Candle-Lit Bath

I have started trying to get Virginia to go to bed earlier (because I got about one chapter into the No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and realized she doesn't have a problem going to sleep, she just doesn't get enough sleep) and so I've been thinking about how we spend our evenings.

I do not bathe Virginia every night, and on the nights I do, it is not the relaxing pre-bed activity some parents enjoy with their toddlers. She gets wild in the bath: splashing, doing twists, getting really worked up. Then, she doesn't want to get out. So by the time bath-time is over we are entering a spiral of her less-than-desirable behavior and my frustration feeding off of each other and the child is wide awake.

One of my coworkers told me that she sometimes lets her kids take a bath in the dark and she throws a glow-stick in the water. They could play for hours. This got me thinking. I don't need Virginia to stay in the bath longer, but this in-the-dark thing could be a good idea. After all, NCSS recommends setting the mood for bedtime by turning off lights.

So I tried lighting some candles in the bathroom and leaving the lights off. The first couple of times, I got in the bath with Virginia, because I was a little nervous about not being able to see her as well. But we have also tried it now with her in the bath on her own. She still plays, but she plays in a much more calm way that doesn't make her extra awake. And then, she agrees to get out of the bath when I ask her to.

Of course, the ultimate goal was for this to lead up to an easy bedtime on the nights that she does take baths, and I think she has gone to sleep better, too.

Regarding the earlier bedtime: We are still working on getting it even a little bit earlier since Virginia has to wake up so early during the week. It is hard on me spending less time with her in the evenings BUT she really is going to bed pretty well, she wakes up happier (which makes our mornings much better) and she is even getting better at naps on the weekends (which was originally why I picked up the book). So it is a challenge, but worth it - even when I have to be creative about baths.