Bed time with 2u2

jessybian0922

Just curious what everyone does at bed time usually 1 or 2 nights a week i am alone with Ds who is 2 and DD who is 5 weeks.DS is on such a schedule bath pj's book bed that if i stray away alittle from our normal nights it is a  disater and DD isnt on any schedule yet but hopefully soon. When DH is home i dont have a problem he stays with DD but when i am alone i dont know what to do with her this of course is the time of day she is always up and cries when you put her down and if DS see's her he wont go to bed. If any of you have any tips i would appriciate it thanks!!!

chloephoebecali

I would really try to talk DS into taking an earlier bath before witching hour starts. 

CaitlinJ22

I do it alone for 3 weeks when DH is offshore. I would put DD in the bouncy in the doorway or the boppy pillow on the floor. If she was napping in the swing I would give him a quick bath. 

He's gonna have to be flexible. For me, it was whenever DD was taking a nap after dinner,  then I would get him bathed, whether than was 2 hours before bed, or 20 mins. You'll figure it out, its trial and error.

As for bedtime, I would either move DD to the floor or DS's room and then dress him, read books etc, and then put him down and grab DD and get out. OR I would put her in the swing and let her watch the toys above her and listen. Sometimes I would have to run out stick a paci in her mouth to buy more time and then run in. Some nights I had to stick DS in his crib after 1 book bc she was screaming, or some nights she slept for 30 mins and gave me plenty of time to have som alone time. It worked out and now we have a good routine.  

bulldog_mama23

I had a few random nights when DH worked late that I was alone with both of them in the first few months.  I just gave DD her bath pretty quickly after dinner while DS was happily sleeping or content to be in the bouncer (I would bring the bouncer in the bathroom so he was there with us).   When it was time for DD to go to bed, I brought DS in the room with us and read books to both of them.  Then I just put DS outside the room (our great room is close to the kids rooms) in the bouncer or swing so I could put big sister down to sleep. Luckily, DD goes down very easily so it was never a problem. 

By the time DS was 6 months old, I had both kids taking baths together and going down to sleep one right after the other. You will find what works best for you, it really is just trial and error.  

ctbride08

I agree w/ the trial and error - it kinda depends on the night what works best.

But another suggestion is to wear the baby.  I've done that through lots of bed times when she refused to be put down but i needed my hands for putting the toddler to bed.

jellybeanjean

CaitlinJ22:

As for bedtime, I would either move DD to the floor or DS's room and then dress him, read books etc, and then put him down and grab DD and get out. OR I would put her in the swing and let her watch the toys above her and listen. Sometimes I would have to run out stick a paci in her mouth to buy more time and then run in. Some nights I had to stick DS in his crib after 1 book bc she was screaming, or some nights she slept for 30 mins and gave me plenty of time to have som alone time. It worked out and now we have a good routine.  

Pretty much exactly this.  Most of the time it works, but sometimes someone has to cry a bit.

sweetpea2003

My bedtime routine has changed a lot over the past 10 months...  For the past 4.5 months my DH has been deployed so I have had to do it alone.

Right now (DD is 26 months, DS is 10 months) we do baths (I bath them one right after the other....  DS first, he gets out, into diaper and jammies, and allowed to play on the bath mat or in DD's nursery which is right next door.  I then bath DD, get her dried off, in jammies, and teeth brushed.

After they are both clean and in jammies I put DD on her reading chair with a few books and take DS into his nursery and give him one last feeding.  I read him a book and then put him to bed.

I go into DD's nursery adn join her in her chair and we read three books together.  I then tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.

I have this down to a science now and can get it all done in 30-40 minutes.  Some nights are harder because one of them wants more attention or is crabby.  But it gets done.  And the good news is that it is the end of the day so once it is over I have a few hours to myself to eat, read, watch tv, etc.  (oh yea, and do laundry, dishes, and clean the house ).

Don't be intimidated.  Just do your best.

JoannaJes

Ditto about trial and error. This is definitely one area where it does get easier as time passes. I put both kids to bed by myself quite a bit, and every month is gets better and better. Ditto PPs about someone having to cry a bit..it doesn't feel great when it's happening, but they will be ok. 1 minute of crying usually sounds so long to you as a mother, but it's really just a little blip, NBD.