I always said we were lucky. My daughter has been the kind of child that just LOVES sleep. She sleep trained herself at about 10-11 weeks and ever since then, minus teething or growth spurts, she has been a sleeping champ. We developed a routine way early with her and have pretty much kept it the same, only adjusting on occasion.
So what is this secret routine? Easy!
We start winding down at 7pm, by 7:30pm she is in her bath, by 8pm she is getting her story read to her, at 8:15pm she drinks a small glass of warm milk, brushes her teeth and she is usually completely asleep by 8:35pm. It’s practically clockwork by now. She calls her milk her sleepy drink…which I can only assume means that to her, it just soothes her to sleep. Some studies have shown that by drinking a glass of milk before bed, that you may awake more alert and awake the following day. This is very true for Sofia- as soon as those big brown eyes flutter open, she is UP and ready to roar all day.
For another cute look at how milk helps promote a better sleep, check out the “Ya es hora de ir a la cama” currently airing on Univision and Telemundo b/w 7-9pm daily.
Make sure you stay connected with El Maestro del Vaso Medio Lleno on Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
We had to sleep train our kids..well.. my husband did because I am not able to do it. That’s awesome your daughter did on her own. I think I should start giving my son milk. He sleeps well but it’s nice to have a milk before bed.
I always like to have a glass of milk before bed. It does help me sleep! I think that it is good about your daughter having her sleep routine, and being like that at an early age is very healthy!
I can attest to setting a routine for sleep! Parents need to realize kids NEED & CRAVE routine ALL day!
that is awesome. I have had two boys who are/where very different with sleep. my first didn’t sleep through the night till he was 18 months even with a solid routine. my youngest was sleeping through the night after he no longer needed to wake up to breastfeed. I like the idea about the milk. i think i should try that to keep up with my energizer bunnies
“We developed a routine way early with her…” I think you hit the “good parenting” nail right on the head with that one comment. So often I’ve seen parents who think their child needs to be old enough to do something completely on their own before teaching them certain routines – and, by then, it is often too late for that teaching to go smoothly. Introducing a child to the expected routines, even when they’re very young and you’re just talking them through it, is a great way to raise responciible, respectful children. Well done, Momma!
We always read before bed – . Kids had / fave books they want to read again which is soothing to them, like listening to music over and over. Our routine was to read a new book or two, but always to wind them down by repeating faves. They knew how the book would end and it let them drift off to sleep.
Developing a routine is very important, but you are also lucky that your child was amenable to it and actually craved it.