Happy Friday everyone! I hope that your week has gone as quickly or slowly as
you wished it.
As a lot of my friends and family know, I’m a very punctual person and I like
to stick pretty closely to a schedule. My brother joked with me when I was
pregnant that my punctual ways were about to be ruined. He said it will be
hilarious to see what will happen when the baby turns our lives upside down. I agree, bringing a baby home does change your life tremendously but I would
say it made my scheduling ways WORSE!
I am so thankful to live so close to my brother and his family. I get the
pleasure of watching my niece and nephews grow up! I get to be apart of their
daily lives! Part of this experience is some down time at the pool on hot summer
evenings.
The other night both their family and ours were enjoying the pool. It was
almost 6:30 and while Jared’s family announced it was time to go home for
supper, I announced it was time for Sam to start getting ready for bed. My older
nephew was horrified and questioned why I was making Sam go get ready for bed so
early! My brother jokingly jumped in and answered “because Ti-ti is a Nazi”.
Now you have to understand my brothers sense of humor to know that he didn’t
mean that in a malicious way. And I certainly didn’t take any insult to it
because there is actually some truth to it.
Around 9 months of age, I noticed Sam was a much happier baby when we stuck
to the same bedtime routine every night at the same time. He would sleep better
(longer) and was an overall content boy. We have always stuck to this schedule
and it is nice to be able to predict exactly when things are going to happen.
Milk, bath, Pjs’, story, song and prayers.
Ryan and I are not night owls and Sam naturally followed suit going to bed early. The latest he would stay up is 7:30 but most nights after a busy day of playing at Daycare his goes to bed around 6:30-7. Of course I'd love him to stay up longer so I could spend extra time with him but he loves his sleep.
If for some reason bedtime is not going according to routine, Sam knows that something is off and he isn't a happy kid. If we stick to the early bedtime and schedule, getting Sam to sleep at the end of the day is a breeze. He is happy to go to bed and doesn't even cry when he lay him down.
I also stick VERY closely to Sam's daycare schedule. Meals and daytime naps are always at the same time! This way there isn't any "getting back" on schedule period come Monday morning.
Being super strict with a schedule is not everyone's cup of tea but it is what works for our family right now. We will change as our boy changes but for the most part we like to live our lives in a predictable scheduled way. I don't like to "throw caution to the wind" or "go with the flow", that's not the type of personality I have, in fact the thought of no schedule would make me anxious.
What type of personality are you? Go with the flow or stick to a schedule?
xo
That is great you have him going to bed early, all three of ours was always, bath, bottle, bed at 6;30. They were so happy the next day. When we had company the odd one would say how come you put them to bed so early, my reply was always they can't stay awake any longer. That's great Linds xo
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you at all. When you know your kid and you know they are better on a certain schedule, it just makes sense to go with it. EVERYONE is happier that way. We play around with bedtime a lot. It really depends on how long his nap was and when he woke up. We keep on a "schedule" though with hours, dinner/bed is based on the number of hours he has been up. I do NOT mess with nap time though. No way, no how. THAT doesn't go over well. Sometimes it gets pushed a little depending on how late/early he got up. It actually works out really well since he put himself on this schedule and it is pretty much identical to the daycare schedule that he will have to follow in July. It's totally easier to "go with the flow" when they are older, but right now, consistency is KEY.
ReplyDeleteNoah is pretty good with going off schedule or staying up later, as we have learned with ball season now! He still won't put himself to sleep at bedtime and insists on being rocked, where he falls asleep quickly... He will put himself to sleep for nap or if he wakes in the middle of the night, but just not at bedtime! I'm hoping to correct this soon! Lol
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