Your pediatrician will probably send you home with varying degrees of advice about building your infant’s routine. Some might encourage you to impose a strict feeding and sleeping schedule, while others may feel this is dubious advice, which may lead you to waste a lot of time and energy and possibly drive yourself crazy. More than just following your doctor’s advice, you’ll spend hours comparing notes with your mommy friends about what their kids’ routines are as opposed to yours, what you tend to prioritize, and what they think is essential.
“Your baby has her own schedule. I suggest that you adopt her schedule at first, and then let her slowly adapt to yours,” says pediatrician Michel Cohen. But ultimately, the point of contact for all—doctors, mommies, and babies alike—is that getting baby on a schedule makes everyone happier.
1. Because it Teaches Them How the World Works
Getting baby on a schedule, regardless of whether it is child-led or parent-led is the first instance of your baby “learning the ropes.” Her first task: telling the difference between night and day.
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