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Some people argue that babies / toddlers don't need "routine", & I think that is far from the truth. Even you, as an adult, thrive on routine. You wake up at __ time. You do your morning routine. Get dressed, get ready for work, coffee, brush your teeth, commute. Then you have you lunch routine, drive home, make lunch, go back to work. Then, you have your evening routine, grab the kids, get home, chaos / try to cook dinner, get the kids ready for bed, free time for yourself, etc. Then, you go to bed at __ time. This my friends, is a ROUTINE.
Humans thrive on structure. It's in our nature, it's embedded into us. It's also good for our mental health too. Encouraging some structure for your baby will help you feel less stressed, and in turn, help your baby feel less stressed. Babies like to know what's coming next, just like you do as an adult. This routine is not meant to tell you what to do, but it helps our house remain calm, and works for our Family. I hope you can find value in routine and structure, and maybe get a peace of mind once you implement your own routine for your Family! So now that I've blabbed your face off on why I think routines are important, let's get on into our current bedtime routine. For those of you who are new here, I have a husband who is currently going back to College, and we have two children, Lilly who is 2.5, and Adeline, who is almost 9 months old.
Our bedtime routine starts at about 4:30 P.M. Adeline eats supper at this time, while I start prepping supper, and Lilly gets to watch her show.
5:00 P.M. Supper is in the oven, and it's bath time for Adeline. (we bathe her about 3x a week)
5:15 P.M. Adeline gets a 8 oz bottle and goes down for the night at 5:30 P.M.
5:30 - 6:00 P.M. is supper for the rest of us.
6:15 - Clean up time. We clean up the kitchen, and Lilly picks up her toys
6:30 - 7:15 P.M. - Play time with Lilly, we usually have a dance party. (gotta burn off all that energy from supper)!
7:15 P.M. - Lilly shower, or bath. (She has a shower about 4x a week, as she loves to shower). On the days we don't bath/shower, we will just play longer.
7:30 P.M. Book, & Songs, then Bed = both kids sleeping by 7:30.
They both sleep through the night until about 7:00 - 8:00 A.M. when we start our day - for more on how to get your baby to sleep through the night - read this post: https://bit.ly/2PNysP1
DISCLAIMER: This is not to a T! The routine itself doesn't change much, but sometimes the times do. Let's be real, toddlers & babies, don't always work by the clock. But I believe it's important to keep your routine, and just alter the time.
I hope you can find value in a routine! I'd love to hear yours below! & if you want to hear more about our morning routine too - let me know!
*Pictured is Adeline's Nursery*
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