As incredible as the first year of your baby’s life can be, it is also undeniably fraught. When the baby feeds and when the baby sleeps dominate the day and the night. For radically sleep-deprived mothers coping with hormonal changes and ‘mommy’s brain’, keeping clear track of their infant’s routine is a nearly impossible task.
Routines are important for babies for several reasons and routines provide structure and predictability, which can help infants feel more secure. Routines also help infants learn cause and effect. When a little one is being fed, changed, and put down for a nap at the same times every day, they may begin to anticipate and understand that these activities will happen in a particular order. In addition, a routine can help babies develop good sleep habits – something that all new, sleep-deprived parents want.
Highlight the importance of ‘flexible routines’ for babies
There’s significant research that shows a flexible routine is best for the health of an infant, and it also serves as a much-needed guide for first-time mothers or those who may be struggling with a sensitive little one who doesn’t necessarily feed or settle easily. Flexible routines also reflect the reality that babies are all unique, and there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer.
Mothers too are different, and each one has to find parenting practices that help them to be the best mum they can be. Even moms who embrace a baby-led ethos will often blend this approach with some form of flexible routine to have a well-fed and well-rested little one.
Establishing a healthy routine can be an overwhelming task
There are copious amounts of information available about routines, but so often, this information is contradictory and confusing. What a new mum needs is a trusted source of practical, real-time support to help her follow a simple, adaptable routine that she doesn’t have to think about.
The Responsive Routine makes it quick and easy for a new mum to track her baby’s feeds and periods of sleep. Using this unique data, the app dynamically adjusts the flexible 24-hour routine to provide customized feeding and sleeping times so that mum doesn’t have to work out the timings, and she always knows what’s coming up next for her baby.
It takes care of the two big questions that create so much anxiety for new mothers – Is my baby feeding enough? And, is my baby getting enough sleep? Tracking this data and following the suggested routine also helps the mom to build her confidence as she tunes into her baby’s unique rhythms and patterns.
The new feature helps parents to be calmer and more adaptable when it comes to schedules and makes it easier to plan for the day. Many more parents are hybrid working and there’s been a significant drop in childcare typically provided by domestic workers in the early months of an infant’s life.
Hybrid and remote working
This is also changing traditional parental leave. Where maternity leave was once a time to be at home with full focus on their new-born, many new moms are now blending maternity leave with remote work. One advantage is increased work flexibility beyond their leave period, but the downside is the steep challenges of meeting the demands of both baby and work.
The Responsive Routine feature is live within the Parent Sense app. Download the app here and start using the Responsive Routine to take the guesswork out of your baby’s schedule.