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May 2013 Moms
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How scheduled is your child's day?

Boo0512Boo0512 member
in May 2013 Moms

I'm starting to think more and more about how I will structure my child's day once she is born.

I'm really fortunate in the fact that once baby comes, I will be leaving one of my jobs and will be able to work from home at least 50% of the time with the other.

I am by nature NOT an organized person. It is my biggest flaw IMO.

My sister is super duper organized and has a very strict eating/napping/snacking/sleeping schedule for her two girls. Her older daughter (almost 3 yrs) is so well behaved and happy all the time and I think that part of that is because she is always well rested and fed! Then, you have my other niece who is the daughter of my Bro and SIL. I love her to death, but she is WILD and basically out of control. They have virtually no schedule/structure for her and I wonder if that has anything to do with her behavior.

I want to give my LO the best shot possible and I don't want my disorganized nature hinder her.

How did you decide on a schedule? Is it fairly easy to follow? Or is it totally dependant on the child? TIA ladies!

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Re: How scheduled is your child's day?

  • sillypitsillypit member
    As an infant it was very structured because she was colicky and it bought us some sanity.  As a toddler, the only things that are structured are her 2 day a week preschool time and her nap time.  Everything else is go with the flow.
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  • BekW2009BekW2009 member

    One thing I've learned in the last two years, once you think you have a schedule, there's a new schedule! If your LO gets a good nap routine down, that will dictate your schedule but the first four months will have no rhyme or reason.

    DD naps for 3-3 1/2 hours midday so we run errands in the morning then try to either play a little outside or do an art project in the afternoon but we usually stay close to home after her nap.

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  • Max'smomMax'smom member

    DS1 was on a schedule from birth. We followed the EASY method. Eat, Activity, Sleep,You. As a newborn the schedule was a 3 hour cycle and then as he grew it changed based on his feeding and napping changes. It was pretty easy to stick to with one child.

    When DS2 was born he was less scheduled but we still somewhat followed the EASY method. He more or less folded into DS1 schedule with some alterations for his infant needs. Like DS1 only took one nap but DS2 would take two. It was restricting but got much easier when they were on the same schedule when DS2 was about 1 year old.

    I think structure is important. Having predictable routines helps children know what to except next especially during the toddler years. We have routines for the morning and bedtime and we try to keep the times the same every day, but life does happen.

    You have to find what works best for your family and often you will find yourself trying different things. If I learned anything from my second child it is What works for one doesn't always work for the other. You have to stay flexible.

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  • MermaidNMMermaidNM
    We aren't super rigid now but meals are about the same time everyday and nap is set.

    It has been different for her different stages of development. She did much better with a rigid schedule before 2. Now she is good if she knows the plan and gets to make some choices.
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  • cmreadcmread member
    We were super structured when J was an infant - we followed EASY too.  He always ate and slept well, and I attribute much of that to his routines.  Now that he's older, we still stick to his schedule as much as possible, but if eating and napping times vary slightly, it's not that big of a deal.  We are always on the go, so for us it was important to get him used to traveling and being in unfamiliar places.  So we try to stick to the same time frame for his daily activities, but he can do them pretty much anywhere. 
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