Let’s put Blu on a schedule

Arggggggggh! My son has become a little bit of a terror at night. He’s cranky, loud (as in if we had a noisy generator going, the neighbors two miles away would still be able to hear him), and plain unsettled. I think he’s over stimulated. There’s too much going on around him. I don’t have a night time routine. Everything I’ve read says babies need some sort of routine. However, we just haven’t been able to stick to one. We tried once before and it worked. It was a pain to get him used to it, but it was great while it lasted. Unfortunately, when we went out of town, things went haywire. Now, it’s time to bring on the routine or put him on some kind of schedule.

Here’s what I’d like. I would like him to have at least one good nap during the day. Two, if the first nap is short (an hour or less). However, the second nap can start no later than 3:00PM. I’d like to be able to take him to the park on some evenings so he can get some fresh air. Finally, I’d like to get him in bed at 7:30PM…8:30PM at the latest. He’s a baby, what is he doing staying up so late? Also, in terms of his eating – he needs to do better in terms of solids. For all these to work, I’m going to need everyone on board.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I think the reason we haven’t been too hard on him having a routine is because we ourselves would have to be on a routine as well. For him to be in bed by 7:30 would mean that we would need to be home by 7:00PM at the latest, give him a bath, read to him and then put him in bed. Also, I can’t have CNN on low while I’m trying to put him to sleep. I know… what was I thinking? This would also mean no longer being able to go out to dinner as a family, etc. Anyway, I’ve learnt my lesson and I am all for a routine now. Lack of sleep is whack.