Wind down tips for 17.5month old

[scucci1979]

Madison is normally in bed at 7:30pm and asleep by 7:40pm.  We begin our wind down at 7pm.  We used to do her wind down in her room but now it is in our room. Hubby and I sit with her on our bed and we look at some pictures together and play peek a boo with her lovey.  We sometimes read books, but she would rather flip the pages then hear stories.  She also LOVES to go behind our pillows, with her lovey and lay there for a few minutes. She loves to be buried behind pillows. I assume that is a comforting for her. Anyhow, when it is time to go to her room, it tends to be a challenge. She does not want to leave our bed and if she does, she runs around our room and the hallway.  
At times, her tired signs can be difficult to read, so I am not sure if her being hyper is a sign of being tired.  

Wondering if I should do a longer wind down before bed?

Our typical day consists of:
wake 7am
nap 12:15-2:30/40pm
bed 7:30pm

[alohahellokitty]

You could always try doing part of the wind down in your room and then the other half in her bedroom. Possibly do the pillow playing and such in your room. Then do book reading/ pictures in her room.

My lo always drinks some warm milk in her sippy before bed. This seems to settle her and allow her to switch gears.

Good luck!

[*Becky*]

Hi Sabs
I have found the same as you that as Henry has got that little bit older he tries to drag out the bedtime winddown. Before he would just accept what we did but now it seems to be 'more' for everything. More milk, more books etc. What we do is 15 mins before I want him in bed we do books and milk and we then say goodnight to EVERYTHING! Kind of reinforces that everyone is going to sleep etc.
I agree with pp - maybe try the last part in her room so she is already there by the time you want her to get into bed. Good luck!

[*Liz*]

Jacob will drag out his winddown for either OT or UT - I only see tired signs these days if J is actually OT already.

We do it in my room as well - bottle  , then books, then into his bag (this bit often includes him crawling all over the bed and pretending to sleep on my bed first), then he will call his Day from downstairs and wants his Dad to put him to bed. Then as soon as the door is shut he jumps up and asks for Mama instead.

I wonder if she is actually a bit UT and that is why she is still playing? Have you tried bedtime 15 mins earlier just to check for OT?

[scucci1979]

We normally have her bottle of warm milk downstairs as she likes to watch Barney.  I should try the last wind down in her room and see if that helps.  I am sure she will run in circles. LOL. 

I have done bedtime 15min earlier when she wakes up from her nap earlier or if we had a busy afternoon and she settles quickly.  I do think she is a little UT-I just assumed 5hours of A time after her nap would be plenty. 

[katie80]

I would try the last part of the wind down in her room too.  My LO is dragging it out lots these days as well, and I think hers is mostly OT as she is getting teeth and not napping great at the moment.  We've changed from doing everything in her room to putting on lotion, diaper, pjs out in the living room and then just milk, reading, and rocking in her room (also after saying goodnight and giving LOTS of hugs and kisses to her animals, dolls, and toys  ). 

Do you have a 'limit' with the books?  I found at about that age my LO started to get antsy and asking for more and more books, so I got a bit stricter with it and let her choose one and then I always read the same one to end it (so 2 books total).  It took a few days, but now she always knows what will happen and the transition goes a bit easier.  Maybe if there was a little more structure to that part in her room, she might have some predictability (and it's o.k. if she just wants to flip through the pages instead of listen to the story; keep at it and she'll get there).

[*Liz*]

Also wondering if that winddown is not a bit too long really - as 30 mins of pictures, peekaboo, and hiding in pillows would wind my DS up rather than down at this age. When he was younger it would have worked lovely though  .

[*Becky*]

agree with Liz. 15 mins max is about what h can handle x

[scucci1979]

Thanks ladies. I will take your suggestions and try them out. Tonight i put her down 5min later and she settled quicker then normal.  We began our wind down in the family room, then went to our room where she buried herself in our pillows. She then would stand on our bed and purposely fall down. After 10min of this, we went into her room and she looked at a book. Once she was done with that, she would run back and forth from her room to our room.  I finally told her it is time to go to sleep so I picked her up, gave her her lovey and placed her in her crib. Total wind down was 20min.  This bedtime wind down is draining. LOL. 

[~*Nicole*~]

Was just going to jump in b/c as DD has gotten older, a shorter winddown works better. The longer I take, the longer she tries to stall and the more hyper/worked up she gets and into play mode. OR the more anxious she gets about bed. The shorter I keep it, the easier she usually is to get into bed. So our best nights are when we brush teeth on the way past the bathroom, go to her room and change her diaper/put on PJs, ONE bedtime story. Say the end, kiss mommy, tuck in and good night. 15 mins. tops....I often take a bit longer and then it's "want some water." "I want THAT blanket." "I want THAT baby." stall stall stall.

we don't do any milk upstairs anymore. Last drinks are downstairs. She can have water in a cup in her crib but I tuck her and leave her with it, if she wants it.

[~inbalance~]

I echo the shorter wind down.  We actually let T terrorize the house for a bit before bed.  He goes bonkers, you wouldn't think he'd be able to settle after being so hyper, but I think it's actually part of his 'own' wind down - he needs that playtime.  I also think it's a good idea to do the wind down in her room.  You may have to go about it gradually at first, but you want her to see her room as a happy place and not get too attached to your room.  T will drag out his wind down by asking for more books, but we simply say no it's bedtime and put him in his crib, and he's fine.  Our wind down is exactly the same every night, especially when I do it so T knows exactly what's coming right down to when I give him his milk and water, when I put on his sleep sack, even the words I say.  He doesn't need it to always be the same, but I found it good practice to be as consistent as possible so now he knows how it goes, even if someone else does it and it's a bit different.  HTH 

[scucci1979]

Thanks for the tips. But how do I get her to stay in her room if she constantly runs back and forth?

[katie80]

After 10min of this, we went into her room and she looked at a book. Once she was done with that, she would run back and forth from her room to our room. 

I would say the book is the last part.  I sit with my DD in the rocker in her room and read to her.  Then, I sing her a song and lay her in her crib with her lovey and tuck her in.  So, after you do the book, don't let her back down (if I did this with my LO, she'd think it was time to do something else; probably run around too).  Just give her the lovey, say whatever you say, and put her in the crib.  You may have to ease into it (and also be a bit strict) if she's not used to it that way, but like Martina said, if you're consistent with it night after night, she'll know what's coming.

[*Liz*]

Thanks for the tips. But how do I get her to stay in her room if she constantly runs back and forth?

I don't put him down again!! But he is used to this and doesn't fight it. Is she sleeping in a sleeping bad still?

[~*Nicole*~]

Same here....once we do the story I pick her up and put her into the crib. No more getting down.