In bed with Mud&Tutus

Nicola shares her experience as a single parent on her blog Mud&Tutus and she has talked to us about her family sleeping routine!

My mornings normally start at... 6:30am unfortunately... we leave for school at 8:30 & I need 2 hours to get us all (& the dogs) up, fed and dressed. It’s obviously a totally different story on the weekend.

My alarm sounds like... oh gosh, I couldn’t even tell you, but it’s not pleasant and it gets snoozed at least twice.

My morning mood usually is... I am a happy person even first thing in the morning, you have to be with excited toddlers/ kids in the house don’t you, I’m even perkier after my first cup of tea.

My everyday breakfast... a massive protein shake, filled with fruit & veg & coconut milk.

My special breakfast... oooh we love pancakes on the weekend, with strawberries & lashings of syrup.

My babies/kids bedtime... our bedtime routine starts super early, bath, book & bed. As it’s just me and the 2 kids I have to start early with the hope of getting them both asleep for 7:30pm. Tabitha usually is asleep by 7pm, it’s just the little one who takes longer to drop off.

My kids sleep... in a double bed together but we do a hell of a lot of bed hopping and usually I wake up with at least one in my bed.

My bedtime... every night I have the intention of going to bed at 10pm but it’s usually between 11:30pm and 12pm when I finally turn the lamp off.

What I always do before turning off the lights... lather my face in night cream and check if my alarm is set.

What I like to wear to sleep... I am a “full pyjamas” kind of girl. I get super cold at night so something snuggly, long sleeved and usually socks as well.

What I consider important in order to have a good rest… I plug my phone in to charge away from my bed, otherwise I’m tempting to check it when the kids wake up.

Best tip for a good night sleep... the best way I find to relax is to read or listen to music rather than scroll mindlessly on my phone before the light goes off, it definitely helps me fall to sleep quicker.

On my nightstand I have... a huge vase of eucalyptus, candles, night cream & lip balm.

My favourite sleeping position... has to be on my right side, hand tucked under my pillow.

My favourite music before going to bed... oooh it’s got to be London Grammar, even my kids fall asleep to it. In fact it was the only music that would calm Tabby when she was a baby, I think it’s because I always used to listen to it when she was in my tummy, in fact I even went to a concert of theirs while I was pregnant.

What keeps me awake at night... remembering jobs I need to do so I make sure I keep a pad & pen close to write these down if I do wake up & panic if I’ve forgotten something.

What I do in order to fall asleep... not much really, I am constantly exhausted so can usually fall asleep quickly.

Yesterday I dreamt about... you know what, I very rarely remember my dreams, I don’t think it helps having such broken sleep.

My favourite bedroom feature is... my high ceilings & pink walls. I really do love my bedroom, it’s my favourite room in the house. 

What I like the most about Zizzz products… I adore how soft they feel against our skin and the fact that they are all organic & natural which makes me feel confident as both my babies can suffer with sensitive skin.