TODDLER TIDBITS AND SCHEDULE
Current Schedule
I don’t think anything could have prepared me for this stage. None of my coaching, nanny, or teacher experience could have prepared me. There are peaks and valleys and then there are amazing moments that make you forget how tired you are. Or the fact that you need a shower and a meal. Alone. Then again, they are only little humans once so might as well make the best of it!
It’s normal for it to be chaotic most of the time but the one thing I cannot be late on, is meals, naps, and bedtime. Those are my big three. Especially now with 2 under 2. We definitely prioritize Maci’s schedule. We let her development kind of guide us in how we have dropped naps or moved her schedule around. Lately she has been lasting super long days and we as parents felt so defeated being that we had baby number two on the way. Finally I decided she needed an earlier wake time. My mom guilt did not want to wake her up before 7 but then I also felt that not having her on a nice routine was a disservice to her learning and growing brain/development.
We wake her up around 6:30 AM now and her naps are from 11am-12:15pm but can vary to 12-1, with daily walks x2, lunches after her one and only nap, dinner by 5pm at the latest. She’s been moody everyday by 5pm but that’s because she’s teething badly. We also have a skincare routine with hygiene built into her wake and bedtime. She's down to one nap and we don't let it exceed an hour and 15 minutes. Despite her teething we try to follow her schedule and let her sleep with us if she insists on coming into bed with us. We let her set boundaries so she is comfortable enough to come to us every time she needs comfort. She sleeps much better on her own and typically does well that way since we now have a newborn that has a witching hour that varies late into the night.
The first schedule I posted above is just a guide from when we were at the hospital with baby number two! We had prepared with an emergency care person but they flaked and these guides made me feel at ease with family coming over to help out and take turns with our daughter. The main thing I harped on, was again—her meal and sleep times. Those are always the most important. It’s already hard being a small human with emotions that are bigger than life. This helps us all maintain our sanity even through two baby girls crying at once; one teething, the other with a witching hour.
Her diet is very well rounded she will eat whatever we eat, we just made the menu above a more easy go-with-the-flow type, since we weren’t sure how things were going to play out when we were gone for 3 days. We wanted to make it simple for her caretakers. I was skeptical of her waking up early and feeling out of wack with us not here but she actually did really well while we were gone. The second schedule is her current.
Maci loves water, is still on toddler formula and gets most of her dairy intake from cheese and yogurt. I personally find cows milk gross and she does have some but my preference is that her dairy comes from other sources and has variation in it. She drinks her formula from a sip cup nipple, not a bottle. She was mainly breastfed for 13 months so she never really cared for baby bottles! We make sure her tongue is always clean to avoid tooth decay.
Pediatricians ask that they don’t have bottles at night but you just have to be careful and on top of things. Not everyone is comfortable doing baby formula but our daughter walked early at 10 months so she started losing weight faster than most toddlers. Her formula helps with calorie deficits, growth spurts, and additional nutrients. There are pros and cons and eventually we will wean her off. With a well rounded diet, and a non picky eater we are comfortable with the cons that do come with toddler formula. My favorite thing about it is, there's many options including vegan ones and it helps with teething and sleep changes. I also like my toddler chonky!
As long as you have a schedule, you are golden! It’s tough at times but totally doable. This is of course much easier said than done, since everyone’s situation is different. What I found helpful was at least having a successful bath + night time routine with our toddler when I was pregnant and couldn’t physically do as much when my husband was at work. As maci has gotten older I have her help me with her routine or household chores. She enjoys being my little helper and it makes her feel included. It has eased her transition from an only child to a big sister! Things like putting her dirty laundry in her hamper, hanging her bath towel, and throwing laundry in the wash all are simple yet easy tasks for her. Some people include their toddlers in meals, we let her stir the pot, throw ingredients, and put stuff away.
Things that help when babies and toddlers are teething, or get sleep disruptions are longer walks, park/play time, extra reading time, and soothing baths. Sometimes we just have to offer extra cuddles for naps and bedtime for comfort. Children are not wired to be trained to be alone. I have noticed Maci outgrew her toys so sometimes getting creative with what can stimulate their brain helps keep them occupied and happy. There's budget friendly toys at Ikea, Home Goods, and even Amazon. My approach is going for toys and activities ahead of Maci's age and teaching her ASL. She loves story time and she lets us know once she is bored with her activities so it is easy to know when to switch items out or rotate. These activities not only help with brain development but help tire them out as well.
The goal is to sync both my girls routines as Madison grows. The good thing is newborns sleep majority of the time and start off with three naps before they decrease down to one and that will be a buffer for us down the line!
Hope this was helpful.