McKenzie goes to bed and wakes up at
roughly the same times each day.
That is about all the routine she has and I am beyond glad for this one constant. It's the only thing that seems to stay consistent.
Past me would have cringed at this, but now I kind of just shrug my shoulders and sigh.
When I first found out we were having a baby I had all these awesome plans to have her on a fairly strict routine for everything. Nap times, eating, bed time, wake up time, play time, quiet time...
I even typed out a lovely schedule to give to anybody that would ever be watching her, which was mostly Lane's mom and occasionally my mom. It had start and end times, specific instructions for everything from bottle feeding to how she should be allowed to fall asleep on her own without too much holding or rocking. Lane and I tried to stick to this schedule too (not very well).
Yeah, I may have been a
That schedule didn't last very long. I soon found out that things weren't always perfectly timed out with a baby (you think?!) and I started taking my ques from McKenzie instead of trying to force my schedule on her.
Don't get me wrong, some structure and an idea of a routine would definitely be helpful but I don't count on any day being the same as the last. I would have pulled all of my hair out by now.
I also know that there are actual, real live parents out there that have been able to get their tiny people to stick to a schedule and kudos to them! I feel like that says a lot more about the parents' discipline, time, and patience more than the kids'.
I think I may have been able to stick to a more structured routine with McKenzie had I been a stay-at-home mom, but I went back to work after three months which made my schedule pretty sporadic. I don't really think it's fair to ask a baby/toddler to keep to a strict schedule everyday when they can't even rely on you to be a part of that schedule in a regular manner.
With all that said, the impending new year has me thinking,
"Maybe I should try to form an actual routine for McKenzie!"
McKenzie is almost two and would probably benefit from some sort of routine that she could anticipate on a daily basis. I also have the great privilege of being more of a stay-at-home mom now. So, this is something I will definitely be working on as I plan for 2015.
I will let you know how that goes.
