Kinds of Slavery
April 5, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Baby Care
A friend of mine send me a link to the Baby Nanny site.Basically, you plug in the event data from your child’s day: when they sleep/wake, need a diaper change or a feeding. Then, the software uses the data to create a custom routine for your baby so that you are better able to tell what your baby needs when.
It reminds me of Gina Ford and her Contented Little Baby
I must admit I am more of a No Cry Sleep Solution
I found that with both kids, if I just went about the day and paid attention to how the baby acted/reacted at different times, then everyone got what they needed. I do everything that I need to, I just bring the baby with me.
Of course, no matter what, they both always seem to cry during the last five minutes of every train or car journey and I have had to unexpectedly breastfeed in public more often than I like…but still, I would rather be a slave to my kids than to routine.
How do you schedule your day?
I just wasn’t capable of the routine thing, philosophically or logistically. We certainly had a bit more routine (more than zero) the second time around, and I do think it helped. Or maybe Niccolo was just a better sleeper, period? I think it really depends on the baby.
I see with my 3- and 5- year old that it really helps to stick to a routine, for them to know what to expect, and when (especially re bedtime!). But I want to have enough flexibility that we can stay out later than usual without throwing the whole weekend into a shambles. I see some other kids I know who are slaves to the routine, the parents don’t *dare* upset the routine and I wonder if that’s for the kids, or for the parents. Maybe both.
I worry that the routine replaces real understanding of kids’ signals and impedes the development of communication in the family. There is just what and how we do what we do, no why, where, when.
Of course, we have read the same three bed times stories for the last three nights in a row, so maybe someone wants/needs more of a routine than he is getting.
This world is a difficult thing to figure out. Who knows what mix or order and variation all of us need.