Need help trying to find a daily routine for my 10 month old and myself

Corinna - posted on 03/04/2010

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Ms Michelle Anne Dean - posted on 02/06/2010

ELISABETH MAKE A LIST AND ACCEPT HELP MUSIC IS ALWAYS GREAT AND A PLAY PEN MY GIRLS SARAH AND RACHAEL LOVED THAT YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOURSELF AS YOU ARE A GREAT ROLE MODEL TO YOUR 10 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER WELL DONE MICHELLE I HAVE SARAH 11 RACHAEL9

Mandie - posted on 02/06/2010

I work nights also and have three children ages 4 and under. My children are in daycare during the day while I sleep. I work 11p-7:30a so I usually get home, unwind and asleep by 8:30. I sleep until 2 and then use the next hour and a half to do any chores that my little ones would interfere in.....any major cleaning jobs with the mop or cleaning of the toilet...ect. I also use this time to shower (I am a single mom and am too nervous to shower while my 3 babes have the run of the house:), pay bills or open the neverending pile of junk mail. I pick my children up at 4pm....it's almost like a normal schedule of someone working day shift I just sleep and work in reverse:) Then it's getting everyone loaded/unloaded in the car and home. I cook dinner while the children usually watch a video....my 14 month old loves Dora and Barney.....I think it has something to do with all the singing... After dinner it's play time for one hour and then baths. Bedtime snacks soon follow. Free play for a half hour while I clean up the dinner and bath "mess". Then everyone brushes their teeth and climb aboard the recliner for a story. My 14 month and three year old go to bed between 8-8:30p. My oldest is four and she doesn't go to sleep until I leave for work, but she has quiet time with a movie in her room. I then have about a hour and a half to either have quiet time myself or nap if I feel extra tired. I always do atleast one load of laundry per day.....this prevents the buildup of a mountain which would take all day, and then too I never feel overwhelmed by all the laundry. Sometimes when I wake up and before I get the kids from Daycare I use that time to do errands that are just easier kid free, although I have three to buckle and unbuckle....Sometimes I sleep until it's time to go pick up the kids...mothers do need rest too. And working nights you never seem to catch up on your sleep:) On your days off I recommend napping when your baby naps if your tired and if not you could use that time to do a deep clean on one room. One thing that really has helped me is organization of the children's toys.....everything is in totes. They can only have one thing out at a time and have to put that something away before another tote is allowed to be opened. And I try to clean things as I see them as to not get so overwhelmed. I keep and extra glass cleaner in the bathroom with paper towels so after I brush my teeth I wipe the sink and the mirror....it only takes a extra minute and then I don't worry about it later. And it is never too early to teach your child to help pick up toys......as you will find is the biggest source of clutter in your house:) The younger they are the more willing to help you I think. And for the real little ones make it a game....even my 14 month old likes to put all his "LIttle People" in the tote box esp, when everyone claps and says hooray when he makes one in:).....Good Luck and don't beat yourself up trying to get everything done everyday....it's simply impossible, and you'll make yourself crazy trying. A little dirt will never hurt as your little one grows up way to fast so don't miss out on too many moments with her trying to keep a perfect house that she won't remember anyway.

April - posted on 02/05/2010

I have 2 girls (almost 4 and almost 2) and I've worked graveyard since before they were born. I sleep when they sleep, and just get the bare minimum of chores done on days that I have to work. Days off I catch up on chores and sleep. You just have to prioritize; what really has to be done right away? Dishes, general picking up, vacuuming, etc, doesn't take long. Save the major stuff for days off or when you can get a sitter. My kids get up around 8 or 9 am. I get them changed, dressed, fed. If I've worked the night before, I don't do much but rest and snuggle them if they want. They usually play and watch cartoons. Nap time is 2:30 to 5:30. I get up, showered, dressed, make dinner, go to work (I work 6:45pm to 7:15am). Kids are with their dad at night. If you have a partner, make them do some chores too. It's not all up to you in a shared household. Don't worry about entertaining your kid all the time or doing everything-you're not superwoman. As long as she has lots of entertaining toys, and appropriate safety measures in place, feel free to let her play on her own. She might whine a bit at first if she's used to constant attention from you, but she'll get used to being it after a while and become more independent(which is awesome!).

Kimberly - posted on 02/04/2010

I am in the same boat with you! i just recently changed shifts but was working the graveyard shift with two kids running around is not easy, I too am going to school. you need to figure out a routine that will get you sleep and keep baby happy. i usually would wake my sons up when I got home and get them on my napping schedule. They weould get up around 7 when I got home in the am. then take a nap at 10 and sleep for a couple of hours. then my baby would take another nap about 1 and sleep another couple of hours. These little naps mean the world to you when yo uwork nights and have a lot on you plate. Here is another tip if you get the time to take a nap and need it then you better take advantage of it right then and there because you dont know when you will get to rest very well.

Michelle - posted on 02/04/2010

i am a mother of 4 girls under the age of 7 and i have 4 dogs. from day one you def. need a set schedule being now 10 months old it might take a few days to get into a ritual but the one thing i can say is definitely try to do laundry every other day fold it or hang it as soon as it comes out of dryer. i do the same basic cleaning every day and the dusting, tubs/shower scrubbing and wash all bedding once every week-2 weeks. my kids get a bathe every night to help settle them down and then make sure that you put them to bed at the same time every night.

Kaitlyn - posted on 02/04/2010

The only thing you can do is just try to do things the same everyday, weather she is watch a baby movie, Baby Einstein works with my 6 month old, and that will give you about 45 min. to get what you can done, And lay her down everyday the same time, I have managed to get it to the fact that I can lay my daughter down at the same time and it is time to go to sleep, she will play in her crib for a few minutes before she goes to sleep. Just always make time around the same time to have just mommy and me time.

Melissa - posted on 02/04/2010

Elisabeth what I had to do was decide what chores were most important and try to get that done...i put my son in a high chair and give him measuring cups to bang..he loves it...or what about putting him in a room and putting up they gate? yes they hate it,but you HAVE to get you're stuff done too!

Avi - posted on 02/04/2010

I guess you have to work out a routine for your baby and then work around it. My baby is 14 months old, but his rountine has been similar for the last few months.
Wake around 6am
Then breakfast
Nap around 9am for 1.5 hours
Lunch time around 12
Afternoon nap around 2 for 1.5 hours (hopefully)
Bath starts at 7:15 then bed by 7:30.

I also try to give him some stuff to play with when I do household chores. I give him pots and pans while I make breakfast. When hanging out the washing, I give him the basket of pegs and he likes to explore in the backyard while I do that. Its still difficult to do chores when he's awake, so I tend to do them while baby sleeps.

Hope it helps. Sounds like you need a routine for your baby. Good luck. :)

Lisa - posted on 02/04/2010

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Shelly - posted on 02/04/2010

I work third shift, but when my children were babies I worked second. I guess the biggest questions are: when do you get to sleep and how old is your child? I sleep (or try to) for the 3 1/2 hours both my children are in school (my son is in AM kindergarten). Sometimes I catch an hour or so before I go to work since he is sleeping. In the morning I get the kids on the bus, sleep, pick my son up, do lunch, then I have the afternoon to do laundry, cleaning, play, whatever until dinner time, then baths, play and bed. But like Dawn said, do one "chore" a day. This helps so that you aren't stressing on one day to get everything done and still care for your child. A schedule for your child will sort of fall into place after a few weeks, but as your child grows, adjustments will be made: like when they're babies, they require more feedings, as they grow older, they take less naps...

Dawn - posted on 02/04/2010

I've found that there are two keys to this: set up a chore schedule and do work in little increments. Example: I work on one room of the house weekly for a bigger clean (Livingroom mondays, Bathrooms tuesdays. etc) Since i have my own machines, i do one load of laundry daily during the week so that i don't have a HUGE laundry day. Working in bits means you don't always do a whole job all at once. While i'm making my son's food, i take a few minutes to unload the dishwasher. Later on, i'll take a few minutes to load it again--things like that. If you have a job that needs attention for a longer period of time, then you have to save it for nap time. But i've worked it out that i get eerything done while he's awake--sometimes with his "help"--and then his naptime is my freetime. Break up your tasks into managealble chunks and everything will fall into place. Checklists help too!

Amanda - posted on 02/03/2010

this is what I did hope that it helps I worked days but you can do it just backwards. lol:

So we got up at 8 am I got dressed changed my little pudding head, gave him a bottle, until he was big enough to eat real food and then I fixed him a bowl of oatmeal or scrambled some eggs, I drank my coffee, packed the diaper bag and he went to his grandmothers until I picked him up at 5:30. (This was his routine there he played and he "helped" her with her work until around 12 then he ate lunch and got cleaned up nap time by 1 and he was up about 3) he would get home with me around 6 and he would play while I fixed dinner with his daddy. We had dinner by 7 and I TRIED to have him in bed by no later than 9. But that aside let me tell you because I now have an 18 month old and a 3 month old, you HAVE to get them in a routine early on. Not because of them so much but because of you. As amazing as being a mom is there are other things that need to be done, and laundry no matter how much I pray does not wash dry and fold itself and floors are going to need to be swept and mopped regardless. But this is the thing, I have found that if my son does everything around the same time everyday he is much happier and relaxed...let something in the day be an hour late and he is horrible the entire rest of the day. And if she lays down for a nap at the same time everyday and that gives you time to do some of the house work that you need to do. And the rest of the stuff can always wait until bed time. Houses need to be cleaned that's the fact BUT your baby needs you. As much as I WISH I WAS I am NEVER in bed before 11 and that means that I am the first one up and the last one down, it is exhausting but I have found that it is the best way that I have ever found to do it. And I have tried it just about every way possible. I don't think that there is anyway to make it any easier until the kids get a little older and can help out a little more. Until then this works for me and I hope that it works for you to.