If one baby woke up to feed, the other baby was woken to feed. I know, I know...sounds militant and well, I guess it was and STILL IS. But in my defense, my kids are extremely well adjusted, generally happy little beings who have a predictable, established "schedule" that I believe has been the #1 reason that they go to bed at 7pm and are up at 7am...like clockwork!
Yes, there have been some drawbacks to having such a set "schedule" but they are few and far between and the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
We have lived and died by the "schedule" for 19 months but Gramps is now slowly killing us...
My mom (Grams) knows and understands how important the "schedule" has been. So much so that she wrote my dad (Gramps) an email with the entire "schedule" written out, prior to our arrival. Gramps printed the "schedule" out and posted it on the fridge.
He read it, complained about it, re-read it, complained about it and declared that "schedules" have no place during Vay-K time. I explained, nicely (although he would disagree) just how important it is for him to follow the routine. He SEEMED to understand and agree to it.
I should note that when Gramps is visiting us or we are visiting him, he takes the "morning shift" while the mommy, that's me, gets to sleep in. I know, I am VERY lucky.
He gets the kids up, changes them, feeds them, plays with them, takes them for walks...it's heaven on earth for me. I am not required to be on shift any earlier than 9:00am...can I get a
According to the tried, tested and true "schedule"...the morning shift is to start NO earlier than 7:00am but NO later than 7:30am.
Meaning: If they happen to be up before 7:00am, they can just "play" in their cribs until "wake-up time". If they sleep past 7:30am...they are gently, woken up to start the day. I bet you are saying; WHAT?!?! That's crazy Ginger! YES, it is very militant. You won't hear me argue but you will hear me defend...LOL!
Anywho, Gramps knows this. Gramps has been doing "morning shifts" since they were born. Gramps has always lived by the "schedule". However, I guess at 1 1/2 years old he feels that "schedules" are meant to be broken...
Yesterday morning Gramps let Ave sleep until 8:00am, we exchanged "words". This morning he got them both up at 6:30am, we once again exchanged "words". Our altercation ended with me declaring that he would officially make his first, I'm sure not last, Blog Post. Here is his "shout out" to the bloggy world. (BTW, He could care less that the kids are off the "schedule")
Have there been any major malfunctions in the kids behaviour because of these deviations? No. Not YET! Do they seem "lost" or confused because they slept in one day and were up early the next? No. Not YET! Are their nap times suffering as a result? No. Not YET! But I know...I just know that soon, if this "chaos" continues, it's gonna be a behavioural war zone. (Did you know I won my Grade 8 Drama award? Yup, I sure did!)
Before totally "loosing it", I got to asking myself...Does mommy like to sleep in when they visit Gramps? YES SHE DOES!! So then, I suppose I should just "shut my trap" and let Gramps continue to "kill us"
S-L-O-W-L-Y! LOL!
