Please tell me your multiple dc bedtime routine...

[BigBlockofCheese]

With one dc bedtime was easy but atm we need 2 parents to sort both dc simultaneously. At some point dh is going to need to work late or go for a beer or play sport or whatever and I'll need to do them both on my own but I can't see how it will work right now.

Can you share your toddler&baby combo routines so I can get ideas? For info dc are 2 and 2mths. Toddler routine is bath, book, bottle, asleep about 7.30pm. Baby routine is bottle, poo, puke, change, bottle, bed. Asleep about 8pm.

The bath really helped us to be honest as it was an 'activity' to get us all through the witching hours.

I would like to advise but the first two years of having my 18month old and a baby are a complete blur!!!!

Now they are 4 and 3 they pretty much go down together. Sometimes I let the 4 yr old stay up a little later but they bath together at 6pm, pjs for 6.30 at latest, story at 6.45, lights off 7pm.

I think my advice would be, you muddle on through! Don't stress too much. I do seem to recall that I whacked the baby in a rocker on the landing whilst I bathed the toddler.

Also it depends on the baby. This one was a chilled out newborn and would just sit in his chair watching the girls and giggling. I have bathed them all together (often me too) since he was about 3 months.

I have three children, now 6, 6 and 2 years old. I have always put them to bed on my own.

We all get ready for bed (me included!) and then get in my bed for stories and snuggles and breastfeed the littlest. All fall asleep in a snuggle. Sometimes, but not often, one of the bigger ones will listen to the story and then take themselves off to their own bed, but that's more normally when there's two parents so one can go with them.

At some point I sometimes wake up and lift big ones to their own beds. If I haven't moved them by the time DH comes to bed then he moves them. Littlest still sleeps all night with us.

At some point I won't be able to lift the big ones to their beds, but I'm hoping that will coincide with them wanting to start the night in their own beds! We'll see how things pan out.

Just do what works for your family. If that's keeping everyone together then go with it and move them later once they're sleeping (or don't; everyone likes snuggles!).

I fed DD2 to sleep which was easier because it meant I could plonk her on the boob while I did DD1 story. I missed the one to one time too but it wasn't practical for me to leave DD2. She just screamed the place down. The upside was that, most nights, both went to sleep at the same time.

I always did bath for toddler and eldest straight after tea'/dinner and then put in pjs. Then I left them to play something quietly whilst I bathed baby in the kitchen sink. Then toddler had 'supper' whilst baby had milk. Baby then fell asleep and I could do bedtime routine with toddler. By the time toddler settled I could then feed baby again after its powernap and deal with any poos before they went to bed upstairs on their own.

I then had half hour 1-1 with the eldest before he went to bed. Then I had a bath, then I fed baby again at 10 before they slept (Id say for the night but you know what I mean)

If you are intending on getting both straight into their bedrooms etc the tip about getting everything upstairs is a good one :)

My youngest 2 are 14 months apart. When DC4 was 2 months and not mobile, I would put toddler in bath first. He was fine to play and splash about. Then I'd put baby in, wash her and get her out, dried and in pj's. Then she'd lay on the floor while I got toddler out, dried and in pj's. Left baby on floor while I popped toddler into his bed with his milk, then grabbed baby to take into her room for feed and bed.

I do things a bit differently now because I cant leave her on the floor or she'd climb in the bath! [Wink]

sandboy that sounds so lovely! Everyone seems to end up in our bed by morning and i too love the snuggles.