Impact of Disruptions {Poll Results Post}

Disruptions are scary simply because you have no idea if a disruption will serve to negatively impact the progress and strides made to date. It is the fear of the unknown.

 

Every baby is different and some babies handle disruptions more smoothly than others. I thought it would be helpful, however, to get some insight on what real-life experience people have had with disruptions. You can see original answers here. Answers were also shared on my Facebook Page.

 

I love the pearls of wisdom readers always throw out there when I am going through these poll results. Be sure to read through the content here.

 

1-How would you describe your baby/child’s general personality? For example, angel, textbook, spirited, touchy, grumpy, easy-going, etc.

Angel:

Textbook: 2

Angel/Textbook: 1

Spirited: 1

Touchy: 1

Unsure (easy going but not textbook): 1

 

2-How did/does your baby/child handle disruptions to a daily routine? What is the result? For example, go with the flow, sleep gets messed up, increased crying, no change, etc.

Lisa said: “Harder to settle for naps following disruption/ takes longer to wind herself down/ often needs more help to settle e.g. Dummy, hand settling

She also seems to sleep REALLY long on Thursdays which I think is because she is exhausted from church on a Wednesday night. ”

 

Katie said: “A – My oldest, a spirited to the extreme baby, seemed “messed up” all the time anyway as a baby. It was nearly impossible to get him to sleep as much as he really needed, although I tried hard! But the nice thing was that he did extremely well with disruptions, at least during the disruption. He was a very cheerful and outgoing baby. Getting him caught up on sleep after was sometimes a challenge.
B – My second, a textbook baby, was pretty textbook with disruptions. I think she would do okay with them most of the time.
C – My third, a touchy baby, just cried a lot in the first year whether things were disrupted or not. Looking back, she was probably reacting to a lot of things I had no idea about – tags in her clothes or wind on her face or whatever – whether she was disrupted or on routine.”

 

Brittany said: “Very well, he went with the flow. I honestly rarely see an impact if we ever have a disruption to our day. I do try to always stick to normal nap times though, I’m pretty strict there.”

 

Isobel said: “I have not noticed many issues with nap disruptions. Usually, an early bedtime can offset any extra short or mostly missed naps. However, bedtime/nightime disruptions set him back for several days. For example, this weekend we visited family 3 hours away for a Christmas gathering. He handled the various naps excellently, and was put down for bedtime at his normal time and went to sleep. We left about an hour and a half after bedtime and he slept in the car for the first two hours of the drive, but then we got caught in bad weather and he ended up waking and being up for an hour and a half. For the next three nights he reverted to 2 feedings a night and more wakings, and now he seems to have gotten back to a better night sleep. His overall temperment does not seem affected, just his sleep.”

 

3-If your baby/child has some sort of change from disruptions, about how long does it usually take to get back on track once you get back to your normal routine?

By the end of the next nap or the start of the next day: 1

A long time: 1

Within a day: 1

3 days: 1

Weeks or a month: 1

N/A: 1

 

4-Is there a limit to the duration of disruptions your baby/child can handle?

No: 2

Maybe: 3

Yes: 1

 

5-What is your current policy on disruptions? Do you limit, do you banish, do you allow all disruptions, or do you have some combo or play-it-by ear approach?

Lisa said: “Try to tell people no if she has had a lot of disruptions recently. We pick and choose what we will do so as not to cause too many disruptions e.g. If there was something on in the morning and the evening we would choose to just do one.”

 

Katie said: “Now my kids are older (turning 9, 6, and 4). I do limit disruptions still as much as needed and we still do early bedtimes as long as needed afterwards. I don’t stress about it much anymore. They can cognitively understand the routine, the disruption, and getting back on track. This of course makes a world of difference.”

 

Brittany said: “I strictly limit disruptions that will interfere with him missing nap time.”

 

Isobel said: “I try to eliminate bedtime disruptions except for special occcasions. I do feel that during the holiday season it is more important that baby learn to adjust to the family’s activities than that the family not spend time with others to preserve baby’s schedule. We will do our best to get him his naps at regular times in quiet, dark places but there may be a few nights he does go down for bedtime at someone else’s house and will be transferred. This is a situation in which as a family we feel baby needs to fit in to our life. So I do try to limit disruptions, and when we are out and about I do my best to maintain his schedule and consistency, but I try to keep in mind that while I need to responsibly and carefully manage his life for his good, he is a part of our family as opposed to the family revolving around him. ”

 

6-Any words of advice for parents facing disruptions?

Lisa said: “Try keep to the timing of their schedule e.g. They sleep and eat when they are meant to sleep and eat – but don’t worry too much about how. My bubs will sleep in my arms, being rocked in pram, in sling etc. when we are out somewhere. These are all things I don’t do when we are at home.”

 

Katie said: ” I think in all honesty that having done CIO helped me most. Every time we had to “redo” CIO seemed easier than the last – I knew the baby knew the routine and knew what they were supposed to do, partly because we’d done it before and partly because with each disruption, they were older than the last time. In the end, looking back, my best advice is to take fun pictures if the disruption is for a positive reason (Christmas, vacation, visiting relatives, special event) because later you’ll let yourself forget the misery of being disrupted or getting back on track, and you will be SO glad you have cute pictures of what can remain only fun memories! …I never used this as the primary factor in making the decision for/against disruptions. Usually it was things like whether we needed to be somewhere, etc. Family vacations were kept somewhat limited in the early years, at least for my older kids.”

 

Isobel said: ” Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you know your child needs as far as getting them down for naps on time, bedtime, etc. But I have found it helpful to remind myself not to stress too much when there are disruptions due to family gathering, social events my husband and I deem important, etc. because ultimately baby is a part of our family and not the revolving point of it, so it is okay for him to learn to adjust in select instances.”

 

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