Preston is on a very consistent schedule. It works out well because we both know exactly what to expect every day. The issue is incorporating family time. Ronnie is a car salesman, which means he works the worst hours: M-F 8:30-7 and Sat 8-5, and that's if he doesn't get a late customer. Actually, right now it is 8:44 p.m., and Ronnie is STILL at work with a customer. UGH! (I can't complain too much though...a late customer is better than no customer!) Right now our schedule is as follows:
7:30ish- Wake up
8:00- breakfast (He drinks 6 oz bottle in the highchair while I make my coffee and get our breakfasts together)
10:00-11:30ish- Nap
12:00- Lunch (6 oz bottle and lunch in high chair)
2:00-3:30ish- Nap
4:00- 6 oz bottle and some snack food (Gerber puffs or yogurt bites)
7:00- Dinner (All together preferably, but never happens)
7:30- Bath
7:45ish- 7-8 oz bottle (Nighttime bottle), light play to give him time to poop before bed
8/8:30- Bedtime
While it looks like a great schedule, it is crazy insane for me in the evenings. I am rushing to cook dinner (I am in the process of creating a monthly menu to simplify life a little), get Preston fed, get him bathed, feed ourselves, and THEN cleaning up before bed. I am almost out of breath writing that! Ha!
Anyway, the whole point of this post is advice on how work our family time in the evenings with a husband who works late. Do we have Preston go to bed early and just miss out on seeing his Daddy? Do I keep him up late and train him to sleep in later in the mornings? I don't want to do either. Ronnie works so hard for our family, and for me to be home instead of working right now. I also dislike eating at 9 p.m. Is it even necessary right now for Preston to eat with us? Do you think it would be better to have Preston eat dinner at 6, and just get night time bottle and light play with Ronnie at 7? And then he and I eat together at 8?
Your evening schedule is a lot like ours! I don't have any advice because I feel the exact same way! Sometimes we only get about 20 or 30 minutes of playtime with C at night. But, I just signed up for e-mealz and plan to start the program next week in hopes that it helps to streamline our schedule a little bit... At least we'll know what's for dinner! Are you familiar with it? I can send you the link!
ReplyDeletetitus goes down at 6:30!!! and seth comes home at 5:45, thankfully, seth is off from fri-sun, so this helps,,,I would just do business as usual, and have preston's schedule comes first, i mean no one wants to be around a cranky baby, lol :)
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion: early naps and bedtime by thirty minutes to an hour. :) Caleb went to bed at 6:00 for a long time, and it was sooooo good for him. I know it's difficult with Dad coming home late, but sufficient sleep for the baby is best in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAs for cooking supper? Crock pot. Better planning. I don't know. I'm still figuring that one out. :0
luckily, my husband works for himself... this means that some days he is home as early as 3 or 4, and has a lot of weekends off. this also means that there are times when he's out of town for a week or more working and doesn't see braydon at all, which breaks his heart. some times, if brandon (the hubs) has a big job or has a lot of work that he has to cram in, it could be 10 or so when he gets home. the blessing to having a husband in business for himself is that he can (somewhat) make his own schedule. the curses are that if there is little to no work that means little to no money (so i feel guilty complaining when he's working late), and that you never know from day to day what his schedule will be like. i say all of that to say this: you can't base little man's schedule around his daddy's. there may be days where he will not get to spend very much time with him at all--- and that's gonna stink. i know. BUT, like crissy said, no one wants to be around a cranky baby. AND, in the long run, you will be thankful that you were consistent in doing this. also, it helps to have the baby go to bed early because mommy & daddy need their time, as well. you have to nurture your relationship with your spouse because that, also, is what's best for your child. early bed times are nice for everyone. :) and, don't be so concerned about him eating with you both. braydon has just now started eating at relatively the same time as us, but that's because he now eats what we eat. and, even still, it's usually easier for me to feed the kids first, then brandon and i eat together after. ((honestly, usually i eat after everyone else is done when everyone is here, but that's because when the WHOLE family is here there are 4 kids, plus a husband to feed... and by the time i fix their plates i'm too tired to think about food)). sorry, i pretty much just posted an entire blog of my own on your post. :) hope it helps, though. you've got an amazing support system!! :)
ReplyDelete