When I first got pregnant I read a lot of reviews online about Tizzie Hall. They were very mixed reviews. Some people loved her advice and routines and some people were dead against them. I avoided reading the book for a while because of some of the negative feedback I had read online. My Aunty follows the routines in this book with her little boy and he is the best sleeper. She advised me to read it but still I put it off. Finally a friend from work gave me her copy and after it sat on my bookshelf for a few weeks before I finally gave in and picked it up.
I was pretty surprised with the book. The advice seems pretty straight forward and the routines are not too strict. Tizzie champions the idea of having a routine but she also tells you not to let having a routine force you to sit at home. She tells you how to have a routine while also keeping it flexible so you can actually have a social life. Being only 3 weeks we haven't been to strict on Imogen's routine just yet. She pretty much eats on the routine in the book but the day sleeps are a whole other thing. She usually does one or two of them but never all three.
What I have found very helpful in this book are Tizzie's tips for teaching babies to self settle. This is a battle we are still working on with Imogen but we are making progress and that is all we can hope for.
Have any of you read this book? Did the advice work for you? Do you follow a routine for your babies?
Treading carefully here! Each to their own and you have to do what works for you. I don't feel that little babies should need to self settle. They have been wrapped up inside of you for so long and they want to be held, feel your heart beat, sleep on you. I don't think it is natural to put them in a cot by themselves and shut the door. I did it with Cohen because I did what others told me was best. This time around I am attachment or natural parenting.
ReplyDeleteIf we were still living in the wild we would never leave a baby unattended. It would sleep with us and be worn and carried. Babies are supposed to cry. It is how they communicate. If their needs are met and they aren't in pain they won't cry. Meeting their needs and being close to them helps form a bond with them. If babies are breastfed the ABA believes they should be fed on demand, not to a routine. They will form their own routine when they are ready. Emerson has only ever slept two day sleeps.
I would encourage you to read som natural parenting books and really trust your instincts, you know what is best for your baby.
xx
Hey Christina
DeleteThank you for your comment and your opinion. I think the main thing here is we are still working out what works best for us being that we are only 3 weeks in and this is our first child.
When I say that Imogen is on a routine it is not something we have forced her onto. She was wanting to be fed every 4 hours consistently. She naturally fell into feeding times which happened to be basically the same as what the book suggested.
In regards to the self settling, we don't by any means let her cry but I try not to jump the minute she makes a noise. I think this is because I have seen a few of my nephews become extremely spoilt as the minute they made any sort of noise they were picked up and cuddles or given a dummy and I don't want her to become like that.
Some people swear by a routine and others don't. Like I said in my post I read a lot of conflicting views about this book before reading it and I get that. Like you said everyone has to do what works for them.
I think trusting my instincts with this whole parenting thing is hard. I feel like I am doing everything wrong and I second guess myself a lot. This is a whole new world for us so at the moment we are flying blind. I think trusting our instincts will come in time but for the minute we are a bit clueless.
In saying all of that, we are still working out what works best for us so if you have some advice on books or articles to read on natural parenting I would love to give them a read. I am a sucker for information and I will read anything I can get my hands on.
Kat xo
Hi Kat. It's the craziest time isn't it! Nothing prepares you for what happens hafter the baby is born! I kinda agree with Christina. I didn't implement a 'routine' till much later in the piece, I let my kids eat and sleep when they wanted to, that being said, like Imogen, my kids natuarally fell into a feeding routine (2 hourly during the day) without anything from me. I also wore my babies in a sling so they could be close to me all the time. You are absoutely right that it is each to their own alnd mums need to do what is right for their own lifestyle. Imogen is a complete darling, so sweet and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything could have prepared me for these past three weeks but they have been lots of fun. Imogen has naturally fallen into a routine just like your kids but we aren't strict on it. She is a gorgeous girl and we are loving our new little family life!
DeleteNormally I dont like to throw my opinions about, especially when it comes to babies / child rearing because every child and every mum &.dad are different. What works for some, will not work for others!
ReplyDeleteHowever at the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way of doing things with baby (nor is there a handbook) all you can do is follow your gut instinct and trust me Kat, it will kick in after a few weeks. I always referred to those first few weeks as the fog, after 6 weeks its like everything seems clearer and suddenly you have this little person who feels as though she has been there forever!
It took me a long time to have my baby and I thought I knew everything about babies, what a shock I got! I loosely followed the eat, sleep, play routine - baby set her feed and sleep times and once I saw the pattern emerging I ran with it only for her to change it a few weeks later ;) in the end I ended up with a baby who slept all night and 3hr nap each day up until she was 4!
What Im trying to say is she is YOUR baby, you do what you think is best!