It occurred to me that my son needed to be put on a regular schedule when he started getting antsy at night - and I suddenly realised that he was going to sleep based on our schedule, which fluctuated, to say the least. So the routine I came up with included a morning bath and massage, two daytime sleeping sessions, playing and reading in between, an afternoon walk and and evening bath, to be followed by his nightly feeding and bed, all to take place at roughly the same time each day.
It has worked wonders in getting him more settled. He looks forward to the key activities that mark his day (especially since babies have no concept of time). But there are times that The Schedule is disrupted. He may have gas (not as unsettling as the dreaded colic) that keeps him up later than usual at night. We may have an unexpected paediatrician's appointment. He may have slept more (or less) during the day or had a visit from a doting aunt or new friend. And I've come to realise that far from being inconveniences, these occasional surprises teach my son adaptability, a great life skill that I'm sure will come in handy later on; in being flexible, he learns to go with the flow of life rather than fight it.
Having your baby follow a schedule is a great "rule" to have, and you first have to know the rules in order to break them from time to time. (Incidentally, according to my own schedule, I was supposed to publish this post yesterday...)
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