Going with the flow to structure- any advice?

S

sassy

Registered User
Hi all!
I'm trying to get my 9 month old into some kind of nap routine in the day as until now she's just been allowed to sleep when she's tired apart from night time when we have a routine of dinner, quiet play, bath, bottle and bed starting at about 6.30ish and in bed asleep by 8.30ish. Even this timing is a little flexible as I try to follow her lead but the routine stays the same 98% of the time. Does anyone have advice for going from following the child's rhythms to implementing a more structured routine?:crib
 
Maybe you can put more routine in her day for her so she will find it easier to understand what is happening next. For example, my baby has had the same kind of routine for months. Something like this:
Wakes up and drinks a bottle. Roughly an hour later has breakfast. Then plays and watches a video. Sometime after the video he starts to get tired, and it`s roughly at the same time each day.
After nap, plays a bit before lunch. After lunch, we get ready and go out for the afternoon (errands, playrooms, playgrounds, friends, shopping, etc) and then we come back (usually) for his nap.
After nap, has a bottle, plays here for a bit. roughly an hour later is dinner. After dinner I watch my show on TV (Jon and Kate:) and we horseplay around a bit. Then it`s the evening walk (since he`s started walking only). By the time we get back it`s ready to wind down and begin our bedtime routine, also the exact same every night, though the time might fluctuate by up to 30 minutes.
So if you had certain routine activities or outings in your day, every day, it will help your baby understand what she is going to do next, and also help her know when he will start to get tired.
It may sound a bit boring...as are routines, but they also help to structure the day for us, which is nice and it passes the time too:)
 
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sassy, it sounds to me like you already have a routine. imposing a routine on a child that doesn't fit with his/her clock is a nightmare and will only cause grief. you are MUCH better off establishing a routine that fits your child's current pattern.

also, keep in mind that usually once your routine is firmly established, your baby will up and change on you.

flexibility is VITALLY important (i think) when dealing with children. they grwo and change so much in such short periods of time that if you are not flexible, then you will be too stressed trying to make the "baby fit the routine" instead of hte other way around.
 
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