A slave to the routine/schedule???

Question

Do any of you ever feel enslaved by your little one's schedule? I have a six month old who is on a really good napping/feeding schedule, which is great, but I feel like I can't ever leave the house. He either needs a nap or needs to eat or something. I hate to mess up his day because I want/need to go to the store. He also doesn't like to be held very much so if we are out and about and he gets fussy, it is hard to do anything with him...

Answer 1

Does he eat shortly after he wakes up (either in the morning or from a nap)? If not, you might want to slightly adjust his routine so that his day looks something like: feeding/waketime/nap, feeding/waketime/nap, etc. This will maximize the amount of time when he is awake and neither tired nor hungry - and of course maximize the amount of time you have to be out of the house.

It sounds like he's an active little boy and likes to be down on the floor playing. Maybe you can have playtime in the morning, before his first nap. That will use up some of his energy so that you can have "errand time" in the afternoons, before his second nap. Evenings aren't a great time to take a baby out because most babies have a fussy period in the late afternoon/early evening.

Just remember that it's a routine, not a schedule, and it's there to serve YOU. You're the mom, you make the rules, and you're allowed to tinker with the routine until it makes everyone happy. If you need to alter things, do it in 5 minute increments each day until you achieve your goal. As long as your little boy gets adequate rest and playtime, he won't notice that he's napping a half-hour earlier than he was last week.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I totally understand how u feel as my situation is the same. To make things worse my 6 month old daughter drinks milk only while she is falling asleep .She will NEVER take the bottle if she is awake and I do not know what to do to break the habit. She will starve even if we are outside. So I cannot go anywhere or have to go and come back before its her feeding time and I cannot let her sleep too long as she will then not go to nap again and thus will not take her bottle.
It a very wierd cycle and I really dont know how long this will go on.
I am home bound .
Ahh the joys of motherhood, i guess !!!

I hope ur baby too will outgorw this phase and we will get to be social animals again ( lol ).
All the best

Answer 3

Even though you feel "enslaved" to your child's schedule, you are a VERY good mother for putting his needs first. I know exactly how you feel. I am FOREVER home because of naps. UGH... but that's just how it is. The kids come first, you know. Hang in there! While it seems endless, and I mean endless, it gets easier AFTER your last child is in school. I have been dealing with this for 8 years now. My last is now 20 months old and my calculation is that I have about 3 more years of this!!!! While I'll be close to "grandmother" age HA! (I'm currently 42), I will still have at least 20 more years to enjoy myself before I start wearing false teeth!!!
:)

mb

Answer 4

When my sons were younger I did feel enslaved, but I learned to work around it. "OK, Jacob's going to wake up around 8 a.m. and want a bottle. I know he'll go down for his morning nap at 10 a.m., so that means I have to run to the bank and grocery store in about an hour and a half's time." You get used to it and eventually it becomes second nature to you. :)

It DOES get much easier when the baby is older and goes down for one long nap after lunch (versus two or three short ones during the day) and starts eating more solid/finger foods.

Answer 5

You need to relax some. As i'm sure you noticed growing up, schedules are hardly adhered to in the real world. Take him on your errands. Dont be a hermit! Let him adjust to running around, napping in the car between the doctor and the store. You'll both be happier and more easily adjust to new situations.

Answer 6

Can't you feed him while you are out? You can stop somewhere like a coffee shop and let him eat?

Have you tried putting him in a baby backpack or stroller if he doesn't like being held. He is also probably big enough for a wagon if the finds strollers/backpacks too confining... Though wagons take up a lot of room.

Just be glad you have a schedule, mine went out the window four months back and I can't get my baby into one that works *sigh*

Answer 7

I have five kids people ask me how I do it its alot of work like last night my 2 yr got sick I was up alnight with him my older kids help alot with choures that helps I do things a my own time tp top it off I have a 10 month old that breastfeeds but at the end of the day it all works out I wouldnt change any thing

Answer 8

No, not really. My kids were very portable. They could sleep in a sling while I was out shopping or doing things with their big siblings. I breastfed on cue, so I always had food with me that was ready and at the right temperature. At 6 mos old, my kids were each just starting solids. If I needed to skip a day, we just nursed more. Solids are mostly for fun and practice at that age so I didn't feel it was a big deal if they got a solid meal every day or not.

Answer 9

I think his day is getting messed up by NOT getting out. Outside stimulation would be great for him and it is much easier now then when they want to walk all the time. Let him nap, feed him and go out with him.

I went out at least everyother day with both my little ones. Bring things to keep him busy. My youngest would chew on teething biscuits or have some toys attached to her stroller.

Answer 10

I have a 7 month old and sometimes when it's time to pick up my 34 month old from school he's napping. I have to pick him up to get him in the snowsuit and that wakes him up. What you're feeling is normal. Babies are very demanding.