If you have 2 under or 2 or similar what does your daily and bedtime routine look like? How do you do bed time and bath time? DH is back at work next week and I am starting to freak out a little about having to take sole care of a 2 week old and a 20 month old....Im also sick at the moment so that sucks. DH works shift work so quite often bedtime will be 100% me. Help!!
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Well our daily routine looks something like this:
10-10:30 wake up and head outside
We eat breakfast outside
Noon: get dressed and head out to errands
pick up lunch while we're out
Come back and sit out back
Wait for my husband to come home
Maybe hand the kids over for 30 mins to sew
Fix or buy dinner
9:30 put both babies in the bath
10 nurse Pi and rock to sleep while Zuma sits
on the bed next to us. She usually watches tv or reads a book or pokes us.
10:15 if my husband puts zuma to bed, she screams bloody murder. If I put her to bed she just lays right down.
Midnight: I go to sleep.We spend a lot of time during the day just playing outside and enjoying the sunshine.
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I'm not sure giving you our 3 under 2 schedule is very useful but I remember being scared to do it myself but you get in a quick rhythm. Hang in there girlie!
@anonysquire: So jealous of your sleep situation! -
@marionberry: Girl, I get so much crap about our sleep situation. But I'm not a morning person at all (I guess 6 years of the graveyard shift will do that) and die if they get up early. It works for us!!
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@anonysquire: thanks
I dont think I could bath them together.... but i think i will need to put #2 down to sleep first then do #1 's bath/bed routine. We spend heaps of time outside too as #1 is so happy outdoors -
@marionberry: I totally want to hear your schedule!! You must be supermum with wrangling 3!!
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@Mrs squirreld: Ours is:
toddler awake between 5:30 and 6:30. Cartoons for toddler while I drink my coffee and read the news and try not to die of exhaustion.
8:00 - everyone up and getting dressed and cleaned up for "bye bye time"
9:00 - activity - gymboree, playgroup, errands, library, gymnastics
11:30 am - lunch at home
noon- naptime
2-2:30 - up again. If nice, we usually go for a walk to the park, if not nice, I clean and do dinner prep while trying to manage the two.
6 pm - dinner and clean-up.
7 pm - cartoons and get ready for books and bed
8 pm - bedtime for toddler
10:30 pm - finally get baby to sleep - she's fussy and nursing lots from about 5 til 10:30 pm.I often put them to sleep by myself, and to be honest, I push the cartoons a little longer, just read a quick book to my toddler and put her in bed, and I leave the baby to cry a bit while I do it because I don't really have another option. I figure once the baby isn't colicky at toddler's bedtime, it will get easier.
My kids are 22 months and 5 weeks old.
ETA: for washing - DD #1 has a shower with her dad in the mornings, and I do DD #2's bath after DD #1 is in bed.
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Mine were the exact same age difference and my husband also works shift schedule. I was fortunate that my mom would stay over to help. But many times my boys just wanted me so we have to make it work.
When DS2 was a baby, bedtime and bath time would change. When he was taking a late nap, I would bathe DS1 so the time would be different most nights. I'd often put DS2 in the rnp while putting DS1 to sleep
Some nights were really hard and I would have mini breakdowns. But other nights were fine. It definitely gets easier as they get older.
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Since you requested it...on weekdays it's like this:
3:30-4: DH gets up and showers.
4-5: I get ready while DH takes care of either twin if they wake (which they often do right now).
5: DH leaves for work.
5-7: both twins wake at some point and are fed. I pump around 6.
7: DS1 wakes up.
7-8: we all play together and get ready for the day.
8-815: we get everyone in the car for daycare.
830: all kids get dropped off and then I head to work.
9-4: I work and pump 3x there.
430: DH or I pick the kids up from daycare. Both twins are fed.
5-6: playtime and dinner for DS1. Sometimes we eat too.
6-7: I feed the twins while DH bathes DS1 and gets him down for bed. Usually at least one twin will fall asleep by 7.
7-9: finish getting the twins to sleep, get everything ready for the next day, enjoy a couple of minutes to ourselves before bed.
9-3: twins sleep, but may wake once, be fed, and go back to bed.
3-330: I pump.On weekends it's a very similar routine except no one wakes early to get ready and we put ds1 down for a nap about 11.
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@marionberry: Umm, when do you sleep?
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@anonysquire: I have gotten crap for the fact that my 3 year old often goes to bed after ten, but I love it. She's fast asleep now, at 8:30, and we had a really fun evening out last night watching her father play soccer. She takes after him, so the night is their best time together. It's awesome.
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@sarac: yes! We never have to leave outings early to make it home for bedtime.
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@Cherrybee: I usually go to bed by 9:30 and am pretty much guaranteed sleep until about 1 (although not always) and then get sleep again until 3:30. Sometimes though, they wake up at 1:30 and I can't get them down prior to 3:30, so I only get about four hours of sleep. It's rough! I am living on lots of coffee and caffeine right now and can't wait until they at least sleep 9-3 consistently!
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Ugh it ate my whole post
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@Rockies11: Thankyou! This is pretty much exactly how it will be for me... I just have to get over the fact that someone might need to cry huh?
My baby has pretty much the exact same witching hour(s)
@Mamasig: Thankyou
@marionberry: You are superwoman... that is all.
@MrsB2012: urgh don't you hate that.. feel free to post again if you can be bothered!Well DH has just left for work til 1am... wish me luck.. they are both napping at the moment...the calm before the storm. Toddlers dinner is prepped and house is tidy ready for them to wake!
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@Mrs squirreld: how did it go?! The first day is the worst.
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I'm just following! Baby 2 isn't home yet (Preemie) but hopefully will be soon and my age gap is the same. Cue fear :s
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@marionberry: pretty good until bedtime when E chucked a tantrum probably because he is used DH putting him to bed. Cue 45 minutes of him screaming til he fell asleep... i feel horrible. Its 11.30pm here and I cant get I to sleep. She is so gassy and upset....nothing seems to help.
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@fuzzypeaches: congrats
I hope your bub gets to come home soon 
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@marionberry: You are amazing. Seriously amazing. I'm sure your gorgeous kids make it worth it but still, you are awesome!
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Here is what our day looks like (Although we are 32 months (N) and almost 16 months(E))
4:45-5am- DH leaves for work.
5-5:30: E wakes up to nurse and then goes back to sleep.
7:30: E wakes up to nurse and start the day. N wakes up for the day around now too!
8am: Breakfast for both boys
9-11: play time and signing time
11:00- E goes down for his nap. (Nurses to sleep)
12:30 - N and I have lunch
1:00pm- N will sometimes go down for a nap but most often not now.
If no nap then reading time and some PBS until E gets up.
2:00pm - E is up by now. He will nurse and eat lunch.
2:30-5:30: play time or errands (sometimes therapy)
6pm- Nurse E/Start dinner
6:30pm- Dinner as a whole family
8-9:30- reading and some screen time before bed.
9:30-10pm- Both boys down for bed.
11- DH and myself go to bed. -
We were in your shoes last year! Those first few weeks can be a tough adjustment but you will get into a routine and will not even be able to remember what it was like with just your older LO!
I think as far as solo bath and bedtime in the early days, I would give my older DS a bath while DS2 was napping in the swing. I didn't attempt to bathe them both at the same time until DS2 was older and could at least sit up. Honestly, DS2 did not get frequent baths when he was a tiny baby - maybe just like twice a week! DH usually is home by bedtime but a few times I would put DS2 in the bouncy seat in DS1's room while reading stories and doing the bedtime routine. This is what I did for naps when DS2 was not already napping. -
@Mrs squirreld: I'm sorry. Like I said, today will be the worst and it will get better from here, as you learn to get used to this new way of life and create new "regulars". Jack hates when I put him down to bed too. It takes way longer than when DH does. As far as the gassiness and irritability, I can relate. The twins suffer from that a lot - it's always keeping them up at night. I've found that supplementing them with 1-2 "sensitivity" formula bottles a day seems to help them pass my milk and reduce the constipation. With Jack we used gripe water successfully but the twins just vomit it up every time. Thinking of you! Hugs!
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@marionberry: you are a superhero!
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@Mrs squirreld: I am thinking of you and cheering you on. We routinely deal with 1hr to 1.5hr toddler screaming per night and its awful. We also had a colicky baby and that was worse. Both together sounds horrific. Sending lots of love.
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@marionberry: You are amazing!
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@Mrs squirreld: @travelgirl1: @plantains: @Cherrybee: You ladies are all so sweet. I am only superwoman because I have no other option. My husband is not handling all these babies well, so I really have to be the rock and hold it all together. They say you'll sleep when you're dead, right?!
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Our schedule-
8:00am- H wakes up
8:30am- change H diaper
9:00am- H goes back to sleep (only wakes to poop)
10:30ish- H up again
11:00- H wakes up S. I go make breakfast
Between 12-1 we have lunch
2:00pm- nap time for both kids
Between 4-5 they wake up
Dinner at 6
Movie til 8 on bath night. (Every other day baths unless super dirty)
Bath at 8
Bed by 9H and S bathe together. Have since H was born. I put the infant tub in the tub with S and trained her to be nice and not splash.
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I was just thinking of writing a blog post about this ( although my older one is closer to 3 now ). My kids are on a pretty set routine with an earlyish wake up and early bedtimes. Not sure if it would be helpful but I can certainly try to get it done if you'd like to see it
If no nap then reading time and some PBS until E gets up.Reply
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