moms with a toddler and infant: what is your evening routine?

Re: moms with a toddler and infant: what is your evening routine?

• shouldbworkin

  February 2010

  I'm trying to remember what I did.  I think DD did sleep through dinner most nights.  I would come home from work, throw something on the stove and feed DD, while DS had a snack, played or cuddled next to me.  Then DS, DH and I would eat while DD took a nap or sat in the swing (or one of us would hold her and eat).  Then DH would pretty much take over with DS and I would sit with DD and nurse her all.night.long.  I'd help DH put DS to bed and I was in bed at 9 pm after feeding DD.  DH would stay up with her until she was ready to go to bed.

  I used to do most of my cooking on the weekend.  I'd make a bunch of stuff to reheat during the week and stocked my freezer with easy to eat meals.  That way, I could just walk in the door and get get something warming up in the over or micro. 

  DS1 age 7, DD age 5 and DS2 born 4/3/12

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• duchess0727

  February 2010

  I'd plan to sort of wing it until 6 months or so and then you can get a little bit closer to a set nap schedule and that will help. 

  I don't cook during the week.  Sunday, I make two things - one for Sunday/Monday and one for Tues/Wed.  Thurs I try to pull something out of the freezer or we do something that is very little cooking.  Fri/Sat we go out or order in.

  We get home between 6 and 6:30 and I usually have to feed DD right away - I give her a jar of food while my son plays with his toys - we sit on the floor with him or I let him watch a dvd.  Then I heat up our dinner and we sit down to eat together.  Then we play for 20-30 minutes (sometimes less if it's bath day) and we get both kids ready for bed and then I feed DD her bottle while we read stories to my son.  We put DD down at 8 and usually let my son stay up and have some alone time with us until 8:15 or 8:30. 

  The first few months were really hard - especially because we really have to spend extra time with DD because we have to work with her on her motor skills and communication skills.  We've improved on incorporating that into the time with her.  It's also been a big help that we don't cook anymore.  That pushed me over the edge on more than one day.  Also, if my DD seems really tired, I let her sleep from 6:30 to 7:30 and just try to take advantage of a little extra time with my son.

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• madhatter2003

  February 2010

  survival at your point is the best you can hope for

  Now they eat dinner together (either with us or eat kid food on their own and we eat later), then I bathe them together. Then I nurse DS and put him to bed around 7:15 while DD plays in the living room or reads in her room. THen I put her to bed between 7:30 and 7:45.
  

  My two PCOS miracles!
  

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• Mrs.Greeko

  February 2010

  This is our schedule:

  4:30 - get home and nurse baby

  4:45-6:15 - start dinner, play with the kids, clean up a bit, go through the mail

  6:00 - DH gets home, I finish getting dinner done

  6:15-6:45 - dinner

  6:45 -7:15 - I get baby ready for bed, DH does the dishes and gets DD1 a bed time snack

  7:15-7:30 - play with DD1 (hide and go seek usually)

  7:30-8:00 - bedtime for DD1

  8-8:20 - set my cleaning timer for 20 minutes and we get the house picked up, bottles made for next day, kitchen cleaned, Roomba emptied and ready to go for the next day, diapers stuffed (we use cloth) and packed for next day, load of laundry thrown in, etc. (This is my newest secret and it works great)

  8:20-10 - I do my homework (I'm also taking two classes), DH plays on the computer or we watch TV

  10 - bedtime for the adults, take DD1 pee one last time.

  Mama to Lucy (7/06), Lexi (5/09), and Max (11/11) M/C 12/17/10

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• Pesky member

  February 2010

  Well, what you do will change a lot.  Just recently has DS gotten into a regular schedule.  What we do is each parent is assigned a kid and we swap the next night.  So one night DH is in charge of DD and I am in charge of DS and then the next night we swap.  I still spend time with DD or DS if it's not my night (oftentimes getting food ready and such) and DH will do the same.  But that way, when DS was little and more unpredictable, it freed up one of us to be more flexible for DS.  Taking DS for the night can often mean eating a cold dinner after DD and the other but them's the breaks for now.  DD's routine doesn't vary much -- gets home by 5:30, dinner no later than 6, upstairs to ready for bed at 6:30, reading and in bed with lights out or dimmed no later than 7:15.  DS is finally on a schedule where he usually wants his PJs, bottle and bed (sometimes a book in there) starting around 5:45-6 and is in bed by 6:30.  If I was on my own, I got DD set up first and then tend to DS.  I will fudge DD's bedtime a little to try and get DS down and let her watch some tv while I do so.  Worst case scenario, I put DS in the crib while I tend to DD and he chills there with his seahorse and soother.  I agree -- mornings are easier with the routine and evenings tend to be more fluid until the baby is around 6 mos. 

  
  
  DD -- 5YO
  DS -- 3YO
  

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• snickerdoodle27

  February 2010

  I pick the kids up from daycare by 5:30 and am home by 5:45. AS long as dd isn't fussy, I'll start dinner. Otherwise I have to wait until dh is home. We eat between 6:30 and 7. At 7:30 one of us takes ds up for bath/books/bed. We've been rotating each night, so the other one stays downstairs w/dd. Usually around 8:30 dd gets fussy and is ready for bed. I swaddle and nurse her downstairs and take her up to bed when I go up, no later than 10. I try to put her down earlier but she usually wakes up anyway. I'm expecting this to change the older she gets.
  

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