Bedtime with three kids can be summed up in essentially one word: exhausting. Everyone has the end of day sillies, a pocketful of excuses for why they don’t want to go to bed, and I am usually running out of steam, fast. One thing we have learned as each of our kids are at different ages, is that we have to continue to switch things up and adapt.
For the first time ever, all of our kids are going to bed at the same time. We kick off the bedtime show at around 6:45, with the girls favorite thing in the world, MILK. If you’ve been reading here a while, you know that one of our longtime partners is fairlife ultra-filtered milk, we exclusively drink fairlife not only because it tastes so good, but because it has 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than regular milk. And when you’re giving your kids a full cup of it right before bed that last point matters! 😉 Having their night time milk has not only been comforting for our kids, but also helps to keep their bellies full & sleep better.
We call Claire “the milk man” because she loves to watch me pour the milks & deliver them to the girls as they snuggle up in the chair for their movie. It’s the cutest!! The girls watch about 30 minutes of a movie, and then it’s upstairs we go to brush teeth. I usually rock Claire for a few minutes while Brandon reads a story to the big girls (or if they’re lucky, he makes up a story for them which is incredibly cute). Everyone is tucked in with prayers, kisses & lights out by 7:45. However. This does not mean they are sleeping at 7:45. Claire usually falls right asleep, like within five minutes. Bless her heart. The dancing queens on the other hand, are usually telling stories, switching beds, or like last night, sneaking out of their beds to fully dress up (ballet shoes included) and making clip on earrings out of washi tape until I heard them giggling about an hour later. I tried SO hard to keep a straight face when I walked into their room.
Everyone sleeps until about 7:30 in the morning, when they are jumping into our bed asking for their morning milk. Bonus, fairlife is extra creamy and lactose free, not only will your kids love it on their cereal but it is also an amazing addition to your coffee!!
This post was in partnership with fairlife ultra-filtered milk, thank you for supporting the brands that support our blog.
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Brittany says
Thanks for introducing me to this brand! I’ve been buying it ever since your last post awhile back. It’s a game changer for us because our little girl doesn’t eat meat of any kind so the 50% more protein makes me worry a little less! Thanks! ?
Andrea Johnson says
What kind of cups are those the girls have in the pictures? Want to get rid of the sippy cup at bedtime. My little girl likes to drink water out of a cup but loves her sippy cup for milk!
Sara says
They are amazing! Munchkin 360 cup. We got ours at Target!
Kray says
Is this sold in Canada? Would love to try it!
Allison says
Munchkin 360 cup…we love these also! So much better than the sippy!
Jean S says
Sounds like a great routine. Do the girls still nap? If so for how long?
Jessica Garvin says
Only Claire naps, and from about 1:15-3:45 🙂
Jean S says
Thanks for sharing. I know every child is different but I’m still trying to figure out how long my 2year,3month old should be napping.
Ps loving this milk!
Kelly says
So I’m curious if Eloise is potty trained at night and if so, how she makes in through night time with a cup of milk before bed? My daughter is 3 too and she can’t stay dry at night. Any tips!?
Jessica Garvin says
Hey Kelly! Our kids would never give up their bedtime milk (they only drink milk at breakfast and before bed, so they look forward to it!), so when they were potty training, we just cut the milk down to half a cup, and gave it to them at least 45 min before bed so they could pee before going to sleep. Ours stayed in diapers or pull ups at bedtime for a few weeks until they were consistenly dry. Hope that is helpful!! XO
Kayla R. says
I am totally NOT a milk drinker; never have been, until I read your very first partnered post about Fairlife Ultra-Filtered Milk. I have to say… we have been hooked on it ever since! It is seriously the best. The kids love it, no upset tummies…ever, and the chocolate milk is SOO good. Thank you for introducing this to our family. It has been a complete game changer!
Kelly says
We switched to Fairlife after your first post about the brand. I educated my in-laws and they’ve switched too. The big kicker for all of us is the low sugar content and high protein content. Great partnership Jessica. Good choice!
Anonymous :-) says
Aw!! Miss Claire is getting so big!! It seems like in the last two months her hair has grown a mile long, and the fact that she’s rocking all them pearly whites absolutely amazes me!! Of course, let’s not forget her sweet little chunky legs. Keep doing what you are to raise your three adorable kids. Btw, do you ever plan to have more?
Sarah says
My girls love Fairlife Milk!! First heard about it on your post 🙂 Thanks!!
Our bedtime routine is similar, only about an hour earlier haha! All three are usually sound asleep by 7 which is glorious. However, we pay for it in the morning because they are all up for sure by 6:!5am at the latest. Today my 4-year-old was up at 5:15 lol.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
-Sarah http://www.thefrugalmillionaireblog.com
Laura says
You do such a great job of having a sponsored post that doesn’t feel like a sponsored post! I think that’s a true talent for a blogger! My boys have milk every night too, so I’ll have to try this!
Jessica Garvin says
That is such a sweet compliment, thank you Laura!
Julie says
So curious how exactly you manage to cut off the movie after 30 minutes! Would be happy to incorporate a similar wind down including a show/movie but my kids are such monsters when screen time is over that I cringe at the thought of starting the whole thing off with upset grouches!!
Jessica Garvin says
A timer! We set it on our phones, it’s literally the only way the kids will believe us that the time is up, and honestly it helps us too because sometimes it just feels so good to sit down and all of a sudden it’s way past bedtime. We try to give them a five min warning, and then when the timer goes off they are just like OK LETS GO. 😉 Hope that helps!!! XO