Routine from 9 to 12 months with another child

Examples of routine when you have a baby at 9 and 12 months and already have another child? Here are the tips tested by Viviane Pelletier, an experienced mom!

The routine at 9 months begins to be more difficult, especially if baby is not yet sleeping and the older child is home during the day. The main problem is that the nap periods are not at the same time and it is therefore impossible to sleep yourself during the day.

Often, we have the impression that when baby is older, it will be easier and we will have more time, but we quickly realize that our days are just as full as at the beginning!

However, there are always advantages to any situation, such as having time to be alone with each child.

Here is a sample routine at 9 months and some suggestions to make your day a success.

Time	Activity	Tips
7:00	Baby and child alarm clock. Drink 1 baby.	Giving baby a drink in our bed while our oldest is playing in his room.
7:25 a.m.	Wake up and have lunchfor everyone.
8:30 a.m.	Everybody get dressed.	You can also choose to dress the child before lunch and come back up after lunch to dress with baby, while letting the oldest watch his favorite show.
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.	Nap 1 for baby. Games with the child.	During the child's snack, dinner can be prepared so that everything is already ready.
11:30 a.m.	Wake up baby and drink 2.	We can choose here to split the drink in two so as not to leave the child alone for too long. It is simply a question of giving half of the drink before the nap and the other half after, or even before and after dinner.
12:00	Dinner
1:00 PM	Nap for the child.
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.	Games with baby.	We can use 30 minutes here to cook dinner or do household chores. It also allows baby to learn to play alone.
2:30 PM	Drink 3 baby and nap 2.
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.	Waking up and playing with the child.	Give vegetables as a snack while taking care to cut some at the same time for dinner.
4:30 p.m.	Wake up baby and drink 4.	If your baby only feeds 4 times a day, you can divide the third feeding by giving half before the nap and the other half after.
5:30 PM	Dinner
6:15 PM	Games for the whole family and/or bath.
6:45 PM	Ritual beginning of sleep for the two children.
7:30 PM	Bedtime child.
7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.	Drink 5 baby and sleep.

With this example, you will quickly understand that it is downright impossible to sleep during the day, hence the importance of baby sleeping through the night. If not, see what I suggest on the next page.

Of course, the best method is the 5-10-15 method, as explained in most books and on Motherforlife.com. However, my doctor gave me 3 rules that I think are essential.

Baby wakes up at night, we get up to go see him.

Rule number 1: the intervention must last only 30 seconds.

Rule number 2: never pick up baby.

Rule number 3: always make the same gestures and say the same thing (example: Alexis, mom is here, it's night, we're sleeping.)

5 minutes later… We go back to see baby withoutforget the 3 rules mentioned above!

We repeat every 5 minutes for one hour, every 10 minutes for the second hour and then every 15 minutes, etc.

You probably remember that at first it took about 3 days to get the thing working. As you, your child and your spouse will not sleep very well during these three nights, I advise you to start on a Thursday. In this way, everything should be settled for Monday and you can sleep during the day during the weekend. Your spouse being at home, you can take naps each in turn!

Routine at 12 months

At 12 months, baby walks and begins to have the same routine as the child. Especially if he has already started daycare, his schedule will slowly adapt to that of the oldest. Baby will only take one nap a day at the same time as his brother or sister. In addition, since both go to bed at the same time in the evening, we have more time for ourselves.

Time	Activity	Tips
6:30	Baby and child alarm clock. Drink 1 baby.	Same as 9 months.
7:00	Everybody get dressed.	By dressing the children before lunch, we ensure better collaboration on their part since they are hungry and in a hurry to go to lunch!
7:20 a.m.	Lunch
8:00	Leaving for daycare and work.
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.	Activity with baby and child.	Start with a more motor activity and then do a quieter activity after the snack.
10:00	Child snack and drink 2 baby.	While the child is busy eating his snack, you can give baby his drink. We can split this drink in two. Half during the snack and the other half after dinner. In this way, the child is never alone for too long and it is easier to occupy him during this time.
10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.	Baby and child activity.	Do a quiet activity. This allows dinner to be prepared at the same time.
11:30 a.m.	Dinner	It's best to bring dinner a little earlier because of baby's fatigue.
12:30	Baby nap and drinking suite 2.
1:00 PM	Nap for the child.
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.	Nap time for mom, preparing dinner or whatever.

3:00 PM	Baby and child alarm clock.
3:15	Child snack and drink 3. baby	Oncan also separate this drink in two. Half during snack and half before supper.
3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.	Baby and child activity.	Motor activity.
5:00 PM	Suite drink 3 baby.
5:30 PM	Preparing dinner.	Initiate a calm activity with the child to be able to prepare supper.
6:00 PM	Dinner
6:40 PM	Games for the whole family and/or bath.
7:00 PM	Beginning of bedtime ritual for both children and drinking 4 baby.	It is easier and above all faster to do the bedtime ritual with both parents together. In this way, dad can take care of the child while mom gives the drink to baby.
7:30 PM	Baby and child sleep.

Section in blue: routine for weekend days or for moms at home.

So we can say that it is around the age of one that you will breathe a little more. Baby following in the footsteps of his brother or sister, it becomes easier to plan activities in the morning and also with the two children. Don't be too sad, your baby won't be one soon enough. All you have to do is do like me and make a third one!