Re: What does bedtime look like with littles when DH is away?
Ditto the use of screens if ds2 is interested. I'd send ds1 to bed after hugs with the littles, then have ds2 watch something while I nursed ds3, then his turn.
The other option is a bedtime story while ds3 nurses, but I'm not sure ds2 would get engrossed enough. That was our other go-to for solo bedtimes...I would read and read until they held still long enough to get sleepy....but that was mostly after weaning, mostly preschool-kindergarten age and up.
If ds3 isn't hungry to nurse first, I'd probably do a swing while nursing ds2 to sleep. Basically triage whoever is the most desperate and most likely to fall asleep first. It's usually easier to entertain the older one, but I'd switch if cues look better the other way around. Sometimes I could nurse the baby earlier while the older one had a late snack of solid food, then rush to brush teeth and get him nursed before baby woke again. I'd flex on bedtime if there was a good opportunity a little early, or let it go a little late if needed.
I couldn't tandem simultaneously...always had to make them take turns to make it more tolerable for me...but that's an option if you've been in that habit.
__________________
Homeschooling mama to five:
a young adult (graduated!), two high schoolers, a big kid, and a kindergartner
And yes, they've all aged overnight since the last time you read my out-of-date sigg.
|