Routine!

I have never really lived my life based on routine.  My job changes constantly (which is why I like it so much) and I've never been at a desk from 9 to 5.  My personal life was all about travelling or nights out with friends or nights in with my hubby....that is until I had a baby!  Wow, now I realize that routine is the name of the game.  It has taken me a while to get on that band wagon, but I do think it works the best for baby and for mom.  Knowing when Maggie is going to be sleeping or eating or playing, allows me to plan my day for work and for rest.  Routine is hard when the baby is first born, but even then a schedule falls into place (I tried fairly successfully to follow the Baby Wise plan).  What I recently found working is a nighttime routine.  I had made a fairly bad habit of always rocking Maggie to sleep.  The first few months she would fall asleep pretty easy if I rocked her.  I would do a few laps around the house and she would be out (she only liked it if I was walking and rocking not sitting and rocking).  This last month or so I realized that it was taking longer and longer to rock her to sleep.  My husband was getting sick of walking around the house for 20 minutes (or more) every time we put her down.  He started putting her down and letting her cry for a little bit.  This was making me a bit crazy and I constantly had the urge to go and pick her up.  It wasn't until we went out to brunch with some friends that I realized it was ok to let her cry for a bit.  I basically adopted their nighttime ritual.  Their baby is about 5 months old (a month older than Maggie).  Around 6:30pm they will feed their baby rice cereal.  After that it is bath time.  After bath time baby is ready for the bottle feeding (or last nurse feeding for the night).  They then put their baby down for the night at around 7:30pm.  They do this every night.  So, I adopted this schedule and also put Maggie down without rocking her (more about that later).  By following this routine, Maggie is now sleeping about an hour longer in the morning.  Her tummy is nice and full and she is very relaxed from the bath.  Even if you don't give the full scrub down or hair wash every night the warm water and repetition gears them up for bed.  I also slather Maggie up with the lavender baby lotion too.  When I put her down she is out and sleeps through the night.  So, all in all the routine is fantastic....that is until you break it....watch out!