Are you wondering what it’s like to spend the day with a 19 month old toddler? Well this is the post for you: I detail our routine with a 19 month old, and get tired just writing about it! Go, go, go!
Little Boy’s routine has had very little changes in the past few months. Nevertheless, we are doing enough things differently that I thought it was worth a post.
Morning with a 19 Month Old
8:30- Out of bed. The actual wake-up is often a little earlier but this is generally when the kiddo makes enough movement/noise for me to actually go into his room. We then (usually) sit on the potty for a minute and then start getting dressed.
9:00- Breakfast downstairs. Most likely oatmeal, otherwise could be a bagel with cream cheese, bread with peanut butter and jelly or pancakes. Often times followed by a long several-book-long sitting on the potty.
9:30- Play and prepare to leave the house. Lots of variability here: sometimes we’re upstairs getting dressed, other times reading endless books (see above), or if we got up early we might just be playing with toys in the play room.
10:30- We leave every day otherwise it’s a really long day. Twice a week we go to to gymnastics, once Mommy goes to yoga and the Boy stays with Daddy or Nanny, two more days are for grocery shopping/errands and play dates. On the weekend we try to do something fun. Noticeably missing is a morning snack; ever since we cut it out, lunches have gone a whole lot better.
12:30- Lunch: our main meal of the day. Usually based on whatever dinner food I had made the night before, supplemented with veggies and occasionally fruit.
Nap Time at 19 Months
13:15- Nap time: we have a very specific routine and Little Boy is quite insistent that we follow it to the T. We come in his room and close the curtains and bathroom door and put on the monitor. Then we sit on his bed and he likes to be covered with 2 blankets- polka dots around his back and sheep on his legs. We then read a story or two, he lies down, gets covered, sleep machine on and I’m out.
15:15- Up from the nap, usually after an hour and a half, sometimes two, the kiddo likes to dawdle in his room for a bit before we head downstairs.
Afternoon with a 19 Month Old
16:00- Snack: this is almost always fruit- a whole banana or half a grapefruit are popular options. Occasionally an apple, grapes or watermelon. From time to time he requests something from the pantry like tortilla chips, in which case I make us some guacamole.
16:30- Indoor creative activity and outside play time. We devote this part of the day to either playing musical instruments, drawing or doing some cooking activity. We also make sure to play outside for a while and get out that energy. If Daddy is home Little Boy gets some prime soccer training time, otherwise it’s more rock/dirt/grass exploration time.
18:30- Dinner: It’s hit or miss whether our dinner is actually ready at this time, so usually Little Boy has his own meal here. We usually go for plain yogurt with frozen berries (prefers blueberries), green vegetable (prefers peas) and one or two more items depending on what he ate during the day. I take dinner as an opportunity to fill in whichever food group he was lacking from during lunch/snack.
19:00- Post-dinner, pre-bath we play a little bit indoors to get out those final bits of energy before heading upstairs.
19:15- Bath time: Daddy’s in charge- there’s bathing, playing, and teeth-brushing, some foggy mirror/wall drawing, followed by drying, diapering and pajamas. Usually he calls out for “Na!” at the top of his lungs, and I come in to do a bedtime story and put him down. We follow the same routine as for the nap, (adding a night light), except this time I try to limit us to one book and it needs to be one I have memorized because it’s too dark to actually read!
20:00/20:30- Little Boy’s in bed until the following morning!
What does your routine look like at 19 months? Do you have more similarities or is it totally different? Does having a feisty 19 month old toddler leave you exhausted too?
