Friday, March 29, 2013

Building a Routine for You and Your Baby


One of the things I have learned from being a full time mom is the fact that babies who sleep better are healthier and happier. While I was pregnant, I have already prepared my self for sleepless nights. After giving birth, I slept 3-5 hours a night. I know I have to do something to make my son adjust his sleeping habits. In the womb, he sleeps all day and kick the night away.

So when he was a month old, I developed a routine for the baby and I made sure that I stuck to it.

My little one usually wakes up at 5 - 6 AM so I give him his bath every 8 AM. After his bath, he sleeps again. I'm breastfeeding him so it is easier for him to fall asleep. I give him his afternoon bath at around 5 PM. I make sure that he's in bed by 6 - 7 PM until morning.

Sometimes it would take me an hour to lull him to sleep, sometimes 5 minutes will do. No matter what, I ALWAYS make him sleep by 7. It was hard at first but eventually he got used to it. Now he is 1 year and 5 months, every night around 7 PM he would ask for "mommy" and I know he is ready to sleep by then.

What is good by building a routine is that the child adapts to it and it will make your life a whole lot easier. By 8 PM I could sit in front of my laptop and blog, I could have my after dinner snacks (a privilege of a breastfeeding mom), I could read a few chapters of my current book or I could sleep early :)

I'm quite proud that my son sleeps early and he doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night except when he needs to nurse. I wanted him to keep this routine so when he starts going to school a year from now it won't be hard for me to make him sleep early so he could wake up early.

It might be hard to build this kind of routine but I tell you, it pays off in the end.


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