Daily Pumping/Nursing Routine With Two Kids
I'm often asked what my daily routine looks like with two kids, specifically when it comes to nursing. Establishing a pumping/nursing routine is definitely hard!!! This was especially true for me since my younger daughter didn’t like to nurse. The following is an idea of what my daily routine was like as I remember it!
Prepping:
I have 2 bjorn bouncers. I kept one in the kitchen and one in my son’s room to always have a place to set my daughter down. I also have a bassinet in the kitchen- when my daughter was that young she hung out in the bassinet a lot because she was a huge sleeper. I put pump parts outside my son’s room for the morning (I have like 8 sets lol). My son always woke up before my daughter. I would go get him and brush his teeth before I began pumping.
Pumping:
I would pump on the floor in my son’s room while we read books together or he played with his toys. I always had a sippy cup of his milk that I grabbed on my way to his room, but he doesn't drink milk in the morning anymore so that's easier. (Pumping tip: Make sure to check flange size by measuring your nipple by using a silicone nipple ruler.)
*Multi-Tasking:
Things became harder if my daughter woke up while I was pumping. I would have to stop, grab her, and continue pumping while changing her diaper on the floor. Once I was done pumping, I would go downstairs to the kitchen and pull out some chia seed pudding or overnight oats for my son while I gave my daughter a bottle. Once she was done, I would change her clothes and change mine (I keep my outfit, as well as the kids’ outfits in the kitchen). I also get everybody's clothes out the night before and pack the diaper bag.
Dinner Part 1:
I give my son dinner around 5:30pm. While he was eating, I would nurse my daughter. When he finished, he would walk his plate over to the sink, I would grab his milk, and we would go upstairs together.
Bathing:
I would put my daughter in the bouncer while I bathed my son. He’d take a 5 minute bath depending on how my daughter was doing. Then I’d pick up the bouncer and move it to my daughter’s room to get my son dressed in his pjs there. Next, I would bathe my daughter. My son loved watching her get a bath- he would pick up his step stool each night and bring it over to the counter where I bathed her. This only lasted a month before he became disinterested and played instead, but was a great incentive while bathing him to say if he didn't listen, he wouldn't have time to watch his sister take a bath.
Dinner Part 2:
After my daughter’s bath, my son would play/read books or I played "Where are you?" while putting cream and pjs on my daughter. Then I would nurse my daughter while reading books to my son. He got used to just standing up next to me- I would tell him that my daughter wanted to stand up and read books and then he would say "no I want to." Once he didn't like doing that anymore, I would tell him that he gets to stand on the “special scooter part” of the chair and I put part of a cardboard box next to the chair and he liked that.
Bedtime:
Then I would swaddle my daughter and top her off with an extra ounce in a bottle. My son got to turn the lights off (he loved moving his step stool all around the room) and he got to use his quiet voice while I put her down. Finally, I would go in his room and read 3 books (if he wouldn't listen while I was with my daughter I would say to my son, “If you don't listen we will run out of time, and only have time to read 2 books, etc" while he drank his milk and then we would brush teeth (if he didn't listen I would say to my son, "If you don't listen we will only have time for 1 song instead of two"). There was only a couple of times where he didn't listen to me and he would get 1 less book and 1 less song. I had them on a reverse schedule as my son would wake up earlier than my daughter would, and she wanted to go down earlier. I put her down at 6:45/7pm and my son at 7:30pm.
I hope that helps!! Basically, the key is organization the night before with bottles/pump parts, clothes, and pre-made breakfast. I was a zombie at this time, and to be honest still kind of am, but that's because I take on way too much. I'm just starting to get to a point where I sleep better at night (kids both sleep luckily, but I'm always up late).