Hellobee

Babies thrive on routine, and a consistent bedtime routine is something that many parents introduce early on. A bedtime ritual doesn’t seem to prepare my vampire baby for drifting off to sleep, but at least it gives me something consistent to sign. It’s easy to sign and verbalize the word before the start of each activity. I read an anecdote that a parent had forgotten a step of the routine and the baby got upset and frantically signed book.

Signing might also be helpful in allowing a baby to anticipate events and prevent meltdowns, thereby avoiding an upset baby that would otherwise have a toothbrush thrust into their mouth without warning, for example. Some people don’t involve a bath as part of a bedtime routine because it’s hard to consistently fit in every evening, especially after parents have come home from work. I was surprised how physically challenging baths turned out to be – squatting down and awkwardly trying to bathe a floppy sack of bricks while contorting my body around the toilet –  and I’m a relatively small, flexible person. I didn’t understand how people did this day in and day out. I tried showering with my baby at about the 9 month mark and wished I’d done it sooner! So much easier, and the sign for it is super fun.

I remember my bedtime routine as a child always involved a prayer with my mom, so I drew up the action for that sign here as well. I had read in a baby sign language book the sign for bed was much easier for a baby to reproduce than the sign for sleep. I’ve included the sign for pajamas below, and since it is essentially “sleep clothes,” I am going to use the sign for bed instead of sleep so it’s not too confusing.