My Daily Routine With A Baby And Toddler

I think I finally have my daily routine with my baby and toddler done.

After giving birth to my baby girl, I knew that going from one child to 2 was going to be an adjustment.

If you have been following along with me on my blog, then you probably read about my oldest daughter’s toddler routine when she was 21 months old.

It is still one of my most popular posts here on the blog.

Even though that routine worked when it was just my daughter and me, things have obviously changed since our baby girl has made her arrival.

My oldest daughter is now 3 years old and my husband doesn’t currently work overnights which factored a lot into our previous routine.

So as you read about our new routine below, you will see some similar things as well as some things that we added or had adjusted since becoming a family of 4.

For anyone who is new here, I’m a stay-at-home mom of a 6-month-old baby and 3-year-old toddler so this schedule is what most of our days look like since my husband works during the day Monday through Friday.

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I thrive when I’m an organized mom and have an idea of what most of our days look like.

And even though not every day is exactly the same, we try our best to have somewhat of a routine to get us through the day.

With that being said, if you are interested in my daily routine with a baby and toddler as a stay-at-home mom, then just keep reading.

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My Daily Routine With A Baby And Toddler

8:00-8:30 AM: Everyone Gets Up

To start off my daily routine with a baby and toddler, we all get up around the same time.

If you are familiar with my morning routine as a stay-at-home mom, then you would know that I would aim to get up before my kids, but that is not currently happening.

Especially because my baby girl is cosleeping with us.

She still wakes up a couple of times to nurse through the night, so most mornings I try to get as much rest as I can and let her be my alarm clock when she wakes for her first feeding of the day.

My toddler normally wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00 AM and will climb into the bed with us for a little while before we all get up and head to the kitchen to start breakfast.

8:30-9:30 AM: Breakfast & Morning Chores

Once we have all gotten up, I will change my baby’s diaper and then place her on the ground in her Play Gym by Lovevery.

While she is occupied with her play gym, I will normally start breakfast for my toddler and me.

We usually eat something light that consists of eggs, sausage, fruit, and toast.

My 6-month-old has started solids and I do a mixture of purées and a little baby-led weaning.

We are in the early phases of baby-led weaning so she just gets teething crackers and biscuits at the moment while she gets used to the idea of chewing.

In the mornings, I will place her in her high chair with a sippy cup and give her a teething cracker to gnaw on.

After we have finished breakfast, I will go right into my morning chores that are a part of my daily cleaning routine.

In the mornings, I will do the following:

• Wash dishes
• Wipe down the counters and high chair
• Empty dishwasher and load with morning dishes
• Start one load of laundry.

While I’m doing the morning chores, my toddler is helping me or playing with her sister while she sits in her activity center.

9:30-10:00 AM: Get Dressed & Put Baby Down To Nap

After we have had breakfast and cleaned up, my baby girl is usually ready to nurse and take her morning nap.

So I will nurse and lay her down for a nap and then get myself dressed for the day and pull something out for my daughter to wear as well.

I normally try to get dressed when I wake up before the girls, but since I have been waking up with the girls, I get dressed after we all had breakfast.

And even though I’m mostly home, I prefer to look put together as a stay-at-home mom at home by not being in my pajamas all day.

I will also have my daughter change out of her pajamas as well and put on some clothes.

Getting dressed is part of the good habits that I’m teaching my toddler.

Even on the days that we don’t go anywhere.

I like to think of it as practice since she is learning how to get herself dressed and she also learns that getting dressed is part of the things that we have to do if we are going to leave the house.

10:00-11:00 AM: Baby Naps, Toddler Plays Independently, & Mom Checks Emails

During our old routine, this would have been the time that we would have left to get out of the house for the day, but since my baby girl is still normally napping at this time, we let her finish her nap before we go anywhere.

So during her nap time, my toddler will normally engage in some independent play such as playing with her baby dolls or her train set.

And I will check my emails and write out my to-do list for the day.

11:00 AM-1:00 PM: Errands Or Fun Activity

So once my baby has woken up, I will put her into her clothes for the day and nurse her again.

After she has nursed, we will make our way out for the day.

If I have any errands that I need to get done for the day, then I will get those done during this time period.

I have learned that during this time of day, both of my girls are in the best modes and fewer meltdowns are likely to occur during this earlier part of the day.

If I don’t have any errands, then this time is also dedicated to doing a fun activity and preferably one outside of the house for my toddler.

If you all caught my post on some of the fun places that I take my toddler, then you know that I take my daughter to the weekly storytimes at my local library.

She absolutely loves going to storytime and it gives her a chance to interact with other kids her age since she is not currently in daycare.

So we normally go to the library once or twice a week and then we will do another activity during the week such as going to the park, the children’s museum, or the trampoline park.

If we are not leaving the house that day, then we will do some kind of play-based activity indoors such as watercolor, puzzles, or play with playdough.

1:00-2:00 PM: Lunchtime

Once we get back from being out, it is time for lunch.

Sometimes, we will grab lunch while we are out and I will have a lunch date with my girls, but we mostly try to eat at home.

My baby girl is usually fine while we are out and doesn’t need to nurse but once we have gotten back, she is more than ready for another feed.

After I feed her, I will figure out what my toddler and I are going to eat for lunch.

After we have eaten, I will then feed my baby about half a jar of purées.

At 6 months, half the jar during each eating session is all she will really eat and I don’t try to force it if she starts to refuse it.

Once everyone has eaten, we begin to shift to quiet time.

2:00-4:30 PM: Baby Naps, Toddler Naps or Quiet Time, Mom Works on Blog

So during this time of day, I like to call it Quiet Time because this is usually when my baby girl and my toddler are both sleeping.

My 3-year-old is in that stage where she still needs a nap, but often fights taking it.

I tell her that if she isn’t going to take a nap, then she has to be quiet while her sister is sleeping.

I will turn on a movie that she can watch and she can lay down in the living room to watch it.

Sometimes she will go to sleep watching the movie and other times, she stays awake which is fine as long as she is engaging in a quiet activity.

Once both the kids are settled in, this is the time that I work on my blog and social media.

I have been asked before how I manage to get things done with a toddler and an infant and this is how.

I block out time during the day to work on my blog and take advantage of the time that they are sleeping to get things done.

4:30-5:30 PM: Dinner

After everyone has taken a nap or had quiet time, we start prepping for dinner.

I will normally nurse my baby girl after she has woken up and then place her in her activity center or play gym while I cook dinner.

My toddler has really been into cooking with me lately so I will let her help me make dinner in the evenings.

My husband is normally walking in the house at some point during this time, so once he gets home, he will grab our baby girl and feed her more purées while my toddler and I eat.

After we all have eaten, we will hang out in the living room.

5:30-6:30 PM: Family Time & Evening Chores

Like I was saying above, after we have eaten, we normally all hang out in the living room and just chill as a family.

We may watch a show, a movie, or a sports game during this time.

During the warmer months, we try to go on walks.

We just try to get in some quality family bonding time.

I will also take this time to clean up after dinner by loading up the dishwasher with the dinner dishes and turning it on and doing an evening tidy-up by picking up the toys and putting them away.

I usually have my toddler help with this task because I want her to learn that we clean up after we make a mess.

After we have cleaned up, my baby girl is starting to get fussy which signals it is time to get baths started.

6:30-7:30 PM: Baths & Pajamas

Since our baby girl is the one that starts getting fussy, she is one that will go first in the bathtub.

She gets a bath every night and then our toddler will get in the bathtub right afterward.

Once our baby girl gets a little older, they will probably get in the bathtub together but since she is too little to share the tub with her older sister, they bathe separately.

My husband and I will double team the girls during bathtime and one of us will wash one and the other will take on the other one.

After the girls are bathed, they both get lotioned up and their pajamas put on.

7:30-8:00 PM: Baby Nurses & Sleeps, Toddler Gets Evening Snack

So once our baby girl has gotten a bath and her pajamas put on, she is ready to nurse.

Sometimes, after she has been nursed, she goes straight to sleep.

If she doesn’t, we will keep her up until our toddler goes to bed and then try again then.

After my older daughter has gotten a bath and her pajamas, she has gotten into a habit of wanting a snack before bed.

And her favorite evening snack at the moment is a bowl of cereal.

8:00-8:30 PM: Bedtime For Baby & Toddler

Once my toddler has had her evening snack, we finish up her bedtime routine by brushing her teeth and letting her pick out a book for bed.

We tuck her in and let her know that we will see her in the morning before we both walk out of her room.

After we put our toddler to bed, I will attempt to put our baby girl down again and she will normally go down this time if she didn’t before.

As I mentioned above, she is currently cosleeping so I will put her to sleep in our bed.

8:30-10:00 PM: Mommy Time

Now that both of the girls are asleep, it is time for some mommy time.

This is the time that I do whatever I want to do.

I may finish up any blog work that I might have been working on earlier, read a book, watch a show or just hang out with my husband.

This is a time that I look forward to every day and enjoy the peace that comes with it.

I aim to get in bed between 10:30 to 11:00 every night so that I can be prepared to start my daily routine with a baby and toddler all over again.

Your Turn

Well, that is my daily routine with a baby and toddler. Now I want to hear from you all. What do your days look like with an infant and a toddler? Obviously, not every day looks like this but we do our best and have some level of structure is how I survive with a baby and toddler. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

Read More: Caring For My Baby During The Winter

Love,

Just Jass