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August 2011 Moms
ladybugpjb
member
?s about juggling 2
ladybugpjb
member
Last night was our first night without DH. It went pretty well, but I'm hoping some of you have some tips that will help me when I'm on my own for about a week.
The major issue I had was at bedtime -- DD woke up RIGHT when it was time for me to put DS in his pjs and start his bedtime routine.
How do you handle the older LO's bedtime when the little one is screaming? Do you put off bedtime for a few minutes while you calm/feed/whatever the little one? I'm hoping wearing her in a sling will help, but I haven't finished making my sling.
And my other question is about BFing in the Ergo -- how do you (or can you) BF with a newborn in the newborn insert? Her head just isn't in the right spot. Do I have to wait until she's big enough to go without the insert? I could only find instructional videos for BFing without the insert.
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Re: ?s about juggling 2
when I had DD2, DD1 was in a twin bed so I don't know how helpful this will be for you if you don't have DS in a bed. this is what I ended up doing -
fed DD2 while DD1 watched a show before bed. Then DD2 sat in a bouncer while I got DD1 ready for bed (either in the bathroom with us or in DD1's room). then all three of us got into DD1's bed for stories. then I took DD2 out of her room and into either the swing or bouncer again. at that point DD1 didn't have to have me stay with her until she fell asleep so I general just went in several times to check on her. I was okay with DD2 crying for a little bit during the whole bedtime routine because I knew she was fed and clean.
I'm no help with the ergo part though.
I have been putting off DD1's bedtime until after I get the little one fed and settled. It's just easier to maintain some type of routine if the baby isn't wailing in the middle of it, so I've found that easiest thing to do is be flexible with the time that we go to bed.
I try to start nursing DD2 about a half hour before I think I want to start DD1's bedtime routine. We go upstairs and I nurse DD2 in the glider while DD1 gets to play in the baby's room. We normally the gate and door shut, so it is still a novelty for her to hang out in there. She brings in books for me to read, and puts stuffed animals and dolls in the swing.
The baby nurses to sleep, and I lay her in her crib. Then take DD1 into her room and we get ready for bed and I lay down and snuggle her. I'm usually able to finish the bedtime routine before the baby wants to nurse again. In the event that the baby wakes up, I just bring her in with us. I feed her while I sit/lay with DD1 in her bed.
When DH was working this was our schedule:
Get both boys in jammies.
Put Liam in front of the tv with a show, snack, and a sippy of milk.
Get baby fed and settled either in the moby wrap or in the swing.
Read Liam stories, generally Jack cried... It sucked.
Tuck Liam in bed.
I don't know about the ergo because I didn't nurse in it until he was older.
Bedtime was super hard until jack was around a year then it got 10000 times easier because he was going to bed at 7:30 and I held Liam off until 8.
Good luck and please feel free to vent to all of us if it feels like too much.
Flexibililty with #1's bedtime, and the use of a woven wrap so I could wrap baby #2 on my back early on (that allowed me to still do bath, teeth, etc).
Nursing in the Ergo, I would try losing the insert and using a rolled up blanket under baby...or position baby so he is to the side, both feet out one side and nursing on the opposite breast. Does that make any sense? GL!!
Bedtime is hands down the most difficult part of the day when you're juggling 2u2 on your own.
Baby Boy doesn't have a schedule yet, so we just play it by ear. Sometimes he will chill on the floor in the bathroom while I give the girls their bath. Sometimes I'll even dip him in (much to the girls delight). Other times he'll be Clingy Mc Clingerson and so I'll just let the girls play in the tub but won't get to actually wash them, because well, who likes to listen to a screaming baby and do my kids really NEED to be THAT clean?
Of course I can't be holding him all. the. time. So if he's super fussy, I might resort to putting him on my bed or in his bassinet while I finish getting the girls ready for bed. It sucks, but what are you gonna do, right?
Eventually, the younger LO will fall into some sort of schedule and it'll become that much easier to do just about anything since you will sort of know what to expect
Also, that little bit of advice:
helps a lot in letting the older child(ren) know that baby does not always come first.