Routine Routine Routine. I was the girl who rolled her eyes anytime someone said “I can’t because it’s during nap time” or whatever the story was. It drove me nuts every single time, I wasn’t mad, I just hated hearing that because I felt like, so what? Here we are, almost 14 months into this parent thing and yea, I get it. We aren’t nearly as crazy about sticking to a routine anymore but straying from it can sometimes be detrimental. Here’s what our typical day looks like (when Brandon isn’t in Daycare).
I don’t sleep in anymore, not like I ever really did, but I’m usually awake around 6-6:30am and I try with every piece of me not step on the sections of floor that creek (that’s a joke because the entire upstairs is loud as can be!), and hope Zoe doesn’t decide to meow her head off before I get down to feed her. If It’s Friday I usually brew my coffee and open my computer to do some work before everyone gets up. It it’s the weekend, I head right out the door and get to the gym by 7am when they open. Kevin and Brandon are usually close behind and come down anytime between 7-8. Brandon eats right away while we make our breakfast.
After Kevin heads off to work I finish some work, clean up the kitchen and get my sh*t together to go run errands or whatever is planned for the day. I hit the grocery store, go shopping, get coffee, have a play date (eat snack) or hit the beach between 9-1130. We get home, Brandon gets lunch and takes a nap anytime around 1130-2 – if he falls asleep in the car during errands everything gets thrown off.
While Brandon naps, I do more work, prep dinner, clean up, shower or just relax and await his little voice. If it’s nice outside we go and play, run anymore errands, have an afternoon snack and wait for Kevin to get home around 4:45. I get dinner prepped and cooked to eat by 6. We clean up (pack lunch if it’s a week night), and have about an hour and a half to play with Brandon – whether we bike ride, play outside, go to a book class at the library or just play around the house. We start reading around 7:30, Brandon gets a bath around 7:50 (every other night) and is in bed around 8pm. I’m usually not far behind!
The only thing that really differs when Brandon is in Daycare is that we all wake up a little sooner, I’m out the door by 6:45, Kevin gets Brandon up, dressed, fed and off to Daycare around 8 and he gets picked up around 430.
It’s nice to have a routine and know that even on the worst days, that nap and that 8pm bedtime are in sight. We have really let Brandon dictate his own schedule. We never forced him down for naps or forced him to bed because that just never seemed to work. He slept better on his terms and that was fine with us. When we started incorporating his nighttime routine “bath, bottle, bed” it helped SO much and he would pretty much tell us “ok, it’s time to get this show on the road” which started around 630 at night so it was a TOTAL chaotic mess trying to get home cook, clean up and get him read for bed. Now that he’s older his bedtime has morphed, again, on his terms. If he’s the life of the party I’m not going to put him to bed at 7:30pm because I think it’ll take him a while to whined down.