I've been struggling with bedtime since my little one was born 3 months ago. So far I've just been putting him in his swing while I quickly run upstairs to put my toddler to bed. I hate rushing bedtime with her, and I miss being able to spend quality time with her before bed, but I feel like I have to rush down to be with the baby since he is by himself. Any suggestions to make this process a little smoother? Thanks!
Re: Bedtime- What to do with baby while putting toddler to bed
No advice but I'm anxious to see what everyone else has to say!
Fortunately, DH is home at night so he will be able to help with bedtime but I'm scared to death of dealing with DS's naptime!
As long as baby is in a safe place (i.e. buckled in the swing, or put in his crib, or playing on the floor), then being upstairs with your older one for some time is ok. Not sure how long your bedtime routine is with your older one? For us, our routine is about 20 minutes, and I think that's fine to be away from baby.
The other option is to see if you can get baby to bed before your toddler? That's what we do right now, deal with baby's naps/bedtime first, then deal with the toddlers.
I had a projection mobile in his crib and that kept him content about 10 min. I would cuddle with DD and when he would start to fuss I would kiss her goodnight.
When he got older I had a cloud b turttle & lady bug stars projection and he would play/look up at the stars in her room while we said goodnight.
Now both kids turn on their turtle/lady bugs in their own rooms and it's the cue for night time. They crawl into their beds and off to sleep.
I think I am going to have to go with option 2! I still haven't gotten my toddlers routine down below 45 minutes to an hour! This is bad, right?
When DD2 was a newborn we just included her in the bedtime routine. DH held her in the rocker while I read DD1 her books and said goodnight. If DH wasn't home I brought DD2 in the room and put her in the bouncer. Now that DD2 is older and has an earlier bedtime, I put her to bed first and wait until she is sleeping and then DD1 and I go in and read her books (they share a room).
my read shelf:
When I am alone I put baby to bed first and DD sits on my bed and watches tv or plays with the ipad then I put her to bed. It can be tricky somes times but DH travels alot so I have to figure it out. I will give her a bath earlier too when DS is sleeping in the swing so when he awake I don't have to be away that long
When DD was born we just included her in our bedtime routine. In the beginning she stayed up later than DS. If I was nursing DD, DH would read DS a story. If not DH would hold DD in the rocker and I would read DS a story. If DH wasn't home I would bring the bouncer for DD to lay in while I read to DS.
After a while DD started going to be before DS. At that point we still did story time together (usually in the master bedroom) and DS would watch a show while we put DD down.
Eventually they started going to bed at the same time. DH and I do bedtime together, but because the routine is done with both kids it's not impossible when one of us is not home.
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