Sleep is Good.

We finally got the little boy down to following a bedtime routine. Thanks to determination and the new nanny, who seems to have this great strategy up her sleeve when it comes to getting the baby go "sleepy-time".

You should know that we haven't had much success in this area in the past months. My past nannies have been so into the TV dramas, so much so that they forgo my instructions on getting RL to bed by 8pm. There were nights when he'd still be up at 11pm! So when the new nanny came along, all I did was tell her to get him ready for bed by 8pm and to make sure he is asleep by 9, 930pm at the latest. And voila! No need for second reminders. He gets a wind-down bath at 8pm, and is off to dreamland at 9pm.

Why take a second bath at night? He's used to it (our original nanny has been giving him two baths a day since he was about six months old). And it has been soooo hot all summer that it is wise to give him a bath before bedtime. Plus, my little boy is such a light sleeper, and compared to his Ate, it is so hard to get him to sleep. Which is why we couldn't come up with an effective bedtime routine in the past. I've tried everything - lavender bath salts, sleepyhead sprays and massage oils, etc. But the bath is one of the things that really work. I suppose it relaxes the body, and pretty soon, you see him scratching his eyes and you know he will be ready for bed soon.

Baby Massage. I used to depend on expensive baby massage or relaxing oils, but get this, an effective yet cheap lotion is just within reach. A has been using J&J Baby Bedtime Lotion for quite some time now, but I've always attributed her sleepy head qualities to habit or genes (LOL!). Quite recently, when I ran out of the expensive oil we use on RL, I took some of his sister's lotion and used it to give him a rub. The next thing I knew, RL was already asleep on the bed! I thought at first he was too tired and thought about his day's activities, but the next day, it happened again! So I switched to J&J Baby Bedtime products. I love the smell of J&J's Baby Milk series, but the Bedtime products are equally as good! And yes, the smell relaxes you!

And the best thing? Well, RL gets much needed sleep. And I noticed he hardly wakes up for feeding anymore. Yey! I see nursing duty freedom in the near future! Haha.

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It is thus so timely that I received an invite from Nuffnang to attend a Johnson & Johnson talk on Good Baby Sleep. Went to Rockwell on Saturday morning to attend the talk with A in tow. Had fun and thought it was cool to meet fellow mommy bloggers. I'm thinking that it may be time to do away with privacy, given that life has moved on. I even took that first step out of the shadow and talked about my blog. :)

Would you want to join the next event on the J&J Baby Bedtime Series? The next one's this Saturday and will be on Creating a Sleep Environment. Let me know and I can send you details. For more on bedtime strategies and J&J Baby Bedtime products, visit Johnson's Baby Bedtime website.