Routines
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11560
Printed Date: 07 April 2026 at 1:49pm
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Topic: Routines
Posted By: cuppatea
Subject: Routines
Date Posted: 15 October 2007 at 9:11pm
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Does anyone run their household to a routine?
And buy that I don't just mean bedtime I mean like your whole life? Kind of along the lines of what supernanny draws up for people. Basically what I want to know is if this works or did you try it and it was a complete disaster. And the reason for wanting to know is that my work have emailed me and asked if I would be interested in working on a project that starts in "about a month" (which is boss talk for anytime from tomorrow till xmas). I have said yes as I will mostly be able to do the work from home and will just need to go in for "a couple of meetings" (more vague boss talk). Was planning to work from home in January for them anyway so this has just brought the topic forward a bit. Basically from what I understand I would need to be committing 16-24 hours per week to the project, the plan is for me to work around DH's shifts as I am very anti childcare (well until he is older enough to play with other kids anyway). At the moment I just take each day as it comes and have no real routine except at bedtime, Spencer has not set his own routine (obviously takes after me) so each day is different. And after having a disaster of a day where I managed to achieve pretty much nothing I'm wondering why the hell I said yes and how the hell I will find 16-24 hours to work!!! Plus if DH is looking after DS I can't have him coming to me every 5 mins saying "i've changed his nappy 6 times and he's still crying" which is what happens whenever he has him at the moment, so think I need it all laid out so he has something to follow. Anyway, any insights into what you do, or what you have tried that has or hasn't worked would be greatly appreciated. ------------- 
 
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Replies:
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 15 October 2007 at 9:27pm
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i;ve always thought we should have a routine, and we do kinda i guess. get up, breakfast and the kids watch Blues CLues and in the night garden while i do some washing and wash myself. then we go out - somewhere - anytwahere. lunch and then taine has a sleep from 1-3(ish) jake watches a dvd, or does some colouring. then we do some kinda thing. then dinner, bath and bed (sometimes bath then dinner) then the kids go to bed and i play on computer until 8:30 (and watch tv) then study for one-two hours depending on the assignment level.
on weekends, i always take the boys out so lew can sleep (works nights). if I am desperate for some help i will either make lew take the boys out, or drop them off somewhere. not much help i know. you do work out your own routine though |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 7:48am
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Our routine is mostly based around meal times. So first up is breakfast, then a load of washing on, load of dishes on, play with the kids, baby goes to bed, washing gets hung out, kitchen gets finished off (on a good day lol). Usually about then we go out because most preschool activities are in the morning when the baby likes to sleep *rolls eyes*, take morning tea with us, come home for/before lunch, at which time the older two usually have a sleep. After 2pm (wake time) it's free play, reading books, playing puzzles etc, 3pm is afternoon tea, 4pm is starting to get ready for dinner or getting the washing in or whatever needs doing, 5pm if we're onto it we'll involve the kids in tidying up the lounge, 5.30pm is dinner, there's a bit of free play after dinner usually then 6pm or just after is time for pj's, a short movie (usually a couple of Thomas the Tank Engine clips) or sometimes a book if we still have energy! then bedtime for the kids is around 7pm for all of them.
It's a lot easier to get a routine like this when you have more kids and/or as they get older. But when I was about ready to leave Kryssi with DH (as you probably know he has recently become SAHD while I work), I pretty much just kept note of what I did with her at what times over a couple of days and then it looked like this: (for Kryssi at 8mos) 6.00am wake, feed, breakfast 8.30am feed, bed 11.00am up (change), eat, play 12.00pm feed, bed 3.00pm up, afternoon tea, play 4.00pm feed, bed 5.00pm up, dinner, play 6.30pm feed, bed changes at all the 'ups' of course but I used to have to write that down for DH when we had our first baby  -------------  |
Posted By: Glow
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:06am
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Yea we have routines & chores. Yep my life is set to a routine, but is also flexible. Spontaneity is cool but you also got to be prepared for the inevitable, planning is essential.
Kalyx wakes at 7am has cuddles, has breakfast, has a nappy-less kick & rub. He then gets put into his chair while i do Brae. He Watches & plays with his Brother then a nap & it goes on like that. At the same time i cook, clean, play & it goes on all day & i go crazy, practising magic   ------------- Mummy of Two Boys B: 2004 K: 2007 |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:41am
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lol about going crazy and practising magic -------------
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Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:43am
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Don't have a set routine yet for Ella, but am also keen to get one going as I will going back to work part-time in Jan and doing some work from home.
Know what you mean about DH coming to you every 5 mins- have just started training DH into how to look after Ella in the weekend, so that I can have a couple of hrs to myself (she is a bit of a catnapper, so doesn't sleep that much during the day so it can get pretty tiring). Good luck with working out a routine...would be interested to hear how you get on as it looks like our 2 are almost the same age. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: Chovynz
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 9:46am
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At the moment at our house the routine is around sleeps and mealtimes. But there's so much to do around here (we live in a 2 story house) its ridiculous. I'm gonna be tweaking things around here soon. Tightening up the ropes and trimming the sails and all that.
I think routine is good, but you need to build in flexiblity. In your case I would advice getting a routine for that 16-24 hours. That's like the big stone in the bucket story. (Heard of that? your life is like a bucket. Put the big rocks in first, then the medium rocks, then the stones, then the pebbles, then the sand. is it full? no, can still add water to it.) That work you've taken on is like the big rocks. But so is feeding the kids. Nappies is big/medium. What I'm trying to say is its about priority. You'll figure out what yours are. ------------- Defending the male species since 1980 
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Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:39pm
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Our routine is based around Jack so not much help there.
I did find tho once Jack started solids he fell into his own routine. Try writing down everything you do for a week and see if there is a bit of a routine. Do you do the whole wake up, feed, play, sleep routine? Maybe borrow the sleep video from plunket so your dh can figure out spencers tired signs so he knows when to put him to bed. As he gets older it will be easier to find time 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 16 October 2007 at 8:57pm
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Yeah we do try and do the whole feed play sleep thing, and have even been to the plunket family centre to try and sort his day sleeps out, which we seem to be on top of now.
I was probably being a bit unfair to DH, he was that bad during the first few weeks but isn't too bad now, and really when he's not here all day I can't expect him to know how everything is done. Plus, I am a control freak and if I see him doing something differently to how I do it I really have to bite my tongue or resist the urge to just take over and remind myself that just because it isn't my way doesn't mean its the wrong way. I have been getting him to put him to bed some nights as well so that he learns the bedtime routine as that is about the time of day I will need to be working when he is on earlies, and will have to get him to get up with me one day so he can see how the day starts and how the whole routine should go. I.e feed, play sleep. -------------
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 17 October 2007 at 7:42pm
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Cuppatea I think we have a lot in common ------------- |