Do you keep your child on a routine?

indianasunshine · January 2011

We tend to follow Miller's cues, and, inevitably, they usually fall into a routine. DH is manic about sticking to the routine. I am much more go with the flow. For instance, M is still asleep. He went to sleep late, as he has been doing a lot lately. Usually by this time, I have changed his diaper, dressed him, and at least started his bottle before I leave for work. DH will be home in a matter of minutes, and I know he will question why I haven't gotten him up yet and then he will say something like, "This is going to mess up his whole day!"

OK, Mr. Drama. The babe is cutting 6 teeth, including 4 molars, and is Mr. Fussy Pants. I choose to let him sleep as long as he is comfortable!

daisydana · January 2011

I really try to stick to a routine as much as possible. I'm sure my DH would agree with you about going with the flow, but there are times that Sydney doesn't give cues, yet she is dead tired. My DH is more laid back in general though. And... I guess I can admit it... I'm a little of a control freak.

LyndaCarter · January 2011

I mostly follow cues for naps, eating and so on, but bedtimes are pretty strict. I never wake up a sleeping child unless we have to l eave the house for some reason.

YaraC · January 2011

We stick to a loose routine. If she wants to take a nap outside of her normal time though, I certainly don't stop her (though I might wake her up if I think it will mess up bedtime). If she were to ever sleep in, nothing in the world could make me wake her. To date this has never happened. She is the world's best alarm clock.

ateytelb · January 2011

I have always let Jason sleep as much as he wants in the morning (he usually wakes up early though), but I wake him up if he takes his afternoon nap for too long. If I don't then he will go to bed at midnight.

dkays · January 2011

I am a firm believer in never wake a sleeping child. We do as much of a routine as we can with having the older ones busy schedules. We are not strict on bedtime since T is the only one at her sitter and can nap whenever. I think it really depends on the personality of the LO on how strict of a routine you have to have.

superaunt · January 2011

I think kids, especially, thrive on routine so I do stick with a routine. That said, it doesn't apply to how long she sleeps or exactly what time she goes down- except for bedtime. That is always no later than 7PM, period.

KirstieC · January 2011

We definitely keep Betty Jane on a routine (which has worked like a dream), but we are also flexible within the routine. I'll let her sleep as long as she wants for naps as long as it doesn't exceed 2 hours (rarely happens) and if she wants to eat a little earlier than normal then that's fine too. We do keep a pretty strict bedtime routine. I think a lot of it depends on what works best for the baby AND the parents. Part of the challenge (and can be challenging!) is finding that balance of baby adapting to your life just as much as you adapt to baby's life.

Just my 2 cents :-)

kimisuejoia · January 2011

LyndaCarter:
I mostly follow cues for naps, eating and so on, but bedtimes are pretty strict. I never wake up a sleeping child unless we have to leave the house for some reason.

This, exactly!

fiazo · January 2011

I try to stick with routine. I usually pay the price if I don't. Routines are a great way for me to also schedule me time. (like check up on bump).

Pesky · January 2011

I'm in between. Like you, we follow our kids' cues and they naturally fall into a routine. There is also a routine imposed by daycare and we try to follow that on the days off. But we aren't rigid about that. Sometimes nap gets pushed by as much as 1 hr. DS definitely sleeps longer at home than at DC but I don't let his nap go beyond 3 hrs because I know from experience that means he'll be up longer at night. I think you have to go with the ebb and flow of your child's needs within reason.

Piranha54 · January 2011

We tend to follow a routine, but again it's generally based on her cues. I tend to be most adamant about bedtime and dinner time since messing with these causes the meltdowns Wink

But if she's sleeping, in the morning or a nap, I'd let her sleep as long as she wanted unless we had to leave or it was getting to the point of possibly interfering with bedtime. Sleep is good!

SFAug07 · January 2011

We never wake her when she is asleep. Other than that, we stick with the routine but are somewhat flexible too, if she is clearly not tired for her nap, she can stay up a little longer and blow off steam. Bedtime for the night is always 7 pm though, especially now that she is only taking one nap per day.

rsd12 · January 2011

I am all for a routine! Otherwise our household might be a bit chaotic. But for the most part the boys have fallen into their own schedules. I may have helped the youngest with naps a little to ensure I had 2 kids napping at the same time ; )

But as they get older it get's easier to have a more open schedule. We have pushed Keegan to napping later or earlier so we can do family things together during the weekend. He is definitely a go with the flow kid!

mtnrider · January 2011

If he's tired I let him sleep, if he's hungry I feed him, I never care if it's outside his usual times, he's a baby, there will be plenty of time for structure and routine when he's older!

vanverth · January 2011

We have a flexible routine but we try to mimic daycare. That being said, if Michael was still asleep at 9am, after checking to make sure he was still breathing, I sure as hell would not wake him up. The only thing we try to honor is eating about 6:30 and bedtime between 7 and 8 pm.

peeper72 · January 2011

The woman who cares for her while we work has a very strict routine. We are slackers in comparison with our lose interpretation of "routine". Starting the bedtime routine is non-negotiable though.

stever · January 2011

We sound a lot like you, Indy. We follow M's cues and that often means there's a routine, but usually not. Our days follow more of a general guideline than a set of written-in-stone rules.

Want a personalized experience?

Do you keep your child on a routine?

Re: Do you keep your child on a routine?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards