If you are trying to establish a predicatble schedule or routine with your baby, you MUST follow this tip to get there quickly.
In The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, Hogg outlines steps to starting the Baby Whisperer EASY routine late–meaning later than birth. She outlines what to do and what to expect when starting at various ages. I particularly love one piece of advice she gives.
Hogg says when starting a routine, take two weeks to stay home and be consistent. She says you must do at least one week. “You must make the time to make the change” (page 42). I love this advice and have given it myself many times over the years.
Post Contents
Tip for Starting a Routine Late
Take two weeks to stay home and be consistent.
People, this is the dynamite tip.
This is something that should not be ignored while you are trying to establish a solid routine.
You might be able to get there without some consistency, but it is going to take SO MUCH LONGER.
It is like you exercising once a week and being frustrated after a couple of weeks that you have no muscle definition.
It is like throwing your piano book in frustration after two weeks of lessons because you can’t play Mozart perfectly.
It is like wanting to get proficient at juggling a soccer ball and only working on it here and there.
It is like wanting to learn to read but never picking up a book.
All of these are absurd, right? You would never expect skill to develop without some consistency and work, much less proficiency.
Humans cannot learn something without practicing at it. You can’t develop a habit without consistency.
Babies are humans.
You cannot expect your baby to pick up on a solid routine just because you read about it in a book and try to keep that routine every once in a while.
Sacrifice for the Schedule
Take the two weeks your baby needs to nail this routine down. After that, go wild (but of course, realize disruptions, well, disrupt. And that is okay! But it is truth).
Do what you need to to do to achieve consistency for two weeks. Get babysitters for the baby if you need to go out. Get someone to drive your older kids to those practices. Have one parent stay home while the other parent goes. Say sorry, no, you can’t make it this week and plan something for two weeks.
Do what you have to do. It is a short period of time for a great payout.
We started full Babywise with Brayden when he was 9 weeks old. It was summer, and we had a lot of things going on. Add to it the fact that he was the oldest grandchild on one side and the oldest grandson on the other, and he was a popular guy. We experienced disruption after disruption. After a couple of weeks, I finally decided he needed time to be consistent and get this new way of life. My husband and I decided there would be no disruptions for two weeks to his schedule except for church.
This made a huge, positive difference for him! It was such a huge difference that when we were deciding on the timing of when to have Kaitlyn, we chose a time of year that we knew we could easily establish her schedule with her. This is a huge consideration for me when I am deciding what time of year I want my children to be born.
Conclusion
So when you are starting your routine, give time for a routine to be established. You will be able to enjoy the benefits of a routine if you do this.
If you are starting a routine or schedule late and need some guidance and focused “how-to”, be sure to read my post: Starting Babywise Late Guide
Related Posts
