I’m always interested in how people structure their days — especially other mamas. These little ones seem to really thrive on a predictable schedule, I suppose because they lack so little control over their own lives. It must be nice to have a sense of how things are going to go each day when you have pretty much zero authority over the schedule.
We obviously can’t stick to this schedule every single day, but I make an effort to make this their reality at least 80-90% of the time. Oddly enough, I think it’s this consistency that makes both Prim and Lark much more adaptable when we’re traveling and unable to stick to their normal routine. I also keep this structure somewhat flexible to account for the random days when the girls don’t sleep well or nap on the go, but the below is the general framework we follow on normal days.
Prim has been on a schedule for a long time, but I read a lot about routines after Lark was born because I was struggling with managing the schedules of an almost-2-year old and a newborn. I was a little frustrated with a lot of what I read because it seemed like most of the schedules were aimed at people who had a baby OR a toddler — not both. Given that many people have more than one child, I wanted to see schedules that accounted for more than one child in the same household. The only schedule I found that took multiple kids into consideration was the Moms on Call book series, which was really helpful in setting up our rhythm.
Now that Lark is older and the girls are sharing a room, their schedules are much more enmeshed and seamless, but it was not without some trial and error during the first months. Our schedule seems to be continually evolving to account for consolidating naps and nursing sessions as Lark gets older, which I think is normal. Now that Lark is down to two naps a day though, this will likely be our schedule for awhile, as she likely won’t go down to one nap until she’s a year old.
7:30am We get girls out of their room and bring them into our bed for a bit of cozy time and so Lark can nurse.
The girls often wake up around 7am, but after having a rough transition period when they first started sharing a room where Prim would wake up for the day at 5am (um, NO THANKS) I bought her a clock that lights up when it’s time to get up. She now knows that when the “light turns green it’s time to wake up” and will start calling for us after it goes on.
8:00am Breakfast
9:30am Lark nurses and takes first nap (1 1/2 to 2 hours)
11:30/Noon Lunch
1pm-3pm Lark nurses and Prim and Lark nap
The girls go down for their nap awake together and are generally in their room for two hours total, but usually only sleep an hour and a half of that time.
3/3:30pm Snack
4pm Lark nurses (some days)
I’m trying to eliminate this feeding.
5/5:30pm Dinner
I don’t prefer to eat dinner this early and I am working to move dinner back bit by bit. I started having them eat this early when I combined their bedtime routine because Lark could not be up past 7pm (she just can’t hang). I have now managed to push bedtime to 7:30pm (and usually not a moment later — Lark is very strict on this). I am dreading the upcoming time change a little bit, because I really don’t want them going to bed at 6:30pm.
6:45pm Bedtime routine starts
Girls take a bath together, pajamas on, read 1-2 stories, sing one song, nightlight + sound machine on, Lark nurses.
7:30pm Girls in bed, door closed