Bedtime routine

I have never really believed in the power of a bedtime routine.  Me and Jens have always bathed the twins and in the early days putting our little ones to bed was the most predictable part of our day.  We gave them their bottle, lay them down and knew that we had 12 hours of baby free time.  Eva changed all that at around 8 months when her separation anxiety kicked in.  I then fed her for months, allowing her to sleep in my arms.  Then when that stopped working it took me four days of constantly lying her back down and telling her it was time for sleep.  She then happily played in her bed for a few weeks until she chose to lie down and go to sleep.  Then when the clocks changed (could that be a coincidence?) we were back to square one.  Sheer panic at being left alone.  Needing me to lie beside her until she slept.  The feeling of lying next to thing the thing you love most, is lovely - for the first 15 minutes.  The unpredictability of when she would sleep left me feeling frustrated on most days.  I didn't like the feeling of complete lack of control and I knew I had to change the situation; for my santity and for little Eva.  Babies her age need around 14 hours of sleep each day, 1-2 hours of this should be taken at midday.  My little one was falling way short and on some days refusing to nap.

My sister has always talked about the importance of a bedtime routine, most books harp on about it.  I have finally implemented one and am now reaping the rewards.  We are back in a place where Eva (for the most part) is happy to be in her bed.  She has even started to lie down during her goodnight story and I just left her blowing kisses at me from her snuggly pillow.

I have also started regulating the time the twins go to bed and get up.  7pm bedtime and 7am get up and in bed for nap at the latest 12.30pm.  I must be the most annoying person in the world but leaving them to decide themselves is just too unpredictable.  I have had too many nights with Emilia waking up in the middle of the night and being awake for hours.

We have had 3 nights, in a row of the twins sleeping all night.  It is absolute bliss.  Time will tell if it is because of our new routine :)