pee diaper?  Do women really wipe front to back?  How often do people actually read/open their snail mail?  Anything you're "just curious" about??