The New (Bedtime and Other) Routine

Chris and I are headed out for a rare evening stay-out-past-bedtime date (last and perhaps only one was Carolina and Martin's wedding last April) while the ever-fabulous and generous Jen babysits. Since we need to describe the bedtime routine to Jen anyways, figure might as well preserve it on the blog. So, a typical evening:
- (being honest here) 7-7:30: Merrie arrives home after staying at work too late trying to get stuff done and giving Chris false expectations that I'll be home sooner.
- 7-7:45ish: we eat dinner. At this point, we ask Sean to at least try everything we are eating unless it is really spicy. 2/3 of the time his dinner is what we are eating -- some of his favorites: greens and cannelini beans, spinach or other noodles with pesto, homemade pizza with sauteed spinach on whole wheat flatbread, veggie lasagna, the tofu from Indian or Thai curries, salmon, pancakes (rare). If he doesn't like what we are eating but has at least tried it, dinner for him is often plain yogurt with strawberry/raspberry jam swirled in or cottage cheese. I am not willing to cook something separate for him and at times it is a struggle to get him to try foods and eat vegetables.
-beginning 7:45-8 bedtime milk. Yes, for those who are a bit judge-y on this, we are still breastfeeding. No big deal for Sean if I am not around -- we just skip it. But always requested when I am home at bedtime.
- 8:15-8:30: Sean brushes his teeth with his preferred strawberry and mint toothpaste combo. Then he requests that Chris do the 2nd pass with both flavors if he's around -- not sure why my toothbrushing is less preferred. Then, one last time on the toilet -- which Chris bribes him to do with promise of reading a book, but I refuse to do that.
- 8:30-8:45: slow process of getting Sean focused on undressing himself, putting on a diaper (only time he wears one is overnight, true since last June), getting pajamas on. We are trying to foster independence and have him get dressed/undressed on his own (except the diaper) but it makes it go a lot slower.
- 8:45-9: one bedtime book. Not surprisingly, if Chris is in charge he often gets suckered into two.
- 9: tuck Sean into bed with his toy friend lobster. Turns out the lobster has been a big hit -- I credit it with a good chunk of the credit re: how easy the transition was of getting Sean sleeping on his own. He looks adorable in his bed with his lobster, and both Chris and I have a hard time not giving him 5 minutes worth of goodnight kisses.
- 9-9:30 we usually hear Sean singing or talking to himself but only once has he gotten out of bed -- to fill up the bathroom sink with water and play with it. In other words, he doesn't come wandering out at all, and once he's asleep he seems to stay asleep until morning. If he's had a long and late weekend nap (naps at school are always 1:15-2:45ish), we've heard him until 10. Ugh.
It's been really wonderful to rediscover getting regular quality time together, just Chris and I. So far, that's often involved curling up on the couch chatting and re-watching Arrested Development, unless I have conference calls for work (still a few nights per week). I have been staying up much later, which means I've been tired since my body is still getting my up at 5:45 most mornings. Unfortunately, when I "sleep in" to 6:15 or 6:30, it means I am limiting or sacrificing my morning exercise (vinyasa yoga by DVD). About half the time we go to sleep at the same time, the other half Chris stays up later.
Surprisingly, Sean has been waking up on his own a bit earlier (6:45 on average) -- a trend we'd noticed before we transitioned to sleeping upstairs. It's good that he's not so groggy in the morning and almost always he stays in the bedroom, often turning on a light and flipping through books. We start our morning routine at 7:10 -- "morning milk", brushing teeth, getting dressed, and walking to school. As I noted on Twitter, Sean gets a two triscuits if he walks to school to "refuel" -- does feel like I'm training a dog using treats. Oh well -- having him get moving (and often he jogs) to school is worth it for me. I usually get a ride from Kerstin (Yannick is in the other classroom) that gets me about 1/2way to work, and then I either walk the last 1.5 miles or so or get on a bus. I'm typically the first one in my office at 8:30 -- far different than the old me!
This summer Sean will be in a DC Parks and Rec camp 9-5 that's north of Dupont Circle and somewhat on my way to work, so our routine will look very different. I am excited to not be so rushed in the morning and maybe incorporate yoga classes back into my mornings. I'm also tempted to figure out how to make biking to camp/work and back happen, though I haven't tackled that yet.
Of course, one of the big lessons I've learned in parenting is once you feel like you have something "figured out" or you are in a groove, things change completely. But, figured it would be nice to capture what daily life is like in this moment.