Reading a Book Before Bed

Keep with the book, and always the same book. She will become familiar w/ the pics and story. Babies need to be exposed to words. They need to hear at least 3 books a day to develop strong vocab and language.

My kids didn't "sit" for reading at night until they were about 2 1/2. We didn't really incorporate it into the routine until around age 2. For my son, we sing rock a bye baby and lullabye and goodnight. For my daughter, we have a bunch of things we say everynight. You can have a routine without the reading until she gets a bit older.

I think we started the book at bedtime routine more towards the one year mark for the very same reason as that which you listed :)

How about sing her a song instead of a book before bed?

She may be a little young for stories but nursery rhymes are great and just hearing momma or daddy talk to her is so important. Some books my kids loved at a young age were, Good night Moon. The pictures are really simple and the rhythm of the story helps put them to sleep.

We read a lot to our 1 year old, and she spends a good chunk of the day handing us books to read to her. :) Her current favorites are picture books of animals.

When she was 6 months, I did not read to her as part of a bedtime routine...I didn't start that until 8 months. At 6 months, I bathed and massaged her, said a prayer (which I still say with her now), and as she nursed, I sang 2 songs. That was it.

Now, she still has a bath and massage, but after the bath she loves playing around on our bed and acting goofy, so it's a bit harder to get her to wind down. I still do the same prayers, and the same songs, as I nurse. She is read to a lot during the day and I find that it's okay not to make it part of her bedtime routine at this age...we'll pick it up again later on I'm quite sure.

I would try singing...

At this young age, you don't have to read all the words. Focus more of conversing with your child, asking questions, pointing to things of interest. "Where is the brown cow? She's up on the hill. What is she doing? ..." Use short books, lots of funny voices when you read, facial expressions, etc.

I hope you are not only reading to your infant at night!!! My 7 month old grandson loves to have us read books to him!!! We pick books with rhythm and rhyme to the words...and pictures that catch his attention. Good Night Moon, which Susanne mentioned has been one of my 32 month old grandsons bedtime books. My daughter has mentioned that the rhythm of the words just somehow help him to relax and drift off to sleep.
Pick books that don't lend themself to a lot of excitement and humor for your bedtime books...think of how you will be reading them and if the tone and tenor of your voice will be relaxing and soothing as you read it.
Do you co-sleep? My daughter just takes her son to bed and lets him nurse as she reads to him. I can see where it would be a bit less comfortable to try and sit in a rocking chair or on the sofa and read a book while your little one nurses.
If she doesn't want to relax to a book at night, maybe you could just tell her a story without the book!! I used to tell my daughters stories from my childhood, or I would make up stories that had a value or trait that I wanted to instill in them. (Honesty, trustworthiness...etc) . You could simply talk softly and quietly to your little one as she nurses and drifts off to sleep.

Don't give up! We started reading to our son every night when he was 2 or 3 months old, and I'm so glad we did. Try finding some simpler books, my son liked ones with bright colorful shapes or touch & feel pages. There are also some cute ones called Baby Faces that have close up photos of real babies. Most of those books don't have a "story" and they are only a few pages long. Just keep trying, eventually she will catch on. My son is 2.5 now and absolutely loves to read & be read to.

As for the rest of the bedtime routine, my son HATED getting massaged, he would scream the entire time! Try turning down the lights and cuddling, or singing her a song. Whatever routine you find works for you will be well worth it later. Best of luck!

You can try nursery rhymes type of books. She is too young for stories.
At this age my daughter preferred text-less books with babies. her favorites were "Baby, Baby" (with pictures of babies and animals) and "Global babies".
Then, we had some nursery rhyme books that I could sing or read, so she got into associating the book with my reading voice and bedtime routine.
Now, at 16 months, she loves "I like it when..."
If she has books around her and sees you like them, she will get into it sooner or later, too!

Keep trying--I'd be consistent with the book part and sometimes the routine of it helps them settle more than the book itself. The overtired part of it could also be making it difficult. You could try doing the book part first then the bath? Also, consider letting the baby play while you read (give her a toy while you're holding her or if she is more mobile or can sit up on her own let her play off your lap while you read a calming story) Don't give up on the reading though! As a former teacher and daycare provider now, you just have to work with your child's personality and try to be creative. I have some very active children in care that do better with books when they come over after a book has already been started. Some kids like to be in control early on:)

Why not breastfeed her until she's drowsy, put her in the crib and then read softly to her as she falls asleep? Maybe that would work. Otherwise, don't worry. Few children under 2 want to sit still for a story. Sit in her room with her during the day or in the evening and read to her while she plays. Eventually she'll crawl over to see what you are doing, but be prepared that she'll just want to eat or tear the book at first. Put some board books on a shelf or in a bin at her level so she is familiar with them and just keep reading to her. She will hear the vocabulary, the tone and inflection in your voice and pick up your love of reading. There is lots to be learned this way!

Keep reading to her. We started reading to our son at about 8 months old. Now we read 3 books before bedtime and before nap time (he is 34 months old but since age 2 (I think) we have been reading 3. We used to end up reading 6 or 7 so we had to put a limit on it. He enjoys it. We also read during the day. Once they realize what it is all about they really enjoy it.

Some will, some won't. Your best bet is to get a chunky version of something like GoodNight Moon. Where you can actively involve her in the story (ask her if she can find the mouse.. then help her). Plus it has a nighttime getting ready for bed theme. And is short. You can read it fast.. or spend 10 minutes on it.. depending on her needs and interest level. Then, turn out the light and maybe sing a lullabye.

I think what is important, is that she is read to. She may not be ready for a "story". But any baby (6 months or more) can hold the edges of the book for 30 seconds for a quick flip through. It will become routine if you do it nightly. Slowly her ability to follow the story and be still and pay attention will increase. little little by little. Keep it simple.

My youngest loves it when I sing to her and rub her back at bedtime. It's so cute. We're in such a routine. She gets in bed, turns over and pulls up her shirt for me to rub her back. I just giggle to myself. We sing the same 5 gentle songs every single night. So, if you go this route, make sure you pick songs you are happy to sing every. single. night. :)

My daughter was the same way- she didn't want to sit still and have me read to her. Even as she got older she wanted to be in charge of the book- she was the one turning pages and pointing to objects so I knew what word to say. It wasn't until she was well over a year that I could actually "read" a short story to her.

I used to sing lullabys to my daughter, that always seemed to get her attention.

We did this bedtime routine with my daughter from about 4 months of age and are still doing it now that she is 2 - dinner, story, bathtime, lotion & pjs, bedtime.

We had to do the story first cause books tend to engage her rather than wind her down, so we would never get her to bed if we did the book last! When she was under 1 year we would not do story every night, it depended on how tired she was. The bath, lotion & pjs always is what winds her down.

I had the same frustration with my son. He wouldn't sit still and didn't pay attention. He is now 23 months old and he has just in the last month started asking for a book before bed. He is also starting to carry them around and want to "read" for himself. I think you should keep the books on a low shelf so that she can reach them when she starts walking around and keep reading when she will let you but don't force it. Personally, I think the opportunity to read and availability of books is what's really important.

We went through several bedtime routines - we had to change to see what worked, or what they got tired of, etc. You can't push it. Reading to an infant is of course a good thing, but it may not be the thing your child needs/wants before bedtime. Our guys would occassionally listen to us read a book (either before bedtime or during the day) when they were that young, but generally, it wasn't something that worked well as part of the nighttime routine to calm them down. We kept classical music playing when we put them in their cribs and that seemed to work better than us reading.

When the boys were around 16-ish months, our routine was to get them ready for bed, bathed, changed, etc and then go into their bedroom and run around with our arms in the air and mock screaming! We all just laughed so much and after no more than 10 minutes (sometimes not even that long) the already sleepy boys were just exhausted and content and would gladly get in bed and immediately drop off to sleep. I know that sounds weird, but boy did it work and we all had so much fun doing it! That phase lasted a good 6 months!

You just have to try different things and see what works. Any routine takes time to establish, but if you've been trying to read to them for more than a month without the results your hoping for, then try music, maybe just no book and put to bed.

We're all told we have to do X, Y, Z with/to our babies and for the most part, we as parents do, but don't get stuck in a rut that doesn't work for you just because you've been told this is what you're supposed to do.

Good Luck,

J.

The book Good Night Moon was a staple in my family. I read it every night for over four years (two kids worth that overlapped). It is short, easy to memorize and I would just keep on sing-songing it to them as I wrestled, nursed, or rubbed their backs. I said nothing but the words in the book, eventually the understood that Good Night Moon meant it was time to settle into bed. I did not remove them from the bedroom after I started it - ever - unless absolutely necessary.

Developmentally your child can't sit still for much of anything, 25 - 30 seconds at most. How about propping a book open and reading it as you massage her? That will start the process but you don't have to expect her to be still.

As for the fussiness at the breat at bedtime. Maybe she really is too tired, is she on a schedule? If yes, back it up15 minutes. Or, try waking her from her nap about five minutes before she normally wakes on her own. Back this up a few minutes a day until she wakes up 15 minutes earlier on her own (if you let her sleep until she wakes at naps). Routine is absolutely key and so, so hard. Don't vary, you will regret it. Remember, she does not have the ability to do it "to you", she is struggling too. Something my doctor had me do was make what we called "nightime tea" in our family, a very weak solution of water and camomille (spelling) tea. Check with your pediatrician first!!! It is wonderful for us. They can drink it kind of warm if they are stuffy and it helps thin out their mucous. My girls love it and want it if they are overtired even at 8 and 9 years old. It seems to be a great excuse to fall asleep. Good luck, this too shall pass.

I would be sure to keep the story short and calming, not anything too animated when you read it. You could also try dimming the lights and using a book light for you. Good luck!

I say keep reading, but keep it very short. Maybe choose a book with tactile interaction (we had a book that had various pics of animals with a patch of fake fur to pet/stroke).

We used a lot of rocking in the rocking chair, and walking/swaying/bouncing gently on the exercise ball (in desperate cases). Also, for our little one, we found that he was sensitive to light, so we made his room very dim or even dark during winding down time.

We also avoiding any really stimulating activities that got him really excited during the hour or so before we started his bedtime routine.

Good luck; I have some not so fun memories of rocking, rocking, rocking our little one, sometimes for an hour or more, during some of his worst fussy nights. Thankfully, they were only a few, but memorable....

My daughter at that age liked the books that had interesting textures, such as "Pat the Bunny," and "Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings."

I read to her from the day I brought her home from the hospital until she was about 10.

My daughter was just like that. I would hum or sing to her until she was old enough to understand the books and pictures. It calmed her. She'll be 3 in October and I still do the bedtime routine with her, bath, lotion massage, (humming while doing both) Bible, prayer, lights out! I still hum to her to go to sleep, and it's such a beautiful bonding time for us. If she is getting fussy at the breast, maybe she's trying to wean herself. My daughter weaned herself of a pacifier at 9 months.