Routine for. 2 year old & 5 month old

[DoIKnowWhatImDoing]

Hey I'm just looking for some routine examples. Not sure what I have is ok. Doesn't always work 😥

I just read your other thread about feeling like a bad mum. having a baby and a toddler is hard, go easy on yourself. And remember you probably only see the best bits from other mums. Most keep their doubts and guilt to themself.

Your routine. It's a while since I've had a baby and toddler at the same time. But I do have a 2 year old so I can relate a bit.

If you want some routine and structure in the day, this start a with a regular wake up time. So pick a time. Lets say 7am wake, half hour in-bed cuddles, up at 7.30.

Then split your day into short segments. I find 2 hourly blocks works really well:

• getting ready. From getting up until everyone is fed and dressed and ready to do something. Say 7am-9am

• morning. This lasts until about 11am - so gives you 2 hours in which to do something. Maybe grocery shopping, maybe playgroup, maybe watching tv, maybe walk the dog.

• lunchtime 11am-1pm. This doesn't necessarily mean you're eating for 2 hours. But you get yourselves home for 11am to give everyone some wind-down time before/after/during lunch. Get stuff done. Load washer, make lunch, mumsnet on your phone.

• afternoon 1pm-3pm. My toddler would be napping through this. Work on getting baby napping to, maybe take a nap yourself. I always go for quiet afternoons at home. Busy mornings out and about, afternoons at home.

• dinner time 3pm-5pm. I know you don't have school aged children, I call this period of time "after school". It's defined by always waking toddler at 3pm. We go out at bang-on 3.15pm every day (school run, but quick dog walk or trip to the park would work too). It anchors the day having a set time. Then it is at-home playing while I sort out dinner. I'd never go out at this point in the day. Playing in the garden or with toys in the house.

• evening 5pm-bedtime. So this is wind down time. Mine watch tv or play. Daddy time is now too, since he's back from work.

• your evening - once toddler is in bed. Baby might not be, but at least everything is calmer.

What's your routine at the moment? And why do you think it's not working?

My DD is 2 and DS is 4 months. DD is in nursery for 2 days but on the days that we're home, our days tend to look like this:

6:30 Up, feed baby, everybody dressed. Breakfast

8:00 Baby naps on me, DD watches half an hour of CBeebies and then plays

Anytime after 9:30 - out to whichever group we're going to. Baby has a nap out (sling or car generally)

11:30 Home for lunch

1:00 Everybody upstairs for a nap (My favourite time of the day! I lie down and read or dose too)

3:00 Wake up, play at home/in the garden, out to the shop or park

5:00 Baby naps and I get tea ready (I don't cook on days when DD isn't at nursery. I heat up something I've batch cooked and frozen and then do rice, pasta, veg, etc)

6:30 DH gets home. Both go in the bath. DH puts DD to bed and I take the baby downstairs to feed to sleep. If I've got them both, I read stories, tuck DD and then take DS downstairs.

*doze not dose!

I have a 6mo and 2.5 year old and no routine. We do different things every day so it doesn't work to be too structured. It does mean that things get a but crazy sometimes though but I'd rather that than have to be home at set times for naps etc. My 2 year old stopped having a nap at home once my baby was born (because it used to take a long time to get her to nap and I just don't have that time with a baby as well) so now she'll just sleep in the car on the way to or from somewhere and if we're not in the car on a particular day she won't nap and she'll go to bed earlier. Baby just sleeps on me, in car, in pushchair whenever wherever! So there you go, don't feel terrible, you can't be any worse than me and we are all doing OK. Most of the time!!

FateDestiny the two hour segments sounds like a good idea. I may have to try that one. at the moment the routine is more like pinchops. For me it just feels like I'm always late feeding DS or they both want feeding at the same time and it feels stressful. DD is 2 and she is at this stage of not wanting to eat much and being generally fussy. she doesn't like veg no matter how i try to disguise it.