Please no judgement.
I'm a newish mom. My baby is 21 almost 22months old. We have never had her on a schedule. We have a set routine essentially: wake up, breakfast, play, snacks, play, lunch, nap, wake up, snack, play, dinner, bath, bedtime. But we have never set a specific schedule because of sleep regression. She sleeps 8-12 hours straight at bed time and naps 2 hours at nap time. This way just seems to work better for us. Shes happy, lets me clean and take care of what i need to. The few times I've tried setting a schedule and forcing her to wake up at 7am, to follow schedules ive seen online, she is so fussy it's incredibly exhausting. after fighting for days with a super grumpy and clingy toddler I say forget it because it's so mentally and physically exhausting.
Essentially I'm just wondering if I'm doing the wrong thing or if any other moms keep a routine but not a strict set schedule??
Re: SAHM sleep on a schedule
We never had an issue with sleeping. She did have regressions so a few times we would have to spend a little more with her, but we kept reinforcing bed time. Eventually they get through it. As she got older (around your Littles age) we moved bedtime to 8pm. It's been that way ever since.
Ultimately you have to do what works for you and your family. I do think having a set nighttime routine is extremely helpful for everyone, especially the Littles. Theu crave repetition and a routine. It's how they learn and grow.