who should I put to bed first?

Roman has a set routine starting at about 6:30 with dinner bath and bed by 7:45. DH has been home since Clover has been born but I will be alone in the future during these hours.

Should I try to maybe get her to sleep while he eats, should I just bring her along during his routine, although I'm afraid he won't keep with it then. I'm not sure what to do.

Suggestions?

Re: who should I put to bed first?

bumping for moms of more than 1

Re: who should I put to bed first?

i have yet to figure it out yet. I would love to hear some input though.

Re: who should I put to bed first?

This is what I do...

Because I am usually by myself until DH gets home.

DD #1 gets dinner, bath and bed - I put her to bed at 7:30.

I take DD #2 along with us during the routine. I keep her swing upstairs in our bedroom, so if she wants to swing while DD #2 takes a bath she can - Sometimes I let her play in her crib...

After DD #1 is settled in bed, I do the same with DD #2. She is usually alseep by 7:45 - 8:00pm.

If DH is home by 7pm he puts DD#1 to bed and I put DD #2 to bed... When he is home we can be done by 7:45 - Makes it so much easier, but it can be done when your alone - You just have to play around with your routine a little to see what works.

HTH

Re: who should I put to bed first?

I think you just need to go with the flow in the beginning. If she's tired, put her down; if she's not, then don't...hahaha...what advice!

My biggest worry was upsetting Katherine's routine when Abby came along--so my main focus was on Katherine...in the beginning.

Now that Abby is 5 months, and probably from around 2 mos. this is what I do: (Oh, and I'm right with you doing it solo...DH doesn't get home 1/2 the week until 10pm)

Kate and I eat dinner while Abby sits with us. Now that she's eating, we all eat together...stressful!

If it's bath night (I do NOT bathe every night!), Abby takes a bath first. I make sure Katherine is involved...she washes her feet, etc. Then Katherine goes in the tub while Abby sits with us. I tried the reverse once...what a disaster!! When it was Abby's turn, Kate flipped out and insisted it was her turn again.

Then Abby gets her last bottle, stays up until about 7:30 until she goes into the crib. I come back down, read The Little Mermaid about 70x to Katherine. By this time, it's 8pm and time for her to go to sleep. Then I collapse!

Hope this helps!! You know it's all going to be second nature before you know it!!!

Re: who should I put to bed first?

Re: who should I put to bed first?

In the beginning I just went with the flow.
GIanna, my oldest, has a pretty set routine that she adores, so i've been trying to work Amelia into her routine.

They sleep in the same room, so that's my main challenge right now with naps and bedtime, but it's been okay.

They both wake up at the same time in the am now, so I get everything ready for them before i go get em. GIanna gets her milk, while I feed Amelia. About a 1/2 later, she eats breakfast.
The rest of the day amelia eats when she's hungry and i go by gianna's sched.

Amelia is starting to sleep the same time as gianna, so 10 and 2 pm they are napping together. At night, Gianna goes to bed by 8pm and amelia goes down by 9pm and i don't see them til 7-am the next am.

Both my girls have eczema so they only take a bath twice a week, but i don't do them on the same nights.
They both have story time for a 1/2 hour then gianna gets her milk and goes to bed. Amelia eats for the last time hangs out for a bit then goes to bed.

So far it's been working out well. I just have to get amelia out of that miracle blanket soon and in her crib consistently for naps. I'm working on it!

Re: who should I put to bed first?

I kept DS's routine the same. So at 6:15 his bedtime routine starts and by 7-7:15 he is in his crib. I always use to put DS to sleep but now DH does it. While he is doing that I am either cooking dinner or feeding DD. She likes to go to bed around 8:30.

That was the hardest part for me so thus far. I didn't want to change DS's bedtime routine especially since DD came into our family. I felt that was enough change.

ETA: I just re-read what you wrote and even though you will be alone I still think you should put Roman to bed first. I still do this now incase DH works late. I give DS his milk in my bed and he lays next to me while I am feeding DD. I then put her down and put him in his crib and go back to her. I use to do this in mornings when we first came home.

Message edited 10/19/2007 1:11:55 PM.

Re: who should I put to bed first?

DH is never home for bedtime. I do baths in the am, not as part of bedtime ritual. Andy can't have them every day, so this just worked out better for me.

I get them both into PJs around 7ish, we sit and read books together, then I take Andy up, cuddle with him in his room for a few minutes and put him to bed, then do the same with Sarah.

Maybe you can put her in the bouncy in the hall outside the door to the bath so you can see her but he can't?

Re: who should I put to bed first?

i would definitly stick to the routine with the older one.. maybe put Clover in the swing until you get him down in bed and then put her down.

Re: who should I put to bed first?

It should be interesting because she has not been a happy camper and just screams most of the day, so I was trying to get her to sleep first because she'll be good for about 3 hours. We'll see

Re: who should I put to bed first?

DS is 4.5 and going to pre-k, so he has to be on a real schedule. We put him to bed between 8 and 8:15. DD usually goes to bed around 9 to 9:15. Since it doesn't matter when she goes to sleep too much, she goes down when it's convenient for us.