Routines....

I had never heard about routines. So, as a first time Mum with my oldest daughter, life was nothing but crazy!

Kendi would yell throw tantrums at night and would sleep, when she wants, how she wants and wherever she wants. It was a nightmare I must say- I wondered what is all this –“ sleep like little baby” people talk about.

I remember at one time, we rocked our baby with the car seat, (we had trained her to be rocked to sleep), we had gone visiting she could not sleep. Needleless to say, she used to wake up a million times at night.

One day I was lamenting in the office and a colleague of mine asked me? Have you put your baby on routine?

Well, those were news!!!!!! Rou WHAT?

She told me all about routines and she afterward gave me a copy of the “Contented little baby”. A book that I hold dearly, it has transformed my nursing life! I used to quote the pages and paragraphs like the bible.

As for my daughter who was 7 months by then, she advised me to try cold turkey.

So one evening, after her normal bath, I placed her on her cot; she cried like crazy, but slept after 20 minutes. The next day, she cried for 15 minutes, the next day 5 minutes and THAT WAS IT! She never cried and that was the end of sleeping nightmares. She never again woke up at night either.

I was so settled, to the point of getting pregnant again!

Well, to date. All my babies, including the 6 months old boy;

They all sleep at 8pm, they sleep on their own, once I bath them, I place them on their beds and they sleep. 

They all share the same room. They tell me goodnight and Ethan gives me a warm smile (sometimes he cries, but I give him sometime to cry and then he sleeps). Once he is fully weaned, I will train him to sleep all night-by not picking him up when he cries.

Yes, I get them out of my room pretty early.  My boy was out of our room when he turned 3 months. He joined the girls and even when he cries at night, I feed him and place him back; the girls never wake up as we pick Ethan to breastfeed, and if they do, they say, Hi Dad! Hi Mum….funny!

After 8:30pm, my house is the most quiet house in the neighborhood prior to that – with three kids, it’s usually noisiest!

They all sleep in the afternoon, at 1pm and wake up around 3:30 – 4pm. However, the boy also takes a morning nap at 10-11am. We don’t rock him, we just place him on his cot and he sleeps.

For example on Sunday, after the worship service, we all have lunch and head home most of the time, they all get to sleep and my hubby and I get to sleep too. We love taking Sunday afternoon naps and we all wake up at 4pm and go out for a cup of tea/coffee.

I thank God for Jennifer, she introduced me into the routine world for babies and my life has never been the same again- because most days  after  8:30 pm, I have all the house to myself, I relax, I read a book, I bond with God and with my hubby!

I like to learn from others because as the saying goes, "I do not have all the time to make all the mistakes that other Mums have made, while I can learn from theirs".

I thank God for His mercies too! He saved me-by bringing Jennifer my way to help me!