Schedule. Routine. Groundhog’s day. Whatever you wanna call it, toddlers thrive on routine and structure. Those words mean something completely different to everyone, but I interpret them in the loosest sense possible. Before entering motherhood, I always had a “play it by ear” attitude when it came to my own daily routine. Any schedule of mine has to have built in flexibility or I’ll go nuts!
That’s the beauty of a schedule though. It’s yours to create, tweak, ignore, and shape however you please. You tailor it exactly to the needs of your family and your baby. By no means am I saying ours is perfect or suggesting anyone adopt it verbatim. I’m always curious what other families do, so I wanted to share our daily routine in case it could be useful (or if you’re just nosey like me. 🙂 )
My sister and brother-in-law spent a few weeks with us last month for Leyton’s birthday and some much needed family time. They don’t have any children of their own yet, but are AMAZING with Leyton. Halfway through their stay I asked if anything surprised them about spending 24/7 with a baby in the house. I braced myself for their response, hoping my loud and active little guy hadn’t scared them off too much. 😉 Their answer? “It’s a lot like living the same day over and over.” I laughed, but they were SO right.
That’s no accident either. Over my 10+ years as a nanny before Leyton was born, I witnessed the many benefits of having some sort of daily routine in place. Of course it doesn’t have to be the same exact activities day in and day out! As long as the order of events (especially surrounding meals and sleep) are somewhat predictable, then you actually end up having more freedom. Routines cultivate stability and foster a secure environment for children. Plus, it allows parents to plan our own lives a bit too.
Whether you’re naturally routine averse (🙋🏻) or not, any mom will tell you kiddos keep you on our toes. Babies grow SO FAST, so their routines are never permanent. We’re constantly reworking our schedule to best meet Leyton’s development and ever-changing needs. It almost feels like the second we get comfortable with a particular routine, he meets his next developmental milestone and boom! The whole routine is flipped on it’s head. There’s no use in ever getting too comfortable with one schedule or another.
Here’s what our days currently look like:
meals
12 MONTH OLD MEAL SCHEDULE:
- 3 solid meals
- 2 snacks
- 3-5 breastfeeding sessions
- Water in a sippy cup on demand
It’s hard to believe after all our feeding struggles post-surgery, but Leyton is still breastfeeding at almost 13 months old. Since I’m home with him every day due to COVID, he hasn’t had a bottle since he was 6 months old. Insane! He uses sign language to signal for milk, and we nurse about 3-5 times a day.
That’s way more than I thought we’d be doing at this point, but I’m thrilled we surpassed a year and am in no hurry to rip that comfort from him just yet. With that said, I wouldn’t be opposed to a little more freedom. 🙂 I plan to start following a “don’t offer, don’t refuse” technique to see if he might be ready to gradually start weaning.
If he weren’t breastfeeding, we would offer milk in a cup in place of those breastfeeding sessions. He’s a great independent eater (for now!) so I don’t worry too much about serving a certain amount of whole milk or milk alternative. In fact, right now he’s not drinking any at all! Of course, consult with your pediatrician on what’s best for your babe.
I can do a whole separate post dedicated to toddler meal ideas cause man, this boy loves to eat! He has a far more adventurous palate than I do, though that often takes a turn around 18 months. We’ll see what happens, but I plan to continue doing my best to offer a variety of nutritious (and easy!) meals for him each day. A few of his favorite foods include salmon, avocado, strawberries, Banza pasta, scrambled eggs, meatballs, cantaloupe, chicken, edamame, almond butter, and cheese.
sleep
12 MONTH OLD SLEEP SCHEDULE:
- 1-2 naps per day
- 11-12 hours of nighttime sleep (with the occasional wake up)
- Established bedtime routine
Toddlers (I hate using that word…isn’t he still my tiny baby??) typically drop their second nap between 12-18 months old. Leyton is already teetering on that transition at 12 months, so his morning nap gets pushed later seemingly by the day.
Eventually we will move his lunch earlier and he’ll just take one nap after that, but he’s not quite ready yet. Some days he only takes one nap and other days he needs a late afternoon cat nap to get through dinner and bath time in one piece. His nighttime sleep remains unaffected whether it’s a one or two nap day for now. I won’t mess with it until he gives me a clear sign that he doesn’t need the second nap anymore. I.e. Consistently having trouble falling asleep at bedtime or not seeming tired when his typical nap time rolls around. I’m happy knowing he’s getting the recommended 13-15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, even if the times are a bit atypical right now.
His bedtime routine has been in place virtually his entire life. I stressed out so much in the early months about sleep training and self-soothing. I did Taking Cara Babies and read tons of books and honestly no method offered a magic solution. It took us time and some tears (from all of us!) but right around 6 months, his bedtime became a smooth and enjoyable experience every night. Middle of the night wakings are a whole other story though, and took much longer to conquer!
His nightly bedtime routine goes: bath, lotion, jammies, sleep sack, sound machine, turn off the light together, nurse, sing 2 bedtime songs and lay him in the crib awake. He’s usually asleep in less than 5 minutes.
Nap time routine is a very abbreviated version of the above. The steps are similar, except he doesn’t breastfeed before naps. We just plop him in the crib and he grabs his lovey and paci and rolls over to go to sleep.
play
This boy is so playful and fun, but man is he physical! He is constantly in motion and loves climbing, crawling, walking, and exploring. I put together a whole post full of fun toys and gift ideas for his first birthday, and he plays with so many of the items from that post every day.
I don’t find any parenting philosophy to be one size fits all, so no matter the issue we rarely commit fully to one style or another. We are all about balance and usually land somewhere in the middle. Our approach to play is no different. We recognize how important it is in this stage of development, and try to make sure Leyton has plenty of independent play, child-led and parent-led play each day. I try to read to him daily, but he’d rather look at books on his own and closes them immediately when I initiate lol. As much as I wish we could cuddle up and read together, I know we’ll get there eventually!
His favorite activities for independent play other than books are; this egg sorting toy, stacking cups and mixing bowls, empty cardboard Amazon boxes (lol), and exploring anything in the backyard. The toys he most often brings us to play with together are his basketball and hoop, ball pit, these bean bag letters, and musical instruments like this mini guitar and drum set. I take the lead when encouraging him to paint, stack blocks, and narrate his water/sensory play.
I’m curious to hear what your toddler is into! Do you prefer a set routine or mix it up and make every day different? There’s no right or wrong way to do things, and I’m always interested to learn from other mamas. 🙂
