A day in the life of your 16 months old or similar... Please, contribute!

[pacsirta]

Hello Everyone out there, Just wondered, my little girl is 16 months old now and I haven't been in touch with a great deal of other mums around here, how you and your toddler spend the average day of your life.
Shall I start? My girl usually wakes up at 6am-ish for a feed, then (if I'm lucky) goes back to sleep for another half an hour-hour. We get up at 7am, get her dressed, then my husband looks after her while I'm in the shower (lucky me, he works from home!!). Then around 8am we have breakfast (she is now eating her porridge with a spoon and the mess is just about bearable...). Then a bit of play, brushing teeth, change nappy, another feed around 10am. (Still breastfeeding 4x a day.) Weather permitting, we go for a walk locally or get on the bus or train to a park/playground within reasonable distance (mainly for my sanity but also to keep her interested, the same old local park can get a bit boring after a while...). We get some shopping sone, then we come back for lunch at about 12.30. (Again, lucky enough to have it as a family with my husband around.) Finished clearing up by 1.30 when she (and sometimes I) goes for a nap, between an hour- 1.5 hours. When she wakes up she gets another feed, then we play in the garden if the weather is nice, downstairs with granddad (who is 88!) or seeing friends. She loves looking at books and being read to, and so that's what makes up most of her time, but now she walks, she enjoys just walking around the house and garden, up and down stairs, out in the street.
She has dinner with us (extended family) quite late, at 6.30 pm, then bath at 7.30 and bed around 8, normally asleep by 8.30. Of course a bedtime feed and songs. She now sleeps the night which is a blessing, long may it last!

This routine is slightly different at weekends and in term time when I go to work 2 days a week.

So join in, share your day! It can be as detailed or not as you want it to be. Just curious. :-) Thank you!

[stressheaderic]

My DD is 18 months. She goes to nursery 2 days per week and to my mum for a day but on my days off with her:

She wakes up 8.30-9am, watches bit of CBeebies in bed with me with a cup of milk
We go downstairs and have breakfast (Krispies and toast), play, read and get ready at our leisure
Aim to leave the house around 10.30ish
Go to town by car, 5 mins away. Browse shops, meet friend with toddler for coffee, have a bit of a run round in the square.
Come home about 12.30 when she will usually nap for an hour or 1.5 hours.
1.30-2ish - have lunch, sandwich/soup/jacket spud/last nights leftovers
2.30ish - go to park or out on bike or visit a relative or just play in garden
5pm - daddy home, takes over, plays with her while I prepare dinner
6pm - dinner, more playing, bit of In the Night Garden
7pm - bath, wash and dry hair
aim for 7-30-8pm-ish for bed with bottle of milk, usually straight to sleep with no messing, with the odd exception!

[Ceasnake]

DS has just turned 17 months, DH is the at home carer while I work full time.

Wakes up 7.15 - 8am (depending on how noisy Mummy is while leaving for work?)
Downstairs for big breakfast, normally porridge and toast plus watery juice to drink
Playtime, maybe a little bit of Cbeebies, get dressed
10.30am off to crèche at gym while Daddy has a workout
11.30 ? 12.00 playtime at local park and playground
12.30 ? 13.00 lunch, normally something like beans, veg, cheese, perhaps scrambled egg, sausage, fruit for pud
13.30ish up for afternoon nap
13.30 ? 15.30ish napping while Daddy gets some work done!
15.30 ? 18.00 get up, snack and drink, into buggy, out shopping, maybe library, perhaps visiting family, general running around, playtime in another playground
18.00 Mummy home from work and we all meet in the playground if the weather is good
18.30 Mummy takes over: dinner time, normally pasta, stew, shepherds pie, egg/cheese/veg, fruit for pud. He pretty much feeds himself now.
19.00 winding down playtime, ?helping? Mummy in the garden, tidying up (then untidying again)
19.30 bath, into pyjamas and sleeping bag
20.00 say goodnight to Daddy, 4oz bottle of milk with a bedtime story (currently The Sheep-Pig), teeth, kiss from Mummy and into bed

He sleeps really well, almost never wakes up at night and settles himself down most nights. Thankfully.

[pacsirta]

Thanks everyone so far, really interesting to compare... Keep them coming in! :-)

[pacsirta]

Also, Ceasnake, can I ask you what your job is? Did your husband give up his job or he works from home? Your comment about your son's lunchtime nap (when your husband can get some work done) makes me think maybe the latter! Good on him! :-)

[hazeyjane]

Ds is 14 months but is developmentally delayed, and has low muscle tone.

4.30/5 am - up for day, has milk, plays on floor.
6.30 - breakfast
7am - washed, physio, dressed
8 am - milk sleeps (unless it is dds school day, when he is carried around until it is time to get bus, then he sleeps on walk home)
9.30 - snack and coffee for me
10 - oral physio
10.15 out to meet friends/play on floor/go for walk in pushchair
11.30 - lunch
12.30 - washed (lunch gets messy!), creams applied, dressed
1 - walk/play on floor/ cuddle/ carry ds around/physio
sometimes he sleeps, sometimes not
3 - pick up dds from school or go for walk
3.15 - snack/milk
3.30 oral physio
4.30 dh home takes over carrying ds
5 - tea
5.30 - bath, creams, massage, physio, pyjamas
6.30 - milk
bedtime anytime between 7 and 9
Usually up in the night once or twice for about an hour each time.

[findmeintheflowerbed]

DD is 18 months.

7am wake up, comes into our bed for 10 mins of cuddles before we get up at 7.10.
Downstairs to have milk on sofa while I watch the news, faff about
7.30-8.30 play in living room, mainly reading books at the moment
8.30 upstairs to get dressed, jump on our bed, 'help' me put my make up on etc
9am breakfast for both of us while DD watches SHow me SHow me on CBeebies
9.30 get ready to go out, maybe to shops (5 mins walk), to get a coffee, banking, post office, whatever needs to be done (on fridays we go to a toddler music group for an hour)
11-11.30am back home for DD's nap
11.30-1pm I do some work (freelance, working from home), check emails, have a coffee etc
1pm lunchtime for both of us, usually takes a while as DD is getting into the swing of feeding herself
2pm out of the house again if poss. To park, softplay, friend's house, grandparent etc
If staying in might play in garden, do some drawing, get her to 'help' me with housework (dusting is a good one)
5.30ish dinner time for DD
5.30 DH home and takes over, I am 8 months pregnant so I usually go for a lie down, or maybe do some chores if I can be bothered.
DH and DD play around wildly together making a mess, or if nice weather will go in garden or out for a short walk.
6.50pm bathtime, milk, story, teeth, bed
7.30 DD usually asleep by now with no fuss (thankfully)

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

DD is 19 months (18 if you correct for prematurity, but I don't tend to bother nowadays!)

Our current routine is:
06.00-07.00ish - wake up, nappy change, get dressed
07.00-08.00ish - breakfast with Mummy and Daddy (cereal with milk and dried fruit, sometimes a piece of toast too)
0930 - piece of fruit (usually half an apple in peeled segments or a plum)
09.30-11.30ish - nappy change then run in the park/see friends/toddler group etc.
11.30-12.10ish - lunch (pasta or gnocchi or soup and bread etc. etc.)
12.10-12.35 - nappy change, stories, in buggy for nap
12.40 - 15.00ish - nap
15.30 - nappy change then out for a run in the park/other activity. Sometimes a small snack - piece of fruit or mini rice-cake
17.45 - supper with Mummy and Daddy (a modified version of whatever we're having usually)
18.30 - bath (usually with Daddy) and pre-bedtime playtime, stories etc.
19.40 - toys away, into sleeping bag, final snuggle and BF with Mummy
20.00 - in cot, lights out

I actually typed this out on my post natal thread a few weeks back and I've had to make a number of changes to it already - naps have lengthened, getting up times are earlier because DD is mostly sleeping through (sleep training in progress) and I've cut down on snacks and give them earlier to try and make sure DD is hungry enough to try unfamiliar foods etc. when we give them to her for lunch and supper. She was getting super-fussy, so I've toughened up a lot wrt meals and the results are already good. Likewise, we toughened up about sleep and that's improving too.

It's very interesting seeing what everyone else does!

[MrsGravy]

Wow, I'm jealous...your days looks so calm, so ordered!

I have a 14 month old plus a 4 and 6 year old, and with it being summer hols we don't have much of a routine at the moment. She wakes somewhere between 5.30 and 6.30. She has a bottle of milk and sometimes goes back to sleep. If not we go downstairs and I attempt to persuade her to watch some TV while I come round. This usually fails miserably. Her brother and sister get up at 7ish and she tends to potter about with them til 7.30/8ish when we all have breakfast. More pottering til 9ish when we all get dressed and usually go out somewhere, either for the day or just the morning. She'll nap in the car on the way there or on the way back. Dinner at 5ish, bath sometimes...bed at 7ish. That's it, it's all pretty variable right now. I'm looking forward to school starting back so we can get a bit more of a routine going and start going to Mother & Baby groups etc.

[discrete]

I'm with MrsGravy in the messy camp.....

Wake up anything between 5 and 7.30, if before 7 I bf and try to persuade him to sleep some more. If after 7 I hand off to dh who takes him downstairs while I get some more sleep :)

7 'till 8 or 8.30 hang around with dh and ds1, usually playing music (guitar if I'm sleeping, piano if I'm not). Then breakfast all together and get ready for work.

Dh and I work from home so we juggle getting the work done and catering to the dc as best we can between them (ds1 does help entertain ds2). Nap is anywhere between 11.30 and 12.30, depending on how the work is going and whether ds2 seems tired.

Lunch before or after the nap depending on when he seems hungry (but lots of snacks usually during the morning). After naptime, usually playing with ds1 for a couple of hours while dh and I work, then I take him for some more food, and prepare dinner while he plays with has that.

Then more playing with ds1 while dh and I work out, then dinner and bath sometime between 5.30 and 6.30 pm, bed can be anything between 6.30 and 8 depending on how tired he is/how much he napped, etc.

Reading this back I can see what a great babysitter ds1 is....

[TheEndlessArete]

DD3 (17mths) wakes at around 7am/7.30am unless DDs1/2 have woken her up before. If we're all still in bed DD1 will get her out of cot and bring her in.

DH feeds her breakfast while I do packed lunches, DD3 then eats Cheerios while we manic-ly try and leave the house.

8.55am : I grab DD3 and walk older girls across the road to school. Come home, DD3 potters around making a mess while I tidy up from breakfast.

9.30am : Go to town/see friend/errands

11.30am : Pick up DD2 from nursery, come home, have lunch, DD3 goes to bed. DD2 watches DVD while I do jobs.

3.15pm : Go and collect DD1 from school, DD3 gets dragged to swimming/dancing etc for DD1/2

5.30pm : tea

6.30pm/7pm : Bed.

It's a cliche I know, but DD3 really does just get dragged along with whatever her sisters are doing. But seems fine for it :)

[VaginaPuddleduck]

14 mo:

6AM: Awake, sits in our bed, eats an Organix cereal bar, drinks water, potters with toys until her sister gets up at around
7AM: Either DH or I does breakfast (which is normally weetabix with raisins plus a smoothie to drink) while the other goes to the gym.
8AM: Plays with her sister while I shower, dry hair, put on makeup etc
9AM: Walk the dog, so she'd be in the buggy for about 30 mins
10AM: Usually some kind of activity for her sister which DD2 is now old enough to join in with - music class or something similar - or just playing around the house whille I MN do jobs
11:30/12:00: Lunch
12:00/12:30: Nap
2PM: Up from nap. Either playing at home if we've had a busy morning, otherwise might be something like Baby Gym or trip to the big park with friends or otherwise friends may come over or we go over to theirs.
4/4.30ish: Tea
5:00: Bath every other night, if not bath then into pyjamas. Thus follows an hour of me pretty much ignoring her while she plays and her sister goggles at TV.
6PM: Bed
6:10 PM: wine for m

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

But MrsGravy did you notice the number of DCs featuring in our nicely ordered routines?

Also, I can't speak for the others, but I left out all the pottering/faffing on MN etc. so as to look more organised

[hazeyjane]

Mine looks organised, but thats only because thats the stuff I have to do, the reality is me trying to fit it all in, carrying ds around whilst chasing my dds around the house causing merry hell!

[MrsGravy]

Immaculada, there may be a bit of faffage and MNing missing from mine too!!

It will be nice to schedule the day around my poor neglected 3rd born's needs for a change come September.

[pacsirta]

Wow! Thanks all, I am so glad I started this thread! Amazing to see the variety of routines...
Things I enjoyed in reading your posts most:
The great pseudonims (is that how you spell it?): your nicknames you came up with... HAHA!
The variety of getting up and bedtimes for our little ones: some go to bed at 6pm (WOW!) and some sleep till 8am! Magic! It goes to show how different we all are...

The other thing that I left out of the equasion is that -of course- it's easy for me to have a routine with my one single child, but hats off to all with 2 or 3 or even more other kids to 'juggle'!
Yes, I missed out the 'pottering' too, and there is a lot of that...
The ignoring is a bit difficult at the moment, as my little one DEMANDS attention almost 100% of the time, and me being weak, just give in most of the time. I gues getting her involved from now on is getting more and more possible, and recently I have been able to cook, clean, check my emails, make phone calls etc. a little bit more, with her around.

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

That's toddlers for you, pacsirta - attention-seekers all! They thrive on it.

I must say, I've found life so much easier since DD started to be able to do her own pottering around while I'm doing mine - and involving her in stuff I'm doing (giving her safely stoppered bottles etc. to hold when doing face, giving her the pegs to hold while hanging out the laundry, doing our teeth together, telling her stories while taking a shower etc.) is a good way of getting things done without too much whingeing...

I'm also full of awe for those juggling more than one DC. The logistics must be mind-boggling at times!

[Lucyannieamy]

Great thread, was wondering the same. DD 16mo next week.
DH and I work full time.
6.30 ish wake up, I get her out of cot. Until 4 weeks ago she'd have had a bf, now only water. She runs around upstairs while I either have shower or try for a lie in. Dress me and her, downstairs for breakfast 7.30.
When DD is at childminders I drop off at 8
When I'm off work try to still be dressed and down for breakfast 7.30 (was 8.30 this morning, what a lie in!).
8.30 change nappy (regular as clock work!) clean up kitchen, empty dishwasher, put away clean clothes, hang out laundry. DD might 'help'
9.00ish, attempt to leave house. The summer holidays were a nightmare, all the playgroups were closed. Go to park. Or stay at home and DD runs over the cats with her toy pushchair. Try to 'get stuff done' and then feel guilty I've not sat with DD and arranged learning focused play or whatever. Tend to sing what I'm doing to the tune of whatever rhyme fits. Going slightly crazy. Snack at some point, oatcake or raisins.
10.30 ish Nap. About 2 hrs in cot. If started in buggy would transfer when home. Might do cleaning, or bake/ cook for later.
12.30 ish depending on nap, lunch. Often pasta, today was potato omelette.
1.30 - 6.0 play with toys, go to shops, run around garden. Never managed to structure this time, always run out of thongs to do. Snacks around 3.30 and quiet read book maybe (no nap)
When DD is at childminders DH picks up at 5, does dinner at 6. He's a better cook so if I'm off hopefully he'd do dinner.
6.30 / I get home & do bath, straight out of high chair and strip off -feeds herself all meals now so we bath every night (messy eater). We've just been given a potty so she gets to sit on that before she goes into bath and is very pleased with herself when she does pee pee. breastfeed (until Friday, just stopped )/milk from sippy cup, stories and bed. Asleep 7.30 ish.