Baby sleep routine with 3.5 year old

[EmmaOvary]

Baby is 4 months old and I’m keen to start a basic bedtime routine in the hopes of having him learn to self settle a bit at night and during day naps.

DS1 is 3.5 and has a fairly set routine: bathtime from 6.30ish, stories and getting ready for bed 7ish with a 7.30 lights off.

DH is sometimes not home from work until after 7.30, the earliest would be 6 but that’s rare, so I’d like to find a way to do double bedtimes that can work solo.

Those of you with older kids, how do you juggle double bedtimes? A friend suggested baby bedtime earlier but that would mean putting him down by 6.30pm which seems early, and also DH wouldn’t see him at all most days.

I did toddler teeth and getting undressed while bath is running. Toddler do their turn teeth / sit on potty / play with bath toys while you bath the baby quickly. Remove baby from bath, put toddler in and let them play while you dry and dress baby. Put baby down (though mine often screamed at this point and I sometimes ou them in the sling instead) and wash toddler and then out, dry, nappy on. Do stories for toddler and milk for baby in the toddler’s room.

So you did it at the same time, OK, hadn’t considered that, I guess I was imagining the baby bedtime as super calm but my preschooler tends to bounce around a lot at story time, I guess baby would have to get used to it!

Bath nights are 2 to 3 times a week and 1 of those is a daytime bath. But, put them both in the bath together, we've done that since baby was about 4 months and sister 16 months. Dry & dress baby outside open bathroom door. Then get toddler out.

Initially had to do toddler stories and bedtime with baby in sling any nights partner wasn't home. Tho from 6 months, I'd feed & change baby, then put on TV for toddler, then take baby upstairs to bed, rock to sleep and be down 10/15 min later with toddler.

From a few weeks in, baby was always asleep 7-8 and toddler in bedroom 8/8.15ish. It's only the last week or 2, at 8.5 months where baby has transitioned to 2 naps that her bedtime has changed to 8/9, as she now has 3.5hr wake window rather than 2hr.