Our Bedtime Routine // Tiny Moments with Aveeno Baby

I always love reading about other peoples days and routines.  Part of me is just curious (maybe nosey is better word?) and the other part of me likes to see what works for other people.  It gives me ideas and I like to try to integrate things that might make our days better.  After I had Phayre, our nightly routine became pretty chaotic.  It's true what they say you know, one kid is one kid.  But two kids, well you might as well have twenty!  Bedtime became a huge struggle and Sloan began really fighting bedtime.  It was exhausting and a really frustrating part of my day.

As Phayre has gotten older and we have fallen into a nice routine as a family of four, our nights have gotten so much more enjoyable (and easier!).  Consistence is key my friends, we kept doing the same thing for months and eventually our nights became more enjoyable!  I thought I'd share our nightly routine and what's been working for us lately.

Eric usually gets home around 6pm so I try to have dinner ready right when he gets home.  We sit at the table and eat as a family, which lasts until about 6:30.  Since Phayre is feeding herself, she usually ends up covered in food.  So I take the girls straight to the bath while Eric puts our dishes away and finishes tidying up the kitchen.  (We have a rule in our house: I cook, you clean).

Once the kitchen is clean, Eric comes upstairs and we bathe the girls together.  The girls LOVE bath time.  Like absolutely love it and sometimes cry when it's time to get out.  So we let them soak and play for quite awhile.  We blow bubbles, listen to the Disney Pandora station, and chat.  Our poor Phayre Bear got her daddy's skin and it is SO sensitive.  We've been using Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo and I absolutely love it.  It's so mild and has a really nice scent.  And of course it's tear free and totally safe for my precious babes!  I'm a big fan of products that I can trust and benefit my babes, Aveeno Baby fits the bill.  If your babe has sensitive skin, I highly recommend.

Once we pry the girls out of the bath, we lay them on our bed and lotion them up with Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion. The lotion makes their skin SO soft and doesn't bother Phayre's sensitive skin.  Confession, I always grab P and lotion her up because hello #babyrolls.  Since we've been using this lotion, she doesn't have any dry patches and I totally understand the phrase, "soft as a baby's bottom."  It rubs in really quickly and isn't greasy.  I really like that it's fragrance free and it makes her sweet skin so soft.  I love these tiny moments with her.  She giggles and says, "Mama" on repeat while I give her squeezes.  Next up, pajamas and a fresh diaper.

Sometimes we'll roll around in our bed, play in our room, or sneak out for a quick walk around the block.  Then we all head to Sloan's bed for story time.  Sloan picks two books every night and she demands that I read them while she holds the book and turns the pages.  As soon as books are over, Eric takes P to bed and I brush Sloan's teeth and give her goodnight kisses and hugs.  And I am honestly not sure how we managed it, but both our girls just go to bed.  Sloan doesn't get out of bed and Phayre doesn't usually fuss.  They just go to sleep.  Eric says it's because I exhaust them during the day... but I feel like they are the ones that exhaust me?!

The girls are out by 8:30 and then obvi Eric and I head downstairs for a glass of wine and some alone time!  And then guess what we do?  Talk about our girls!  About how much we love them and all of the tiny moments that we never want to forget.  The tiny moments are what I live for!

And a huge thank you to my very talented friend Lindsey of Lindsey Wiatt Photography for capturing tiny moments between my little Phayre Bear and I.

Xo

Marisa

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I partnered with AVEENO® on this post. all opinions expressed are 100% my own.