Mamas with 3 Yr Olds & Newborns/infants-what's Your Bedtime/daily Routine Like?

I have a two and a half year old and an almost-five month old, and we got into a good routine within the past month or so. We usually eat dinner at around 6. Around 6:45 my older one plays on her own while I go put the baby to bed. I change his diaper, do a very quick massage of his legs with baby lotion, nurse him and put him in the crib (we did CIO sleep training, so he falls asleep happily on his own). Then I go and put my daughter to bed. Baby only gets a bath once a week on the weekends when I have a little more help. Daughter usually takes a shower with me or dad in the mornings.

I have a almost 3 y/o & a 7month old lil girl.
Kinda like you said, at a certain time of day, IT STARTS!
For me, its around 6pm.
My hubby works till 7pm. So our routine is kinda late compared to most families.
at 6-6:30 is when I start making dinner
Hubby home around 7 - 7:20
Eat dinner
8pm One more show/read stories/ play for our son & lil girl
around 8:10 I get our lil girl ready for bed
Diaper, new clothes, and she HAS to say goodnight to her brother & Daddy :)
I take her in the nursery, feed her, sing to her, put her to bed.

Then it's big boys' turn.
its usually around 8:30- 8:45 at this point.
Hubby, our son & I go into the bathroom. (our lil boy always wants us both right there with him)
He brushes his teeth and uses the potty one more time.
Than its new bed time diaper then in to bed!

And then of course we have our bedtime routine with our Son.
Its NUTS after 6pm lol

Setting up your son with a show, book, etc to entertain him while you feed the baby really helps. It probably will take a lil trial and error. You can do it!

When my youngest was 3 mo. my older son was just under 2. Things do get tough after 4:30, I always find that the time flies until bedtime it's so busy. Our routine was always play until dinner time around 6ish. I'd put the 3 month old on his play mat or in a front carrier if we went outside, soon she can get in an exersaucer and watch you and your son play. After dinner I'd give them baths, I always bathed them together, sometimes I'd put the baby tub in the big tub and quickly wash the baby and then my older son would get in the baby tub. After bath we did story time together, then I'd put the baby in his room/crib and then I'd go back and read another story or 2 to my oldest before putting him to bed. Once the oldest was in bed I'd go back and nurse the baby who would then hopefully sleep!

I have an almost 3 yr old and 6 month old. usually I get the baby squared away first, and in the meantime set the older up with a favorite show or movie. Once that baby is in bed, I work on the older one. he two is "spirited" and we have been working on his behavior. The two share a room, so when the older acts up and the baby's asleep in his room, its hard because thats our "time out" zone.
But we just deal with it as it comes. You justmay have to "tweak" things so it falls into a better schedule with the two kids. Good luck, you can do it!

I have a 3 year old (today) and a 15 month old. When she was a baby I would put my son (3) to bed first and then rock my daughter to bed with a bottle. Now that she's a little older and gets tired earlier then he does, I put her to bed first and shut her door (keeping the monitor on) while he plays in his room and then later put him to bed. We do baths after lunch and before nap time so it's one less thing to do at night. You could sit and read a book with both kids then get your oldest to sleep or lay down while your little one is nursing.

My kids are three years apart and I too was nursing my son. After naps (4-4:30pm), we try to get out of the house, like to the park, or somewhere my daughter can blow off steam. Otherwise, you can put the baby in a bouncy and play with your son. While I cook dinner (and oftentimes it's a quick dinner - I find cooking on the weekends and freezing helps with just heating and eating for the little ones), I provide the kids with snacks to keep them entertained. I serve dinner at the same time (around 5pm) - so with nursing, that means while my daughter ate, I nursed my son at the table so we could spend time together. Then, I bathe my kids together. Your baby might be too little for that so while you bathe your son, I would bring the bouncy seat into the bathroom... Or sometimes I wore my little one in a sling so he would be close to me and nurse if he wanted to (my son was and still is a barracuda when it comes to appetite!). That worked wonders - baby wearing with an active three year old was a life saver for me! After bathtime, I let my daughter watch an educational show on TV while I put the baby to bed around 6:30-7pm. Then, she and I read stories until her bedtime at 8pm. My kids share a room so this way the baby is already asleep and I know my daughter won't wake him.

You might consider getting a Mommy's helper once or twice a week, just to give you a break! And like the other posters said, don't worry so much about the chores :)

Anyway, the three year age difference is wonderful and you'll see it will start to get much easier! Good luck!

My children are about 20 months apart, and when my daughter was @ 3 months, I think I put my son down first. He went down about 7-7:30. I THINK I would just leave her in a swing or pack n play in the other room. Sometimes she would scream and cry, but most of the time, she was good for the 10-15 minutes I needed to rock and get my son down.

Now, they are 1 and almost 3. I put my daughter down first (@ 7:30) which includes nursing and rocking. My son watches TV and eats a bedtime snack in the other room. This is the only time he gets to watch TV, so he is normally enthralled.

After she goes down, I I get him in jammies, read him a book and put him down, @ 8:00.

The post 4:30 time is always rough. Especially with a little baby. My son watched ALOT of TV for a while, because it was the only thing that could keep him out of trouble while I was feeding or bathing the baby. Hang in there for a few more months and it gets lots easier. Once your little one can self feed, meal times get easier because she can spend 30-45 minutes eating little pieces of food. At about 8 months, I started putting her in the bath with her brother, which also makes things easier.

Good luck!

Ps - dont worry about chores for a while. Just have a messy house and wear dirty clothes. :)

Also - to help with the post 4:30 cranky babies - go outside. My kids both love being outside. I would throw something in the oven for dinner - fish sticks, sweet potato fries, etc. and then play outside with the kids until it was ready.

I was so worried about this too but I have a routine that I'll share.

I work so it makes it more difficult, but this is working for our family.

After dinner at 5:00 or so I give the kids a bath together...I have a boucy chair thing for the tub for my infant. After bath I get everyone lotioned up and PJ's on. We sit together and read a baby book to the baby and then kisses for baby. I then tell my 3 1/2 year old to play quietly downstairs (sometimes put on a 30 minute show) and that the quicker I can put the baby to bed the more time I have with just him to play or do whatever he wants.

He goes downstairs to play quietly and I nurse the baby and put her down for the night around 6:00. At that time I soley focus on my 3 year old...forget cleaning kitchen, packing bags for the mornig, cleaning up, etc. It is HIS time with me as the older brother. We play candy land, memory, or whatever he wants. Then at 7:00 it is his bedtime so we go upstairs, brush teeth, and he picks out a BIG BOY book for us to read...lights out by 7:15 or 7:30.

It stinks because I do work but I get the kids by 4:00 or 4:30. I feel bad putting the baby to bed so early, but to be honest...she set this routine up because she is READY for bed at 6:00!

I hope this helps you. I make it important for big brother that he gets to have special alone time after the baby goes to sleep...it works out great!

I have a high-energy 4 year old son and a 7 mo old baby girl. Our bedtime goes like this (when my husband isn't around). 5:30- kids eat dinner and then playtime (we go outside and play if the weather is nice), 6:30 give baby a bath, 7:00 baby eats and goes to bed. 7:00-8:00 play with son. 8:00 bath time, 8:30 bedtime. During the 30 minutes when I am giving the baby a bath and getting ready for bed, my son either helps out, or plays downstairs with his toys. I tell him that if the lights are off in her bedroom, that means she is going to sleep, and he has to be very quiet. He is usually pretty good. Although a couple of times he has come in while I am rocking the baby with a bag of marbles or a loud car. lol When that happens, I just put her down for a minute until I can get him entertained with something else, and then resume our rocking.
Hope this helps.

its hard...sometimes it goes smoothly in our house, sometimes its a dreadful mess! I have an extremely PRECOCIOUS 2.5yo girl and a sweet 4.5mo old girl. When I work (at night- 3x/week), I don't know what my husband does, and I can't worry about it....
but when it's just me, I try to bathe them on opposite nights since the baby cant sit up in the bathctub yet- that way I don't feel overwhelmed by baths....having to do the two of them seperately. IF my 2yo is having an especially bad night, I may skip the bath and do it next morning. Then I put the baby on her tummy time mat or sometimes she will cat nap in her crib or bouncy seat while I get my older one ready for bed. Takes her about 10-15 min to settle in and get sleepy, by then the baby is usually ready for her last feeding of the night. So I spend a lil one-on-one time with her and then put her and myself to bed.

It took months to get a system that worked. Do what works for you....but since the baby sleeps more during the day (my 2.5yo gave up naps 6 months ago) she can wait a little while for bedtime. I try to make my older girl feel like she is the priority since she can remember and gets hurt feelings easily. I make sure her emotional needs are met first when they both need me (after safety has been assessed of course...) at night...sometimes I have a very crowded bed! But those nights are few and far between!

IF your older one is anything like mine, that is ...NOT trickable in any way shape or form- my system may work for you too. My 2.5yo questions my every move and is literally on top of my feet most of the day!

Congrats on your new lil one and good luck!