Getting nearly 2 yo into routine!

[Samjamm]

Hi all

DD1 is nearly 2 and DD2 is 3 months. Since DD2's birth, DD1 has stayed regularly at my parents' and PIL's (two nights each per week) whilst I get into the hang of having two kids.

From Monday, she'll be back home every night and will have the odd sleepover only. Whilst family has been taking care of her, the routine has completely gone out of the window. She wakes at a different time everyday, her afternoon nap is sometimes an evening nap and her bed time is so unpredictable. Sometimes she isn't asleep until 10pm.

I really want to get her back into some sort of routine again so that she's fast asleep by 8pm, but I just don't know where to start.

I have no idea where to start or what's normal for a 2 year old. I feel like she's always been a low sleep needs baby as her average sleep time has always been on the lower side for her age.

Can anyone share what their routine looks like with their 2 year old?

• Wake up time
• Nap time and duration
• Bed time

TIA!

My 25 month old dropped her nap last month- up anywhere between 7-8am and bed at 7pm.

My eldest napped until 3.5yrs old- so her sister is a bit of a shock to the system. Anyway she used to wake at 6/6.30, nap at 12/1 after lunch at nursery- capped to 1.5hr so would go to bed at 7.30.

2.5 yo
Wake up between 6.30-7am
Nap 12.30-1.30/2pm
Bedtime 7.30

Just turned 2.

Wakes up around 6:30/7am normally, but can be anywhere between 5:30 and 8.

Goes down for a nap somewhere between 12pm and 1pm and will sleep 2 or 2.5 hours.

Goes to bed at 7pm.

Get her up up early, consistently, and the routine/bedtime should roughly fall into place. At 2 my relatively low sleep needs DS had a routine something like:
Awake between 6:30 and 7am. We woke him if not awake by 7.
Nap 1-2pm
Bedtime 7:45pm asleep for 8ish.

So about 11.5-12h sleep in 24 total, which I think is lower end of normal. If she seems to need less than this either move bedtime a bit later or wake her earlier. I’d try and hold on to the nap at 2 if I were you.

Sleep is between 11-14hrs in a 24hr period I think for 2yr olds.

Wake at 7am
nap 12-1pm
bedtime 6.45pm

Same

Wake - 8
Nap - 12.30-2.30
Bedtime - 7.30/8

You will just need to find your feet as a family.

It changes all the time. Dd2 was Xmas 2020, lockdowns, plus snowed in for me.

I did us all up 7 latest, outside, lunch, then nap. Some days she wouldn't, but that was quiet time, book, snuggle. Very quickly it became norm. Two years in both unwell, four year old asking for quiet scuddle time, snuggle and cuddle.

I was however very strict about that time and both needed it,ie, no after lunch activities.

Then bed 730, sometimes a little later if baby struggling.

3yo & 21mo
3yo doesn't nap, goes school 8:30-11:30

7am wake
12ish lunch
1pm ish Nap for 1-2hours
Dinner around 4:30/5pm
6-6:30pm Bath
7pm book, cuddle and into bed
Asleep by 7:30pm

We have never been strict on routine, we have let them control it but it naturally fell into place

Wake up 8 AM
Nap 2:30-5 or 5:30 PM
Slaap at 9 PM

Most nights a wake up for a new nappy and bottle at around 4 AM. If she sleeps through she'll wake at 7AM.

This is her natural routine. I'm a SAHM so she doesn't ever need to wake up on time to go somewhere.

Mine currently does 12 hours at night, which I feel very lucky about. Has a nap that starts anywhere between 1.30 and 2.30 depending on wake time that day - we are fiarly flexible with the whole routine thing. When with grandparents the nap appears to go out the window, does ok without it to be fair but is a grouch by tea time, and then often then doesn't eat and has to go to bed early, then sleeps 14 hours which isn't ideal - I know it sounds it but means getting up the next day and out the door is a nightmare.
A perfect day for us is:
7am wake up
1.30pm nap for an hour sometimes 2 if it has been a busy morning
Bath and bed between 7 and 7.30pm

Thank you all for your responses.

@GAW19 yeah I don't want to be super strict about timings, I just want her to have a consistent bed time every night which means everything else would have to be fairly regular I guess!

@Peanutbuttercookies12 yeah I'm gonna have to let go of any hope of a routine whilst DD is at her grandparents'. I've asked them to follow what I do at home as closely as they can but I know they never do.

Having read all your responses I think I'm going to aim for a 7am wake time everyday and see where it takes us. If her bed time is still happening really late then I'll bring it earlier to 6.30am. So early 😭

My 25 month old is up at around 6am. Then naps 11.30 until 1pm (I have to wake from all naps!) Then bedtime/asleep is 8 - 8.30pm. If I let him nap later/longer then bedtime is more like 9.30pm! On the odd day where he refuses a nap he's asleep by 6.30pm. Oh and he doesn't sleep through the night!

Just remember that even the best of routines go out the window over Christmas. You may want to wing it for a couple of weeks!

Oh this sounds like mine. No matter how early she wakes from her nap her bedtime is still so late!!

I just want to chill after 8pm 😭

(Whatever chilling is when you also have a newborn 🙂)

Her routine has been out the window for 3 months 😭

You're right though. I'll aim for the same wake time everyday and just let everything go from there....

Never let her have an evening nap just wake her up if she falls asleep and push bedtime forward. there is a sleep regression at this age due to fears kicking in has she got a night light ?