Showing all posts tagged routine

In Parenting, School / Learning, The Boys

Back to School

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

I adore having the boys at home over the summer, despite the fact that this means I have the curious job of juggling quality time with the boys and working from home. What I have missed (and the boys have too) is the routine that comes with a school term, the getting up at a certain time, being showered, fed and dressed by whatever o’clock and at school, having a snack and drink and doing reading and homework when you get in….. we know what we are doing and when we are doing it during the week when we are in the school term and I (and they mostly) love that.

When it came to going back for Kieran and starting for Taylor we were chomping at the bit by the last week!

All organised and eager to start the new term.
All organised and eager to start the new term.

 

How has it gone?

It’s been a week now and I’ve just about gotten over the fact that my 4yr is now a school boy and my 9yr old a year 5 student!

Back to school

The feedback so far from Kieran is that it is “cool” and “awesome” to be back at school and as for Taylor, the child does not stop talking about how much he loves the place!  I took Taylor in on his first day, found his peg, worked out where fruit, water bottles, and book bags went and what he should do when he goes into the classroom (they self-register by finding their name card on the floor, taking it to a table and writing over it in pen).

On the second day he wanted to go in on his own! I think he was the only child who went in alone on that first day and he was so proud of himself. I saw him in the main door, watched him pause at the inside door, look up at the many grown ups surrounding him and wondered if he’d have a wobble. Nope, he turned, winked, gave me a thumbs up and a cheeky grin and shot inside to start his day.

taylorschool
Taylor was SO ready for school. He is after all a big grown up boy now!

 

We didn’t have any worries about Taylor starting or Kieran settling back in however we have say that to hear them come out at the end of the day with so much enthusiasm about what they seen, heard and learned is just brilliant.

As for me, I now have five solid days with both children in the same place at the same time. This is a bonus in itself!

I hope evevryone else has settled in and is enjoying the new school year as much as we are!

In Parenting

Good Parenting or Fluke?

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 17 Comments

I have two good sleepers. Kieran slept through the night from three and a half weeks, Taylor from seven weeks. When I attended baby clinic when Kieran was small I felt I almost had to hide this fact, as if I’d done something wrong. I remember being asked once, after a group of Mums were talking about how tired they were, what little sleep they were getting, how many times I got during the night. And I lied!! “Usually only once, sometime twice” just rolled off my tongue. It felt mean / potentially dangerous to tell this group of sleep deprived ladies that I’d slept uninterrupted for weeks!

Those I did mention it to, and the same goes now even, usually respond with:

Humph!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying you are a bad parent if your child isn’t a good sleeper, far from it. Is it not possible though, perhaps just a little that both of mine have slept well in part due to my being able to work a routine that works well with their natures? No? Ah, clearly flukey then!

Own space. Both Boys went into their own cots, in their own bedrooms from day one. This was partly due to a space issue initially but worked so well with Kieran we did exactly the same with Taylor without thinking about it.

The right environment. Nurseries in our house are simple, unfussy, comfortable & dark! We have blackout blinds so regardless of the time, sleeptime is dark time. Each boy liked some music or a light show on briefly before they nodded off.

Routine. I’m a stickler for routine! I need it for me, and the Boys thrive on it. Our bedtime routine is the same every night, after tea a bath, cuddle, story and down to sleep (awake usually, this meant for mine that they could fall asleep/settle themselves down by themselves if they woke early, without needing to be rocked etc).

Sleepwear. Both were swaddled from birth, securely wrapped, feeling safe and warm. My two wrigglers didn’t wear this for long as soon swaddles were exchanged for sleeping bags, fantastic for babes with active legs that just love to kick the bed covers off!!

Most parent’s do the same, or similar, I’m sure, but these work for us, they compliment the Boys’ easy-going & settled nature. Fluke? Maybe… but I like to think I’m doing what’s right for my lads!

Were/ are yours good sleepers? If a baby is an unsettled sleeper, I’m guessing you can’t “fix” this, but perhaps other “flukey” (yes, this label does annoy me actually!), Mums & Dads have hints and tips that might help?

ADDITION: I’m adding this in because one of the comments left by someone I think a lot of,  has struck a chord. It appears I’ve come across as a bit of a snot-bag, I just want to re-iterate that I don’t think in any way that someone whose little ones aren’t good sleepers aren’t cracking parents or not as good as me (trust me on THAT one lol). This is important enough to me, for me to add an addition (which I have never done before). Parenting is hard enough without ever being made to feel you are being told you are wrong or crap. This is partly why I’ve written the post, after being made to feel wrong and crap because my two have slept through (damned if you do, damned if you don’t). x

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