Summertime sunshine, excitement and energy has made the regular bedtime routine at our house something right out of crazy town lately. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I start the routine at 6 or 7:55 p.m., it’s always well past 9 p.m. before sleep sets in and Ken and I can break from very long days.

It has left us more than a little frazzled, re-examining what the kiddo is eating, how we spend our days and what we all could possibly do to help the tiny person get a bit more shut-eye.

Then, it occurred to me. Our daughter has always been an excellent sleeper. She’s the kid who used to take a 2-hour nap in the afternoon, go back to sleep around 7 p.m. and sleep until 7 a.m., something for which I am eternally grateful.

I realized a few nights ago that her newly developed issues with sleep might actually have something to do with the fact that she was cranked from the goings on of every day and – when that used to happen in her earlier years – we used to use 2 drops of lavender essential oil into her bath every night to ease her to sleep.

Lavender has been used for thousands of years to calm nerves, soothe sore muscles, boost one’s immune system and help with circulation. I first fell in love with it while I was pregnant with our daughter as it was one of the few essential oils I could use – and bathed in it every night to relax and ease the aches and pains of a growing belly.

It couldn’t possibly be that simple, could it? Well, I slipped the lavender essential oil into her bath a few nights ago to test drive my theory.

“Smells like a bath,” she announced as she wandered gingerly into the bathroom.

“Mmmmmmmmmmmm, pretty,” she said, her go mode noticeably easing up. With that, I was pretty confident my flash of brilliance was, indeed, moderately brilliant.

After a leisurely, calm, screech-free bath (which never happens when I’m the bath giver) she was asleep within 30 minutes. I kid you not, well before 8 p.m., asleep.

So, that’s my remedy: 2 drops of lavender essential oil in the bath – I can’t guarantee it for everyone. But, even if it works for a week, I’m sold.

You can find it at spots such as Edible Island and Seeds Natural Food Market. You can also look for Island View Lavender products locally grown at Grassi Point Market in Royston and other great locations.