In my own life I am very structured and I like routine, but I also love surprises and spur of the moment fun. We have Charlie on a fairly regular routine --
- 6:30 - wake up & breakfast
- play
- 7:40 walk
- 8:45 Donna's
- play
- nap
- 11:30 or 12:00 lunch
- play
- nap
- snack
- 4:30 home
- play
- 6:00 dinner
- play
- 7:30 snack
- 8:00 bed
According to the books I've read this is all well and good, but I worry that maybe he's not learning to be flexible. Should we be throwing more variation into his days, so he can deal with it? What tends to happen is that he'll have a couple weeks of routine then one week where everything is a mess because we travel or have guests or have other random commitments.
Last night we took Charlie with us to Bible Study, so he was up about an hour and a half later than usual. He did much better than Jason or I would have thought while we were there -- except for the incident of stealing Little Phil's toys. (Apparently we have a little bully in training.) Which brings up another question -- what are you supposed to do in this situation? I took the toy from Charlie and gave it back to Little Phil, but should I have just let them "work it out"? At 7 and 8 months is that even possible? It is just so hard to know what to do.
All in all, Charlie always does pretty well. If he misses naps or stays up late he is sleepy and a little grumpy, but has never had a meltdown. I'm sure I'm over analyzing the whole thing, but it's so hard to know what the right thing is to do...
My goal is to raise a happy, independent, loving, confident, considerate, little boy. I'm just not sure exactly how to do it!
It sounds to me like you are doing a great job with your goal! :D
ReplyDeleteSounds like - as usual - you are doing a great job as a mother. Welcome to the world of "am I doing the right thing for my child?" It pretty much never ends. As you could probably guess, I am convinced a PRETTY regular routine is essential to happiness for a baby. Meals, naps, playtime, quiet time and bedtime. However, flexibility and the ability to adjust the times a little are well learned tools and it is good that you allow schedules to be adjusted sometimes. I think it is good for all of you. Otherwise, you simply can't squeeze in enough life. And "stealing" toys at this age is a most healthy, fun loving response to "wow- that looks cool". I am certain it was most precious. They are really not old enough to "work it out" yet. That will come much later. Your blog is great to read and as we expected, you and Jason are doing a smashingly good job. Only wish we could "interrupt " your routine a little more. Oh - just kidding. Love always
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