Just a reminder - my little giveaway ends tomorrow!
Well, this isn't necessary in the realm of being a housewife, more just being a mother, but routines in general are a part of running a home (and I'm desperate to pick your brains) so...Any ideas for bedtime routines when you need to put two to bed?
Right now, after only 16 days, we don't really have one. Pumpkin just tags along during Boyo's bedtime routine, nursing and/or sleeping as needed.
But, eventually, I'll be able to forgo sweet smelling newborn snuggles for some husband and wife time and, even more eventually, I will need some "mama needs a break before she loses her sanity since her husband is deployed to a warzone" time (praise Heaven, not until next summer, but still).
The simple solution is to have one parent do one kid, one the other, but a) that won't always work [see above] and 2) we have always done Boyo's routine together, and I like that family time. More importantly, he likes that time too and I don't want to miss my chance to cuddle up on my big boy before he's too big to want Mama snuggles. In addition, I'm kind of the essential parent at the moment for the baby [see breastfeeding] so I'm thinking that Papa covering that defense zone might not be possible either.
Ack.
So, moms of more than one, thoughts? How do you do it? What works best that doesn't take an extra 2 hours?
Well my husband left 1 week after baby #2 was born.
ReplyDeleteI try to get the baby down for bed while big girl takes her shower. And then I have mommy/big girl time. I do her hair, we read (the past few nights since she found it on her bookshelf) a little devotion, I tuck her in, give her some love. Then in the morning, we have about 30 minutes for breakfast to do her hair for school before I have to get the baby up so we can leave. It has been 2 months, and it was hard at the beginning but we have worked out some of the kinks now and it goes pretty smoothly.
Our kids are just about the same ages apart, give or take. When I was nursing J, this is what we did: (Note, both my kids shower, which is so much faster) Hubby would have E brush her teeth and go potty and do her shower. While I dried and PJ'ed her, he'd wash J. Then I'd dry and PJ J while he read to E. Switch again. Hubby reads to baby while I swayed and sang to E and lay her down. Then I'd go in and nurse J. Bedtime done.
ReplyDeleteOn the nights hubby was gone, I'd have no choice but to lay J in his crib while I washed E and changed her clothes. Then I'd read to them both, set him down for a few minutes to sway her, then go feed him.
Now that they are bigger, it's still about the same, but when he's gone it's easier. He gets J ready for bed (teeth + shower), then I dry J while he gets E ready (teeth + potty). Then he reads to J while I help E shower. Then dry and PJs. Then I rock J a little (even though he's usually asleep) while he reads to E. If he's out of town, I do them both, one just hangs out in the bathroom while the other showers. But since you have 2 boys, this could go faster. Then I read to them both in E's room. Then E watches a little show to help her fall asleep (she had issues a while back so this helps) and I rock J. Then I go back in E's room and finish the show with her until it's over.
From start to finish...with my husband home it's about 45 mins. With me alone, it's about an hour. (add in time when baby was nursing)
baby down while hubby gives a bath.... that might be so very brilliant!
ReplyDeleteprayers for you all while your husband is gone!
it depends on whether you are co-sleeping or not? the drunk monkey was in our bed for awhile (3 months?), then in a crib in our bedroom until a month ago (?). so now, bedtime is much easier because he and his sister share a room now, which is so much fun because we pray together and read a story together.
ReplyDeletejess - cosleeping indeed. we do have a cosleeper tho, and i'm interested in having him start the night in that.
ReplyDeletejen - thats kind of how we're doing it now, although baby doesn't get/need a bath everynight nor he is yet interested in stories :-p so he just has to listen to big brother's choices!
It took us 4 weeks to come up with a quick and dirty routine which was: Bath (or watch big-brother take a bath, I nurse lil'bro while daddy puts big bro to bed.
ReplyDeleteAfter 4 months they were actually going to sleep at the same time but I've had the husband's help at bedtime naptimes were solo so there was alot more putting whoever is more tired to sleep first while the other either sits and reads quietly or nurses quietly till it's his turn.
My only real advice is embrace the chaos because with two even the best routine often feels like chaos.
When DH is working and it is just me getting the girls ready for bed, A goes down first. While I get her ready for bed, K picks up her toys. Then K comes in and sings her Twinkle, Twinkle, helps me say A's prayers and gives A our routine kisses while I am nursing her. K then goes and finishes picking up, while I do the final snuggles and lay A down.
ReplyDeleteThen I get K ready for bed, read her a story, and do her routine bedtime. When A was still a newborn, she sometimes would come along if she was fussy, or 99% of the time I would leave her in downstairs after reading K a story and spend those last few minutes of K's day with her alone. I wanted K to know that she was still important and deserved my full attention too! Now that A goes down early it is much easier though and I love that K "helps" out. It is precious. I wish I could record it!!