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Keeping routines....?...

waiting4babywaiting4baby
in My baby was born in Dec 07
Wow, doesn't look like people have really bothered on here since they did the re-vamp- have to say I've had a load of trouble as I can't get on here on my phone anymore which was the only thing I used to log on!-grrr



Anyway, I have finally got zachariah into a bedtime routine with a reasonable shut down time but over Christmas it was totally ruined and I've only just got back on track, dinner -bath- bed between 5-8 BUT I am really stressing about how I keep it like that as i don't want anything to mess it up again as I literally get 2hrs to myself then as by 10 I'm shattered.



What happens if you invite people over for dinner? Do you have a night off routine or do you leave guests to it and come back? (zachariah only falls to sleep with me sitting next to him-it's a nightmare!)

If you get invited out do you have a day off or do you leave by bedtime?



I'm probably worrying too much but he's so much hard work I don't want to back track thanks image

Replies

  • mamapinkmamapink
    Hi,



    We have the same nightmare with routine, you get into a really good one and then something happens to spoil it! Basically we don't invite people over for a meal, if people come over we usually invite them for lunch (and often they have children that the boys can play with). We do however have family over to stay for a week or two at a time and during that we have to be very firm about bedtime otherwise the routine gets totally lost. I particularly hate it when we come over to the UK as we are an hour ahead of the UK so that is one factor that can cause problems and also we are of course often staying in an unfamiliar place to the boys.



    We have managed for quite a while now to keep a good routine with the boys, they have their dinner around 5pm, bath at 6pm and then their milk and story in the living room. Then at 7pm Jacob goes to bed, we have a groclock in their bedroom so when I take Jacob in I sing the bedtime song from cbeebies and press the switch on the groclock to make the star appear. That is a big signal for him that it is bedtime and not naptime. I then just put him in his cot, tuck him in, say night night, and leave the room. He sometimes talks to himself for five mins but is then asleep. Bren then often has another story, and then he goes to bed at 7:30pm - sometimes really easily sometimes he tries it on for a minute but generally he is pretty good. I just follow him to his room, help him into bed, tuck him in and say night night and leave the room.



    It sounds with Zach like you need to find a way for him to fall asleep on his own. When you say you sit next to him when he falls asleep do you mean you are sitting on his bed? If so, a technique I have heard of is where you gradually move further and further away over a period of nights. That way the transition of not having you there is gradual but eventually he will be able to get off to sleep without you staying in the room.

    The other thing we found was that Bren has been easier to get to bed when we started the routine for him to go earlier. Before he wouldn't go to bed until 8pm and it was always more of a battle, I think that was because he was actually overly tired and not as receptive to what we were saying.



    It is very hard when you have two to think of, this was certainly the biggest problem we had once Jacob arrived. Jacob didn't sleep through until he was 9 months and even then it wasn't every night. Plus we needed them to share a room so we could move Jacob out of the travel cot in our room, and to do that we needed them both in a decent routine.



    The thing is to get a plan and stick to it! They soon realise if you are going to be a soft touch and play on it big style! Once you get him in a better routine and in bed say at 7:30pm then you could maybe invite people over for a late supper so they arrive after Zach is in bed?



    Good luck! xx
  • Star11Star11
    hey lover, we dont have people over evening - saddos!!!hehe we see people, have visitors in day! house too small if we got tjem to bed they would here is as wed be too loud! fin fab at bed... unless ill he just has bath 7pm with mas then dressed in pjs, hubby takes up with milk they have story, and thats it he must lay in dark drink milk and he puts it on bedside yable and goes sleep.... has dummy and elephant toy..... mason much harded as bit reliant on me but been putting him down awake but sleepy, putting music on and leaving, depends on each night some nights just goes off, other has little cry i dummy and thats it others cries for ages!



    we are strict as neither were good sleepers and i panic...not so much fin but mason like dont dare not bath mas although odd night fin just has pjs bed!



    im looking forward to when mas is 2.5 then think can be bit more flexible!!!



    good luck x
  • JolliJolli
    We rarely have people here but at Christmas we were a bit all over the place! If we had family over we'd just carry on with the routine at pretty much the same time. If it was my family over Dave would take the boys for their bath and story so I could spend time with them

    And so he didn't have to sit and talk to his mil! if you've got a good routine that works I would try and stick with it as much as possible. If you have a couple of nights that are completely different ie you are away just try to be normal as soon as you get home again !
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