Sleep is one of the most important factors in releasing growth hormones, most especially for very young babies.While your baby sleeps, her little body produces 3x more growth hormones.

The good news is there is a way to promote better sleep for your baby: through a consistent nightly bedtime routine.

Learn more about the JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Routine, clinically proven to stretch your baby´s sleep by as much as 23%.

In addition to the JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Routine and products, there are countless other ways you can help your baby fall asleep and even share bonding moments in the process!

A well thought of bedtime routine will surely give your baby uninterrupted sleep and most importantly, can be a wonderful chance to bond with your baby.  I’m glad Johnson’s & Johnson has made amazing products that compliment the bedtime routine.

If you haven’t established a bedtime routine then perk your ears up.  There are a number of ways you can do it and I hope you can learn from what I am about to tell you.  I know we have different situations in life – some of us are working moms, others are stay-at-home moms, and maybe others are Dads – either single Dads raising their kids while working  or just hands on Daddies who want to connect with their kids in a very special way just before bedtime.  I am fortunate enough to share with you three different situations where I incorporated the bedtime routine. The first one was when I was a working mom, the second was when I became a stay-at-home mom, and the third was different because it was through my hubby’s eyes and how he would do the bedtime routine his own way.

A.  WORKING MOM

When Z was very little I was a working mom.  I was tired when I got home and had no energy to do anything.  Still, I wanted to teach him something especially during his bedtime.  Somehow I suck at reading stories and I get bored easily but one thing I love was singing nursery songs.  I knew my son would love it too so I sang to him all the kiddie songs I knew.  Z was only 1 or 2 years old then and he would listen quietly as I sang.  I didn’t know if it had any effect on him all I knew was I just sang my heart out and hope for the best.  Then I got ingenious and decided to use technology to my advantage.  I could have played a CD for him before he sleeps but we didn’t have a CD player.  So what did I do?  I recorded my voice in my cellphone.  Imagine my not so good singing voice being recorded and played every night without fail.  My hubby – who is a good singer  – used to chide me with my antics but I didn’t care since my son doesn’t know that his mommy’s voice suck and he continued to listen attentively even though it was just a recording.  I was still there with him every night at bedtime and I still sing but when I get tired I turn on the recording to continue the singing for me.  Did it have an impact on my little one?  It sure did!  We were visiting relatives one day and they were playing with Z.  He was about two at that time and when they asked him to sing he started singing not one but all the songs I recorded.  It was a really proud moment for me to know he was listening to his mommy even though at times it was just a recording of my voice. LOL!

B. STAY-AT-HOME MOM

Now, when Z was five I attended the Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Routine Seminar.  There they taught us mommies the 3 -step bedtime routine already tested by the experts.  The good thing about Johnson & Johnson is they have developed three products that we can use with each of the three steps.  I was in a bit of dilemma though because my boy was already five and not a baby anymore.  That’s why I decided to put the JOHNSON´S® Bedtime Routine to test its effectiveness on my five-year-old.  Here is an excerpt of my post taken from my other blog on what I did to put the JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Routine to test:

Step 1. Give him a warm bath or punas using JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Bath.

I never give Z a bath at night even when he was a baby. He rarely sweats a lot so I was contented on giving him a once-a-day bath. I never even give him a punas at night. I’m one of those moms who thinks a little dirt here and there could actually be good for him. If something falls on the floor I say, “Of course dear, you can still eat it.”

Now that he is five, however, everything changed. He became three times more active! Just before the sun goes down you can find him outside playing with our neighbors. I let him play all he wants because he’s an only child and the interaction with other kids would be good for him. The downside is when he comes home he is so sweaty, his hands and feet are black, and even his knees are black from all the playing. He is so dirty that even I can’t take it anymore.

Z was not so keen on the idea of him taking a bath at night. He quickly retorted, “Naligo na ako, di ba?” (I already took a bath, right?” but I was prepared for a battle. Knowing how he loves taking a bath with warm water I quickly prepared a warm bath for him. That and I think his not-so-good feeling with the dirt and grime from too much playing outdoors made him relented. I told him we’re not going to use his usual soap anymore but the Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Bath . I know it’s designed for babies but there’s never a grime too tough to remove with gentle scrubbing. So with that Z came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed and squeaky clean. He must have loved it so much he never objected for a bath at night ever since.

Step 2. Give him a soothing massage using JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Lotion.

I know that massages are for babies. It’s also for my husband who comes home tired after a night of hard work. I wasn’t sure how it would benefit my five year old. Would he even keep still while I massage him – I didn’t know.
Not to give up that easily, I put step 2 into action. As soon as I dressed him up after taking a bath I told him I would massage him with his own lotion. He was interested and obliged. I massaged his chest, his back, his arms, and legs. He was attentive the whole time. I found that this was the perfect time to talk to him.  So while I was giving him a soothing massage I also asked him questions about anything. If normally it’s hard for him to focus when I was asking him about certain things because he wants to play, play, and play during this time we can definitely engage in a meaningful conversation. Now I know that massages are perfect for my five year old. It’s definitely a perfect mother and son bonding moment.

Step 3. Time for some Quiet Time

After massaging him with lotion, we start our third step but before that I put Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Powder on him. Reading books was what we did for step three. I already shared to you Z’s favorite book, Goodnight Moon. That’s not the only book we read at night. Z likes this part of the bedtime routine so much that we read three books. It’s great that he likes it so much but I have to be honest here. No matter how I love him so reading the same books every night makes me bored. At one point I was afraid I was going to fall asleep first before he did so sometimes when I’m particularly tired I say to him, “Maybe we can just read one book tonight, Z.” Or sometimes I just breeze through the book so that we can finish faster.

Something happened though that is worth sharing. It was Monday and we were only at Day 3 of doing our bedtime routine. I had just finished reading the book, Go Dog Go, and since it was already the third one I breezed right through it and finished reading it out to him in half the time.

I was hoping he wouldn’t notice how I “cheated” him on the third book.  After I finished reading , I closed the book shut  and looked at him. I was hoping he wouldn’t let me repeat it.  He was silent for a second or two and then  he took the book from me. He opened it and the next thing he did really SURPRISED me that it took  me a minute before I was able to grab the camera.

That’s my son “reading” the book from memory.  I was so stunned that’s why I couldn’t get the camera fast enough. Hearing him read that book brought tears to my eyes. You might be wondering why I was emotional.  It’s because if there’s one thing you still don’t know about Z it’s the fact he doesn’t want me to teach him to speak English. I already tried lots of times but every time I start he would make me stop. So this is the first time I’ve heard him trying to speak in English and also trying to read a book on his own. It made me realize that even though I didn’t put much thought on our reading time he was very much into and he was really listening attentively. That is the benefit the bedtime routine gave us. Aside from a perfect bonding time for the two of us I realized it was also the perfect opportunity to teach him something.

C.  DADDY’S BEDTIME ROUTINE

For the Dads out there – and of course, Moms too -  maybe my husband can teach you a thing or two about bedtime routines. He is a natural with kids and he showed me a totally different way to do it. Good thing I was able to capture part of it on video too. So here I present to you a different Bedtime Routine – Dad’s own way.

Step 1. My hubby grew up a prayerful child and that’s one of the things he wanted to impart to his son. They said to teach the child to pray as soon as he can speak and I’m glad through Daddy’s help Z has learned the importance of praying. So their bedtime routine always starts with a short and simple prayer.

Step 2. Did you know that studies have shown a sufficient increase in mathematical abilities, social skills, memory, literacy, and general intelligence in children who take music lessons? Yes, that’s already a proven fact but we don’t need to enroll our kids in expensive music classes. Why do we have to when we can do it in the comfort of our homes – just before they sleep. Don’t know how to do it? Then just watch how my hubby does it with our son. In this video, they’re singing the song, Open the Eyes of My Heart, by Michael Smith.

If you look closely at the video you can see how my son adores his Dad and how his Dad adores him.  While singing they never take their eyes off each other and it’s obvious they both enjoy their simple activity.  I guess this video is enough to convince you how powerful a bedtime routine can be and how great an impact it can have to you and your child’s relationship.  It doesn’t have something that’s boring – it can be something that’s both fun and enjoyable for the parent and the child and my hubby showed the perfect way to do it.

Step 3.  To wind down, hubby will open the Children’s Bible and read Z a short Bible story.  Z’s Bible has lots of pictures and it personally picked by his Dad at the bookstore.  He was really particular with the Bible that he bought (we went to three different bookstores before we found the perfect one) – he wanted something with lots  and lots of colorful pictures.  The pictures would keep Z interested, he said, and that’s his secret.  It worked because Z would always listen attentively every time his Dad would read him a Bible story.

Step 4.  Dad and Z would close their routine with another prayer.  Z has his own special prayer asking Jesus to keep “scary man” out of his dreams.  He would never fail to pray for this every night and I guess it’s his secret why he always sleep soundly at night.

I hope you learned a thing or two about the three bedtime routines I told you about. I am actually on the way and we will be having a new addition to our family in a few months. I’m so excited that now I have lots of experiences with the bedtime routine. With the help of technology, JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Products, and of course, what my  I learned from my husband I am confident our new baby will have a good night’s sleep.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my very long post. I just had to share with all the moms out there what I know. I’m sure you also have your own experiences. Please share your experiences at here and get a chance to win Johnson’s Baby Products.