You probably have a daily routine. You roughly wake up at the same time, eat at the same time, have a cup of coffee first and shower, maybe exercise,etc. Whatever you do, it is probably very similar each day. If by chance, you wake up late or something interrupts the routine, it can throw off your whole day! And you probably have lunch at a certain hour and dinner too. We are creatures of habit, although to varying extents. I have had a general routine of what time I wake up, the general times of my three daily meals and snacks, and the time I was at work or school for many years. Of course it varied a bit day to day, but my days had a pretty consistent flow to them. In part, it is my personality, but I thrive on having a solid and consistent routine and it makes me feel grounded. People vary in their need for structure and some people are more free spirits. However we all like some degree of certainty in our lives.
So do babies and young children!
That is why Tracy Hogg advocates a structured routine right away when bringing baby home from the hospital. She is very clear that is it not a schedule. It is a routine that gives the day structure. Tracy has a love of acronyms and called her structured routine "E.A.S.Y". It is an acronym that stands for a predictable sequence of events that pretty much mirrors how adults live their lives, but in shorter chunks: Eat, have some Activity, and go to Sleep, which leaves a bit of time for You.
Here is a more detailed explanation of E.A.S.Y. (as taken from her website and book):
*All information is taken from "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems," by Tracy Hogg
E.A.S.Y. is "a routine that gives the day structure and makes family life consistent, which is important because all of us, children and adults, as well as babies and toddlers, thrive on predictabiltiy." "With E.A.S.Y., you don't follow the baby; you take charge. You observe him carefully, tune in to his cues, but you take the lead, gently encouraging him to follow what you know will make him thrive: eating, appropriate levels of activity, and a good sleep afterwards. You are the baby's guide. You set the pace." (page 16)
From page 17:
Why Go E.A.S.Y.?
EASY is a sensible way to get you and your child through the day. It is composed of repetitive cycles of each letter. The E, A, and S are interrelated-changes in one usually affect the other two. Although your baby will transform over the coming months as she grows, the order in which each letter occurs does not:
Eat: Your baby's day starts with a feed, which goes from all-liquid to liquids and solids at six months. You're less likely to overfeed or underfeed a baby who's on a routine.
Activity: Infants entertain themselves by cooing and gooing at their caretakers and staring at the wavy lines on the dining room wallpaper. But as your baby develops she will interact more with her environment and move about. A structured routine helps prevent babies from becoming overstimulated.
Sleep: Sleep helps your baby grow. Also, good naps during the day will make her go for longer stretches at night, because one needs to be relaxed in order to sleep well.
Your time: If your baby isn't on a structured routine, every day will be different and unpredictable. Not only will she be miserable, you'll barely have a moment for yourself.
"Parents who establish [the] E.A.S.Y. routine quickly get better at figuring out what their baby needs and wants at a particular time of the day. Let's say you've fed your infant (the E), and she's been up for fifteen minutes (the A-activity), and then she starts to get a bit fussy. Chances are, she's ready for sleep (the S)." (page 17) While she's napping, you should take the opportunity to do something for yourself, and then when she wakes, you'll know she's ready for her next feed. (Assuming she's taken an appropriate length of nap).
Without a routine in place, life with baby can be caotic. It would be hard to determine if your baby was crying due to hunger, or due to being tired. You wouldn't be able to predict his nap times or feed times, thus unable to make plans for yourself and your family. "Eating affects sleep and activity; activity affects eating and sleeping; sleep affects activity and eating-and all of them will naturally affect you." (page 18)
E.A.S.Y. is not a schedule. A schedule is more about focusing on the clock, whereas E.A.S.Y. is about focusing on your baby and his cues and needs. Rather than following time slots, E.A.S.Y. follows a daily pattern of events. By doing so, we guide our children and teach them by repetition. "The most important aspect of E.A.S.Y. is to read your child's signs-of hunger, of fatigue, of overstimulation-which is more important than any time slot." (page 20) Tracy uses example routines in her books that include times. This is for informational purposes to generally advise on how to use EASY. But babies vary, and each baby varies every day, and you shouldn't panic if a feed time is off by 15 minutes, or if baby doesn't nap for 2 hrs. Also, not all babies wake at 7 am to start their day; some are early risers, and some sleep later.
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