Ishu’s bedtime routine looks like this.

A bottle. Sometimes a bath. Tylenol for teething. A drop of Vitamin D.

Brush his teeth with papa.

Papa and Ishu turn off the light, close the blinds, and turn on the sound machine.

Pacifier in mouth.

Mama is waiting in bed. Papa lays Ishu down next to Mama. Gives Ishu a kiss, says good night, and closes the door behind him.

Sometimes he’ll want to nurse to sleep. Sometimes he’s too tired to do that so he’ll just curl up next to me. But, every time, I’ll sing him Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The Conscious Discipline version.

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star. What a wonderful baby you are! With bright eyes and nice round cheeks, A talented person from head to feet. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, What a wonderful baby you are!

And, every time I get to the word, “baby,” he takes out his pacifier or stops nursing and says, “Baby.” No matter how tired he is, he does it at least once.

People always tell you that you do bedtime routines because the predictability helps soothe and comfort your baby. Well, friends, the anticipation of getting that sweet, soft “baby” each time definitely soothes and comforts this mama too.