Routine/Schedule & Meals

I have a routine and schedule (be it a loose one) for Jesse. I started working on a schedule for him when he was about a month old and eventhough it was alot of hard work and alot of stress, it paid off. Now that he's a toddler, the routine is a teaching tool. Here is our routine:

6:00/7:00 am (usually when he wakes up): I come in with a cup (not a bottle) of warm milk. This is my 'trick' to getting him to lay still for a diaper change. I usually change him into his day clothes at that point too. Afterwards, I make him some breakfast. After he eats, I bring him to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He loves that part.

8:00/9:00 am (naps are 2 hours after meals): Nap time. I bring him into his bedroom, turn the sound machine on, change his diaper, give him his 'binky' (pacifier), grab his blanket, sit in the La-Z-Boy with him and a book, and read it to him as we rock. Once the book is done, I lay him in his crib and cover him with his blanket. As soon as I can, I get out of the room. I don't linger and I don't watch him as I leave. He usually cries for no more than 5 minutes, then he's out.

10:00/11:00 am: I go into the room, get Jesse out of his crib, give him a little bit of time to wake up and play in his room, change his diaper, and then bring him out into the living room. Depending on the time, we'll play together or I'll start getting lunch made.

12:00 noon: Lunch. While Jesse plays in the living room, I get lunch made. Then I put him in the high chair and feed him. After he's done eating, I put him back into the living room to play.

2:00 pm: Nap. Same routine as with the morning nap.

4:00 pm: Same routine as after the morning nap.

6:00 pm: Dinner. Jesse eats what the family eats for dinner.

6:30/7:00 pm: Bath. After dinner, Jesse gets to play in the living room while I draw a bath. Once it's ready, Jesse goes right in (of course I undress him first). Bathtime for him is short. Maybe 10-15 min. long. At this age, he splashes alot. So, I wash him and rinse him and get him out. Then it's diaper and pajamas. Teeth brushing comes next. After that, he plays in the living room until bed time.

7:00/8:00 pm: Bedtime. The actual time depends on what time he woke up. About 5 minutes before bedtime, I bring him into the room and do the same routine as with Nap time.

That's pretty much it. Not too exciting or thrilling. This routing doesn't always go as planned.


Meals
The meals I make for Jesse I have gotten from a couple of books, http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/, and from my pediatrician. Here are some things I make for each meal. I don't make all of the things listed all at once, but sometimes I will make 2 of them at any given meal.

Breakfast - 1 scrambled egg with cheese, a plain or wheat bagel with cream cheese and Polaner's Strawberry Preserve (I use this because it is only sweetened with fruit juice - not sugar!), a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, oatmeal with pureed fruit and/or vegetable, YoBaby or LittleBlends yogurt

Lunch - Organic Peanut Butter (I buy the Smucker's brand) with bananas sandwich (I take 1 piece of wheat bread and make a half sandwich), Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly or Apricot Jam (Polaner's brand), Deli Meat (turkey, ham, chicken) and American Cheese sandwich, String cheese "cheese stick" cut up (Jesse's favorite!), sometimes I'll feed him left over dinner from the night before too

Dinner - Some family favorites are:


Chicken Fettucine Alfredo (I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot on low all day then shred it and use about 1/2 for the meal and save the rest for chicken salad sandwiches the next day, I cook about 12 oz. for fettucine noodles and drain, add 1 stick of butter and 8 oz. of whipping cream over same burner on low heat, and add Parmesan cheese until desired flavor)


Meatball Subs (New Fave!) - Made meatballs from scratch - http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/easymeatballs.htm , warmed up some pasta sauce, mixed the cooked meatballs with the sauce, put them on a sub roll and added mozzarella cheese. Super easy and both Jesse and Daddy loved it!



Baked Tilapia with Rice and Vegetables - I found some big bags of frozen Tilapia at Walmart. I put enough for dinner in the refrigerator the night before. I bake 1 filet for Jesse and the rest I put Creole Seasoning on. I bake them at 350 for 20 minutes. I make brown rice in my rice cooker and I make some vegetables.

More meals to come....