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It’s 9:30 pm on Saturday night and my baby is climbing on the kitchen table.
Throughout the week my baby follows a consistent routine and is usually sleeping by 7:30 pm. But on weekends, Mommy messes it up.
I give in to schedule killers like 3 hour snuggle sleep naps for baby and Mommy. Since Sophia normally only naps for an hour, such indulgences seriously mess up bedtime.
So I only have myself to blame that my little munchkin is roaming the house with a twinkle in her eye.
What about you? Do you ever mess up your kids routines on the weekends?
Written by Susan, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom.
Casual Friday Every Day says
The only time it does is when my husband isn’t working LOL
Nell
Faerylandmom says
Definitely. But…I figure the trade-off is worth it. 🙂
Amanda says
I thought I was the only one! My 6 month old is always so fussy on Sunday afternoons and it took my husband and I a while to figure out why. We’re so busy going from place to place on Friday and Saturday that he just wants to relax and be home on Sunday. Everything from nap time to bed time disappears on the weekends!
Holly at Tropic of Mom says
Oh, yeah. For sure! My husband and I were good about trying to keep our son on a schedule when he was younger, but now he seems to tolerate changes in routine better, so … sometimes we get caught up having too much fun and don’t want to stop for nap time or bedtime!
Petula says
Weekends, holidays and summer vacation… I am a stickler for bedtime, which is normally 8 for the younger kids. Mommy needs the quiet and the kids need the rest. However, I am more lenient when we’re not following a strict school year routine. For instance, my 17-year-old is in the shower, the 4 and 5 year old – although bathed – are playing in the living room and the 2 year old just finished eating and hasn’t been bathed yet because she and I were hanging out at the daycare provider’s house. I should be gathering up everyone and having them clean up, but here I am checking email, leaving comments and seeing if my friend is available for IMing.
I think a little relaxation to the schedule is good for everyone especially if they still get the same amount (or more!) sleep.
Jo says
Yep! And one night a week during the weekdays it gets messed up so poor boy is about 50/50 on a ‘schedule’ he doesn’t seem to mind too much.
Jessica says
It’s not weekends I mess up on… my husband works almost every weekend, so I am pretty good at staying on schedule while he’s not home, but the days he is off are the days bedtime gets pushed back!! (and the day he is off always changes… so there is no routine to the late bedtimes either!)
Heather says
Definitely our weekends wreak havoc on the routine, but I also want to spend time with family which is just as important to me.
Although you could argue that THIS, in itself, is a routine too.
Maddy says
My dad always said that babies thrive on routine……so I decided to do the opposite. He was right but we’re still sruggling.
Cheers
Diane J. says
Oh yes! PHHHHFFFFTTTTTTT! There is goes. The sad part? It takes until Thursday to get the whole bedtime thing back under control and then PPHHHHFFFFTTTTT, it’s Friday.
Morgan says
I WISH my baby would do a 3 hour snuggle sleep! (What is your trick?) If he did I would gladly give up his schedule on the weekends! Unfortunately, he likes to stick to his schedule, so we pretty much do. I have a much happier baby that way.
Maggie says
What schedule? HA! My children (17, 16, 12, 3) all follow their own agenda. It really works well for us (and them).
Laura W. says
Totally — but I don’t mind it. Usually. 🙂 In fact, I am grateful that my kids have learned to be more flexible.
Cheryl says
Yes! Except now that my baby’s older brothers are home from school everyday we are struggling to find a new nap and bedtime routine that works for all of us.
Jenny says
yea my kids scheduale goes poof on weekends. 🙂 i don’t know, if i don’t follow one, i don’t think he should either. weekends are a time to chiiiiiill.
Upstatemomof3 says
Oh just about every weekend. Yesterday we did not have the stay up late problem because she got no nap (and she is nine months old – napping is pretty necessary). We went to a festival in our area and she fell asleep for about 35 minutes but that’s it. So, she went to bed on time and slept really well. 🙂 The worst part, the thing I constantly feel guilty about, is that we never did that with my son. When he was a baby we were always home for naps. With her we are always messing up her schedule. Ah well, just the way it is with more than one huh?
Abbie says
When I read this post I had to smile! This schedule thing happens usually when my husband comes back from a business trip. My go-with-the-flow son works much better on a schedule, although my daughter just demands one. I am more the task-master, and my husband is more the lazy scheduler. While he is away, everyone is on my-tightly-run ship, and we are in bed by 8:30 at the latest. He comes home, the sun shines in the fun corner, and what do you know…we are up at 10:30pm again. Thanks for a great post!
Abbie
Courtney says
My kids use to be on a very strict schedule. Since my first born was 9 months old bed time has always been 8pm. As he got older we left it alone but now that he started school it is 8 during the week but the weekends usually end up being more like 10pm. It is usually because of a movie that is on that they want to watch.
Alyson says
Yes, we have the same problem as SAHP (Daddy) has a routine and then when I am off work, I tend to want to take more time with our new little daughter. We are more active, are out running errands together and occaisionally a special Mom-Daughter lunch (yes, at 2.7 years old, she loves to eat out!). When nap time comes late, we do have to adjust our schedule. Daddy is reining me in so that we hit our routine better. I learning!
Alyzabeth’s Mommy for Eight Months!