From The Dad Playbook: The Kiddie Crossover

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So what is the kiddie crossover you ask? Well it has nothing to do with Kriss Kross, nor does it have anything to do with Tim Hardaway.

The kiddie crossover is all about the dance you do when you have two kids.

As every parent knows, a routine does not last forever. And when those routines change, there can be a tough period that needs to be conquered or else.

Since our second boy was born in October, he has been pretty close to our first boy for sleep. Pretty easy  (okay my wife may disagree).

He slept in bed for a bit and then went to the bassinet. He has been a through-the-night sleeper for a few weeks now and things were great. Everyone was sleeping and the night was pretty predictable. Yes, there were a few parts I did not like, but all in all, very routine and easy (again, my wife grrrrrs).

So with Charlie joining the ranks of three-month old status, he has not only busted into a whole new wardrobe, it is time to think crib action.

We did the same with Harry around the same age and as we remember it, it went not too shabby.

So the other night was night one and that also meant a change in the bedtime routine.

We have always flip flopped nights for bedtime. Now with two kids, that gets a little trickier. For now the new kiddie crossover routine goes like this:

Night 1: I give Harry his bath, bed and book throwdown – wife nurses and closes down the Charlie bar.

Night 2: Wife gives Harry the triple feature and I prep the baby for feed and sleep.

Rinse and repeat and as we don’t have a regular babysitter, there is not much break in the system.

Every night around 7:45 pm, we stop what we are doing and take the kid we are scheduled for. No questions asked. That is our routine. The only variable is if the baby is mega-hungry and therefore we throw the routine out the window and my wife does full baby, while I give Harry the VIP treatment.

It has only been a few nights but it seems to be going okay. I mean my wife gets the short end of the kiddie stick as she is in for much longer bedtimes, while I  get to sit here and blog about it while she does parenting.

In fact she is up there right now trying to put the baby to sleep or as some would say, walk a mine field in snowshoes.

Now, again, our two are pretty easy sleepers so I am by no means complaining. We have heard many tales of bedtimes gone wrong. I wish everyone could have an easier night time.

So this is the new routine. Well until it changes again. Just wait until I can get in on that feeding action with a bottle. Things will even up pretty quick.

What are your bedtime routines? Do share in the comments or on Facebook.