Monday, November 15, 2010

Tuesday Parenting Tips--Bedtimes


You guys are the best.  I had some great tips last week on potty training both here and on facebook.  If you need some potty training tips be sure to read about it from last week.

The thing I heard most often was just wait until they are ready.  And I think he is.  He tells me literally WHILE he's peeing. And he asks to go potty (for marshmallows, presumably) but never actually goes on the potty.  We did get a drop on there yesterday.  And when I say drop, people, I mean a drop.  A dribble.  That's it.

Another tip I really liked was a suggestion to get him a tractor to ride on.  So I told him we'd pick him out one for when he got potty trained.  I think that will help a lot.

He's currently in pull-ups because otherwise I'm wiping up pee and changing...well changing stuff that's disgusting and hosing him off in the shower.  But we are a step closer this week than we were last week. Maybe next week we'll have wee wee in the toilet.  Which is actually the name of a store we saw the other day. (Wee Wee that is, and not in the toilet.)


Today's dilemma comes from The Growing Stam Family:


I have one! bedtime, for the last 5 months and maybe for upcoming 2 more I do the single parent thing, (Hubby is helping a friend renovate his house so he could sell it, so after his work day is done it goes there and works until 11pm each night, can't wait to have him back with us in ht evening)

So I have 3 little goose to bath kiss hug put down to bed and I'm one of those crazy mom that believe that bed time should be at the same time each night!

My dilemma is that our 5 months old is not happy in ht evening while I'm trying to put the oldest in bed and read a story she will scream bloody murder all the time!

and because she is stubborn she will stay awake and be miss cranky pants until she crash at around 1 am!!!

Beside having 2 of me and one of me putting the oldest to bed and the other me rocking miss cranky pants what would you suggest????




So what do you think?  Have some tips for Renee?  I'll add my suggestions to the comments as well.

6 comments:

Mrs. Stam said...

can't wait to read the comment and find new tips!

Yara said...

I want to read the tips. I personally find bedtime to be highly overrated. Though that may be what I tell myself because we never have a regular bedtime. My husband has odd work hours and is not always home early, and my kids need to spend time with him... even if it means staying up late. Luckily we don't need to get up early most days, so it is a non-issue.

Kelly said...

I'm not going to be much help here. My husband works night shift. He leaves at 5pm, so he's never home for bedtime, been that way for 10 years. We co-sleep. We all go to bed at the same time, to the same bed. My 9 year old just recently started to go sleep in his own bed, and he goes to bed on his own around 9. I don't enforce a bedtime, they just go to sleep when they are tired and I've never had a problem with it. They don't stay up late, and they aren't tired. You didn't say how old your other children are. But with a 5 month old, first of all, her routine will change soon, and this will be a moot point. Secondly, I know you said you are a bed time enforcer, but maybe you can adjust the times some how so that getting the other children to bed isn't at that particular time when the 5 month old is cranky. Like, are the other children at an age where you can explain that just for a short time, you need them to go to bed earlier so that they baby won't be fussy, or let them stay up just a little later? Sorry, told you I wouldn't be much help.

Michelle said...

I'm with Renee on bedtimes. I'll tell you when Jeff's been gone it's been really hard. EVERYONE wants mom and there is just not enough mom to go around.

i co sleep too. Renee, do you?

Your oldest is five?

How long does it take to put the 5 month to sleep? If it's quick and easy, put her to sleep first, then go in to the other two.

If it takes forever, like jerusha, maybe you could put her in the sling/ergo/wrap and then read to the others...or whatever the bedtime routine is.

I would also suggest making bedtime routines shorter for now. Honestly, when Jeff was gone, I didnt brush teeth before bed or even worry about pj's. When jeff helps, I do all that. Prayers, and all. No prayers when I'm wiped out and have no help. We just have to do what we have to do.

Give us some more specs and we'll see if we can come up with more suggestions.

Kim said...

Well, being that I really WAS a single mom in the early years, I've never been so great about bedtime. First, it was a guilt factor. I didn't get to see my kids a whole lot in the daytime and genuinely wanted to spend as much time as possible in the evening - so they went to bed when I did.

Now that I have 5 and the youngest 3 are each 2 years apart, I do try to be more regular... but not in timing - rather in flow. There's a natural flow. And SORRY, but you simply can NOT convince a 5 month old that they must follow the clock! LOL! If my husband was gone a lot in the evenings (which is often is) and bedtime were all that important to me (it's not) then I'd probably try to get the YOUNGEST to sleep FIRST. That way they're not screaming and disturbing the others.

Hate to day it, but my youngest is now 2 years and 5 months old and is STILL the LAST one asleep 9/10 times.

Andrea said...

Hmmm...I have the same problem as you do Renee!! The only days that it works smoothly are when my husband does not have evening meetings, etc. and is able to either hold her or take care of the older kids. ONCE in a while what works is if I can get the baby to have a nap around supper time then she's not so crabby when I'm putting the others to bed...hopefully someone has some better ideas than that though, because I could use some too. :)