As I am quickly learning, every time a new family member (baby) comes along, there is a necessary schedule revamp that has to happen. This probably happens in foster families too, but I have not been a part of such, and would not be able to say for sure.
As you likely know, slight over a month ago our second child was born – and boy was there a learning curve. I had been told prior that the hardest transition is from zero children to one child, and the second hardest was from one child to two children… and so far that has proven absolutely true.
The Schedule Revamp
Along with the new family member comes a whole new schedule. A new feeding routine, new times to try and get out the door for church or other activities, new prep to pack bags for everyone…
The schedule revamp is really on my mind lately because we have been missing church, and that is a problem. We want our children to grow up in church, and we don’t want to be the family that falls away from the One who provided it all to begin with – but this is more about routines than church itself.
Work time, nap time, bed time… everything changes (again) when (another) little one comes into your lives.
What We Are Trying
In addition to super easy (crockpot or sandwiches) dinners on the nights we need to be somewhere relatively soon after mealtime, we are making a schedule of sorts.
“Of sorts”, because it’s not a rigid schedule.. more like a range kind of schedule (because you can’t predict the dirty diapers and fussiness and hungry babies and so forth), but you can estimate.
On Wednesdays, for example, we are trying to start a crockpot dinner in the morning, because we have company for dinner on Wednesdays and activities after dinner. Before company arrives, my husband will take over with the boys for about thirty minutes to an hour, so I have time to pump for our newborn.
The afternoon into the evening will be busy, but now we know that from about 4:30 – 5:30 I get time to pump and get the diaper bag packed and myself around. No, it won’t take that whole time.. but if I don’t insist on having that time (part of our schedule revamp), then it doesn’t happen and we don’t make our evening activities.
Then we have guests over for dinner, leave for our activities, and come home – our older son gets his bath and it’s time for his lights out from about 9 to 9:30.
Curious about how we know our fourteen month old son will go to bed between 9 – 9:30 each night? We invested our time in something called “sleep training” – and you can read about if it was worth it or not over on the article “Why Sleep Training?“.
The Learning Curve
We have figured out the flex routine through trial and error.. you know, the one where you don’t get to do the activities you had planned. Coming back stronger (and more prepared) is where the schedule revamp magic happens.
Don’t assume anything will be consistent after a new addition to the family… even the sleep trained toddler’s bedtime and sleep schedule. Our newborn is sleeping in a bassinet beside our bed right now, but as soon as he transitions to the crib in his brother’s room, I fully expect our toddler to begin having sleep issues (hopefully only for a short time) that will need to be addressed.
This comes with the territory.
Just one step at a time, and breathe.. you’ve got this, mama.
Did you use flex routines when growing your family, or go through a major schedule revamp, too? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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