Catching up from the weekend? Check out the posts below:
10 Things Pregnancy Taught Me / Homemade Tomato Soup Recipe / Eating Well

I also decided to revisit Self-Love Reflections topics once/week on the blog. Topic 1 = Confidence. Check it out; share your thoughts; be confident this week!

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Things are still going smoothly around here. I haven’t gone a night without at least 6 hours of sleep and during the day we have slowly been getting into a groove. Getting into a routine is so important to me. I believe children thrive on routine…and I know I do too. Knowing (somewhat) what to expect during a day helps tremendously.

When I was pregnant with Makenzie, I read a book called Babywise. The book discusses helping infants get into a routine and it quickly became controversial. I took what I wanted from the book and adjusted it to fit us well. I will never rigidly place my own routines over baby B, but I can do things to help him fall into one on his own.

I focus on keeping him awake to take a full feeding each time he eats. It is beneficial to his health because he gets more of my quality, heavier milk. It also helps him go longer stretches between feedings. This helps him fall into a natural eating schedule of every 2-3 hours. I still feed him when hungry, but I can also tell around what time he will get hungry based on when he last ate. So important!

For sleep, I try to keep him awake briefly after each feeding. This is so when he naps, which is a LOT as a newborn, he isn’t used to being held, rocked, etc in order to fall asleep. I hold and rock and cuddle him plenty, but when he tries to sleep…he gets to fall asleep on his own. Which he does easily.

I used these ideas with Makenzie and very rarely did we have issues with them. I believe it helped her feel more secure to know what to expect in her little world. It helped me more easily go about life and be able to take her places. You certainly have to be prepared to go with the flow as a parent, because the unexpected always waits around the corner. However, you can still have some order with a little practice, patience, and persistence.

Please note: These are my personal beliefs on what works best for me and my family. Every mother knows her child and her own needs best. I never judge anyone for doing/believing differently. I hope the same courtesy can be extended to me as I know, from past experience, that these topics can sometimes get heated.

Question of the Day – Do you thrive on routine or does it stifle you?

Made me…smile.

The cute things my little M does – like feeding her “Teddy” a wide assortment of goodies. Even cooler? The majority of her play kitchen stuff was mine growing up.

Made me…excited.

I got goodies in the mail! Amy from Healthy Peanut sent me some homemade marshmallows. They’re airy and delicious. Thanks, Amy!!!

Made me…motivated.

My daily devotional always has the best messages. I had to share this one earlier.

Made me…laugh.

Apparently if I eat the Eggplant Parm from this local restaurant I will go into labor in the next 24 hours. A friend sent me that info and it provided a good chuckle.

Made me…consider my sanity.

After the chuckle, I thought “hmmmm”. Maybe I’m not opposed to an Italian dinner for a date night this weekend. 😉

Made me…shocked.

Guess what I did today? I registered my little girl for her first year of preschool!!! This can’t be happening already. It may not be full-blown preschool as a 2-year old class, for a few hours a day 2-3 times a week, but still. Already?

Made me…stoked.

Apparently there WILL be a 2011 Healthy Living Summit later this year as Meghann takes charge of the planning. I’m going. No matter what, I’m going. 

Question of the Evening – What “made you” emotion and moment did you have today?

Also, after seeing the positive response to my earlier post, feel free to let me know of any other reader’s requests you may have!