When it comes to getting through the day as a parent, are there a lot of tasks and activities you wish you could do differently? Maybe you wish you didn’t have to get up so early. Maybe you wish you could even brush your teeth without hearing a cry. Maybe spending as much time as you want on breakfast, making some french toast with fruit and enjoying every morsel. But then you have to put your baby first, with all their problems, and we all know how hard it can be to make sure your baby settles down for sleep at night! They can wake and cry and fuss for hours on end, and then you’re left feeling absolutely terrible, and more so than usual.
So it’s time to make the routine easier. Getting into a routine is something both you and your baby need for a healthy night’s sleep. If there’s no routine, there’s no expectation to settle down at night, and you’re both going to be continually cranky in the morning! So first thing’s first: make sure you’ve got yourself a feeding, bathing, and playing schedule. Here’s some tips on how to make completing your baby’s routine a lot easier.
Make Baby’s Routine a Lot Easier
Be Loud During the Day and Quiet at Night
Teaching your baby the difference between night and day can be hard, considering there’s a lot of the day they’re going to want to sleep through. As adults, we know if we’re taking a nap in the late afternoon, we’re not going to get to bed well when the night rolls around. The same principle applies to your baby, but they don’t have the means to understand that!
So teach it to them by being louder and brighter throughout the day, and then quiet and calm when it’s nighttime. Put them in a bouncing chair next to you as you work and talk to them, or roll around with them on the floor in front of the TV. Baby is less likely to settle during daylight hours this way, and you have a space to do your own tasks without being conscious of baby being asleep down the hall. Of course naps are still going to be needed, but make sure you time these properly. Listen to baby to see whether they’re tired or not, and base your routine off of that.
Keep Bath Time Mess to a Minimum
Bath time is something we have to go through every night, which signals the start of the bedtime routine. So make sure your baby knows that, and introduce some calmer activities and energy draining techniques when they’re covered in bubbles and you’re trying to avoid being splashed! It’s a lot easier said than done, but it’s going to be worth it at the end of the day.
Buy some fun and friendly baby bath time products if you feel like the rubber duck is getting old, and always have some fresh pajamas ready to change them into immediately. These clothes act as a milestone for your baby to realise what the time is, and when associations come around, so does the sleepiness you’ve spent a lot of time wishing would follow.
Always Anticipate a Change
Your baby is constantly growing and that means they’re going to constantly be changing. So always make sure you’re ready for these changes, and try not to let yourself get too used to a relaxed phase in your routine. Let yourself enjoy it whilst it lasts, but make sure you’re spending the time recharging your own energy for a potentially more turbulent time right around the corner.
Make sure you know the milestones for common changes in your baby, such as two weeks or three months and so on and so forth. Being prepared for these stages is going to make life so much easier for everyone living under the same roof as a baby crying their way into a nap or out of a now boring activity!
Have You Got Your Routine?
You will soon, there’s no doubt! Remember, baby is always going to come first, of course,
but you have to make sure you’re taking care of your own health at the same time. And that involves getting a routine down to an artform, and making sure you can always be flexible when it comes to growth and change, in both you and your child. Don’t worry, your own energy levels are going to get used to things as well!
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