Toddler Favourites: Bedtime Bathtime

You've probably already established a bedtime routine with your toddler and we all have our own approach that works for us and our little ones. Ours seems to do the trick (*touches wood*) and both Mr TMBB and I love it as much as our boy seems to.

Bathtime is the boys' time in our household, when they can have fun without the worry-wart (me) panicking about whether Charlie's going to slip over or how flooded the bathroom gets! I'll pop my head round every now and then to giggle at what they're getting up to and see how well the hubs has avoided being drenched, but the sounds of laughter are so special that I want to leave them to it. Bath toys are a must and we've had the ducks, sea creature rattles and balls since Charlie was little. As the hubs is in charge of bathtime, he gets to veto or approve toy selection (he's a tough critic), but even he was impressed by the latest addition of this tug boat from M&S which has flashing lights, nautical themed music and (wait for it) a chimney which spouts water!

Obviously, choosing the right wash products is crucial and we have a few favourites that we've come to rely on, starting with Burt's Bees Baby Bee, -TEN- and Little Butterfly London. They're all so gentle that we can use them on our newborn too. We still use Munchkin's soft rinsing jug as it makes it so much quicker to rinse off any shampoo or bubbles.

We gave up on baby bath towels a long time ago (although we may not have done had we seen The Little White Company's 1m square hooded bath sheet which my in-laws bought for Holly) and find it much easier to use a normal bath towel. Then it's Pampers, a vest and some cosy pjs. Our current favourites are these gorges f&f cloud pair for warm nights (similar) or this gingham pair from The Little White Company for when it's chillier (we have them in red too and they're equally cute).

Almost ready for bed, it's a nighttime bottle of milk with a story, cuddled up on the cosy armchair in the nursery. This is my favourite bit and I tend to be on story duty. If you're looking for ideas take a peek at From The Bookshelf.... There's something so special about this part of the routine and it's incredibly calming. I read once that, apart from the obvious benefits, if you read to your children they'll come to associate books and reading with love as humans attach emotions to activities. I love that!

We've used The Little White Company sleeping bags for a long time; they keep little wrigglers cosy when covers would be lost. We have different togs so that, just as with the pyjamas, we can ensure he's just the right temperature whatever the weather while he snuggles up with his favourite Jellycat teddies.