This post is sponsored by SLEEP NUMBER® as part of an ongoing partnership to discuss Family & Rest in our home…helping our family be the best they can be.
Upon returning home from our 6-week summer trip to Michigan which sometimes rendered me sardine’d with two kids in twin beds, double beds, queen beds, hotel beds, cabin beds and basically any bed but my own bed, I have a whole new respect for my space. That first night home, we rolled in late, left suitcases in the car, tucked well-traveled kids into their beds, and when it was finally my turn to retreat, I was giddy to return to this little haven and slide into a kind of comfort I had missed–my own bed. After a long time of keeping our room the catch-all room and sacrificing our comfort to focus on other areas of the house, I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a space we love, a bed I adore and comforts that make me think every single day when I walk in there, “This makes me so happy.” The after effects of these comforts just keep on delivering, one most notable: this room stays clean! Easily! Which has never been something I could say before about my bedroom.
We had very little time to transition from vacation life and sleep habits to real life routines and bed times, but I knew it was important, especially considering Nella would be going from a half-day preschool schedule to a full-day kindergarten one this year, and every mama knows those first school days just wipe those kiddos out. Sleep drives one’s overall health and well being, and I want our family to be our best, most productive selves this season. Knowing our family, where we are challenged and what makes us perform best, we’re focusing on a few areas to ensure consistent rest routines as we transition from slow summer days to a more demanding season. Our goal? Maintain that peaceful foundation of slow summer days, even if our schedule says otherwise. How?
ELIMINATE SCRAMBLING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
Scrambling to get homework done before bed, scrambling to make lunches in the morning–the scramble makes us all crazy and raises the energy in our home, definitely affecting our rest. There were too many times last year when we were finishing math pages right before bed because I had let Lainey put it off, or I was jumping right from REM to a full-on kitchen frenzy to get lunches packed and make it out the door on time. This year, we’re planning our time more appropriately to protect those precious moments before bed and the first quiet ones in the morning. It’s homework right after school–no ifs, ands or buts. And while homework is being finished, I make the next day’s lunch and get them into the refrigerator. Already, it’s paying off. “Doesn’t this feel amazing to have our whole evening wide and free?” I reminded Lainey, “and to wake up with no pressure to do anything but enjoy the morning before school starts?” Less frantic means less stress which automatically improves our rest.
NIGHTLY READING
Chapter books, picture books, mom books, kid books–there are books on all of our nightstands, and whether we read three pages or three chapters, it’s the perfect preface to sleep and a peaceful bridge for our minds to go from thinking all day to turning off for the night.
I’ve been reading some books that are funny enough to read parts aloud to Brett lately, and I love the nightly ritual.
And while I love reading aloud to my kids and think the snuggle time huddled together in bed over a book is such a great pre-bed tradition, it doesn’t always work out to do that every single night. While we shoot for that, sometimes our kids enjoy quietly looking at books on their own a bit now too. And having a big sister that can read to the littler ones? Best ever.
START BEDTIME ROUTINES EARLIER
Routines take a little longer for an independent toddler who wants to do everything himself, so we’re starting bedtime routines earlier. I asked Dash to brush his teeth when it was still plenty light out the other day and Brett said, “But it’s too early.” What he forgot is that it’s never too early to put a toddler to bed–and also that Dash can kill 40 minutes brushing his teeth because WATER = FUN.
Sometimes getting three kids in bed can feel overwhelming at night when I still have a lot to do, but the earlier we start, the easier the process is.
LITTLE COMFORT PLEASURES
My favorite area to focus on. The rest ritual is a ceremony, perhaps the most important one of our day, and so I love to invest in things to make this ceremony as beautiful as it can be. Happy, inviting spaces that make us feel good; delicate linens that make us want to stay in bed all day; the perfect pillow, a nightstand candle in a relaxing scent; the comfiest blanket for our littlest sleepers.
We’ve been so happy not only with our SLEEP NUMBER® bed, but with their bedding as well. We have their PUR-DOWN comforter and Smart Classics Duvet set, and it’s absolute heaven–so much that while my neighbor and I were talking bedding the other day, I dragged her to my room and made her get in my bed–“Like lay down between the covers, you have to see how amazing this feels.” And then we both laid there like weird people, sighing loudly with our eyes closed because HEAVEN.
They also have a whole line of Sleep Number® Kids’ bedding that’s soft and comfy yet still colorful, sweet and simple. I get so happy seeing my kids cuddled up in sweet linens, thinking about how comfy they must feel.
Lastly, for me, I’m watching what I eat and drink a lot more this season. After a summer of celebrating and many social gatherings, it feels really good to cut back on alcohol and late evening snacks. I sleep so much better and feel 100% more rested and energized in the morning when I choose ice water with lemon in a chilled glass or chamomile in my favorite cup rather than a beer or glass of wine in the evening. Moderation is powerful. Rest is fueling.
Thank you, SLEEP NUMBER® for creating great opportunities to talk about the importance of good rest. As always, SLEEP NUMBER® delivers unparalleled sleep experiences by offering high-quality, innovative sleep products and services. We love ours!
Okay so I SHOT for reading before bed every night, but it was such a challenge to find a book all three would lie still for, that we’d get through a book and then I’d realize 3 months later that we weren’t reading at night anymore and start again. But I loved bathtime – I remember after supper they’d troop upstairs for a 6pm bath, that lasted forever, and bedtime at 8. I was always falling asleep in my kid’s beds but once I got up there was a second wind and a little grown-up time yay! The thing that you wrote about that, when looking back, I would ABSOLUTELY do again is homework right after school. Matt’s dad commented, “oh don’t do that, let them play first” but he didn’t understand how difficult it was to corral them back to the kitchen table. It got to be so routine that they never even questioned it – just walked in the door, threw their books on the table, sat down with a cookie dug in. I could sit with them and help (or do the word searches myself…because, ugh, they DO need to run out and play) but then it was DONE, bookbags by the door for tomorrow and they were free. Wonderful feeling. So I’m encouraging you!! If you keep at it, they’ll never even remember they did anything differently and you won’t have to nag at all! Lastly, my room is still a mess. A gigantic mess. I can’t even tell my kids to clean theirs with a straight face, it’s too hypocritical. So I am in love with your room now and you inspire me.
See, that’s the thing! Corralling back to the table is too hard–and something always comes up within that first hour that pulls us away from homework if we don’t do it right away.
The bedroom–do it! You know me–messy and crazy, but loving this room has changed everything. It’s such a haven now–always clean, and so renewing at the end of the night. xo