Hi ladies,
We now have a 2 year old (26 month old) and newborn in the house :) and I am just wondering how other families have handled bedtime routines at this stage and then how it changed in the next several months as baby's sleep needs changed.
As for us.....My son goes down around 7:30 and we generally sit with him by his bed until he's very near sleep (not the best habit, I admit.) But now, we are wondering the best way to adjust as baby will be needing us at this time. Last night we had baby sleeping in the swing in the living room and we were able to spend our regular routine putting Henry to bed. But obviously, at some point, baby won't be napping at that time - she will be getting ready for bed herself!
Just wondering others' routines for similar situations for some ideas for us - THANKS!
Hubby puts the 2 year old to bed. Same way.
YOU tend to the infant.
There is no reason, for BOTH of you to put each child to bed.
One parent to put the 2 year old to bed, and you to put the infant to bed.
I second what SH says. Hubby puts the 2 year old to bed and do not change routine (unless he makes it better :) ) and you put baby to bed. IF you need to do it on your own for some reason, then put baby down first then 2 years old. Sometimes the 2 years old may stay up a little later, but that shouldn't change the routine.
I have a 3 year old and 4 month old twins. The twins go down at 7-7:30, the same time as my daughter use to. Since I'm a SAHM, I have flexibility in the morning, so we just started letting her stay up until 8-8:30. You can also try to ween your son from sitting by his bed. You can start moving closer and closer to the door at night, until you are eventually out the door when you put him down. This way you can put him down and then take care of your daughter. I actually like the routine we have of putting the boys to bed first and then my daughter, it works for us.
Ditto S.H., one parent to one child.
If there's 2 parents & 2 kids, I'd split up the duties. One of you tends to the baby. The other tends to the 2 year old. At some point, you may be able to streamline some activities - bathtime together, read books together, etc.
For us, our son was 3 1/2 when our daughter was born. Our son has always had a little later bedtime - around 8:30. Our daughter fell into an earlier bedtime - around 7:30. We're firm believers in the Ferber method for sleep training. When it was time to sleep train the baby (about 6 months), we moved our son out of their shared bedroom for about 2 weeks. Since the time she knew how to fall asleep & stay asleep on her own, they've shared a room. At 7pm, we start a common bath time routine for both kids. Baby's bath takes about 10 minutes, but our son likes to play in the tub, and can do so independently. While he finishes his bath, I get the baby changed, fed, and read books, and got her to bed by 7:30. Then I'd get him out of the tub, changed, read books or played a quiet game, and he'd go to bed about 8:30.
For the most part, this has worked really well. My husband travels for work, so most nights, I'm alone with the 2 kids, and I can still get both kids bathed, fed & to bed in a reasonable time frame. PLUS, I really like having some 1:1 time with my son at the end of the day, without interruptions or distractions from the baby. Granted, our son is older than yours, so you might not feel comfortable letting him play in the tub unattended, but you can also, let him play something independently - a puzzle, or book, or short movie - while you put baby to bed.
My son will be 18 months when his sister arrives. We're still about 4 months out, but I'm already preparing. I weaned down his bedtime routine to be very basic and simple. As long as he has his Nuk, blanket and fan, he's good. I'd start by streamlining your son's bedtime routine in preparation for nights when the baby needs you. It sounds like a good time to kick any bad habits. Gradually changing things has worked for my son, he doesn't notice the change. Maybe even get him used to having his baby sister along on the bedtime routine?? I guess I'd expect to be in an almost constant transition as your daughter adjusts to the world, gets on her own sleep schedule eventually and eventually you'll hopefully be able to merge schedules somewhat.
