A “broken” routine {The Ordinary Moments} 19
Before we went away we knew that we would have a “broken” routine for Arthur. We were totally okay with that. It would be hard work when we came back here, but it would mean that everyone would be able to have a good time with Arthur, and that was the most important thing!
At the moment there is only a three hour time difference from here and the UK (changes when the clocks go forward/back there as they don’t change here!) so considering how far away we are that’s not so bad! It meant that jet lag wasn’t a huge issue!
We arrived to the UK in the evening and we had forgotten how light and long the evenings were! By the time we got to Mark’s parents, given Arthur his dinner and bath it was WAY past his usual bed time! He then woke up at 4am which was a bit of a killer!!
Following that first night a new little routine was established reasonably quickly, for the evenings anyway! Arthur would still have his dinner around 5:30 followed by a bath (he loved the baths we don’t have one here so it was a mega novelty for all of us!). Then it would be PJs on and a little run around with in the night garden on in the background! Bed time ended up being between 7 and 7:30 in the evenings. Mark and I let everyone else do story and bed time with Arthur while we were there. Even though it’s our favourite time of the day with him it was really nice for everyone to get that time with him.
While we were in Leamington Spa with Marks parents Arthur was in the spare room and in general he slept pretty well, waking up at normal time 6ish sometimes a bit earlier and sometimes a little later.
In Plymouth, mum and dad wanted to have him in with them and he ended up being a bit of a monkey, he would stir around 5ish, see they were in the room and that was it, he wanted to be up playing with them! Of course they were very tired but I think they loved having him in since morning snuggles are the best 🙂
Nap times were pretty hit and miss, he would always sleep during the day but pretty often it wasn’t his usual 2 hours. He started falling asleep in the car a lot too which he hardly ever does here! I’m not surprised naps weren’t totally normal there was lots of fun to be had so sleeping would be low on the priority list for him!
Arthur went through a little bit of a fussy time with eating while we were there too, I think that was down to lots of grazing throughout the day!
Anyway we have been back home in Seychelles for 5 days now and we have been surprised at how quickly Arthur has adapted back into normal nap times! Fingers crossed so far he hasn’t been as fussy either with food!
I think that having the routine a little out the window for a while has been really good for us! I know that I for one can be a little bit crazy and obsessive with Arthur’s routine and so it’s been good to see that our little man hasn’t broke by going to bed a little bit later or not getting a full two hour sleep every afternoon!!
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Bless Arthur, sounds like he’s growing up to be a wonderful adaptable little boy. Glad you guys had such a lovely time. It’s so lovely that your parents wanted them in with them, bet they’ve stored up all those morning moments xxx
PottyMouthedMummy recently posted…Silent Sunday â 31/08/14
So glad you had a great time in the UK and Arthur’s adapted well to the time changes and the change in routine! I agree that it can be good to relax every now and again re routines. I’m normally pretty strict with ours as F&S both thrive off them and also going to bed 7ish every night, but on holiday in Spain in May we were relaxed about daytime naps and staying up late and it worked well. I think children are surprisingly adaptable! x
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Ah I can’t believe you are back home now. I hope that you had the most wonderful holiday home and it sounds like Arthur has been a superstar, settling in everywhere! Hope your not too sad being back, I bet the weather is helping! xx
Katie @mummydaddyme recently posted…{The Ordinary Moments 14} #32 ‘Celebrating The Ordinary Moments.’
So true that routines do just go out the window on holiday! Nice to know that it doesn’t break them or make it impossible to get back on track when you’re back home though. Sounds like you’ve had a lovely stay in the UK 🙂 X #theordinarymoments
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Your time over here flew by didn’t it?! I’m glad Arthur has settled back into his routine, it can be hard when their routines get messed up but it’s great to know how versatile they can be x
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Ah, yes, time differences! To be fair, we’ve always managed ok, but it’s definitely the wee girl who struggles the most! Our last trip back to the UK in February resulted in several days of ‘play time’ between 11pm and 2am 🙂 Glad you had a good trip, it must have been hard to leave, but good to be back home x #MagicMoments
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So pleased that you’ve had a fairly easy return lovely. My friend travel a lot and reckon their kids always go straight back to a normal routine once they’re home. We’ve only been away twice and it was fine. Bet you’re glad to be home xx #magicmoments
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These little people are so good at adapting, aren’t they? When we were in France, my little ones’ routine went out of the window completely and we just had a great time. They went to bed past 10 p.m. most nights and went back to their usual bedtime as soon as we got home. #MagicMoments
That’s brilliant that he adapted so well, I live about an hour and half away from my parents (so not even a teeny bit as far as you guys) but my little girl has to adapt to change of routine when we go stay. Unfortunately she’s at the age (20 months) were she’s finding it harder to settle for the night somewhere else meaning less over nights at nannie and grandas and more day trips for us at the mo.
Sounds like you all had a great time on your trip!
Your post made me giggle, I’ve always been a bit anal about monkey and his routine, even when we stay with my parents in Spain. I’ve learnt over the years to be a little more relaxed about it all #MagicMoments
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Aww sounds like he did so well, I can be a bit obsessive about routines too but they always surprise us with how well they manage going ‘off-routine’! Glad he is settling back to normal pretty well too 🙂 xx #ordinarymoments
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Yes, we were much more obsessed with the routine of our daughter but found we couldn’t do it when our son came along and it was the best thing as it allowed us to relax and enjoy it all more. I’m glad you’re all settling in back at home 🙂
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Wishing that we will have our routine back as well when school starts as we just went bonkers with it when summer vacation started. #TheOrdinaryMoments
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Oh bless the little munch. Even though you had a fab time here it is always good to come home and back to your own bed isn’t it? It was lovely to see you when you were over here! Hope everything remains nice and settled. My boy is being crazy at present. It is yuck! xxx
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WELCOME HOME…..Sounds like you had the best time and Arthur has been so so amazing adapting to everything. Hope you are all settling back in, I’m sure the weather is a lot better than here. Love to all x Ax
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Must have been lovely to catch up with family and so pleased that you have settled in back home too. Routines – have never been good at them so probably best not comment on that.
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You’re back! Sounds like you had an excellent time back home. I am very envious!
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