Schedule vs. Routine

Many people ask me about whether the babies are on a schedule. I struggle with that. Should I be feeding them at the same times everyday? Should they be napping at the same times everyday?
I decided to discuss this with my sister-in-law Leslie. My nephew Drake is 7 days older than the twins. I was interested in finding out what she thought.
I was so relieved when she started talking about “E.A.S.Y”. That’s exactly what we follow in my house. It is a routine, not necessarily a schedule.

E - Eat
A - Activity
S - Sleep
Y - You (time for me… which turns into time for the house)

That’s the routine. We don’t follow the clock. I follow the babies signals and know when they are hungry and when they are tired. In following this routine, the babies rarely have a meltdown. They are very good sleepers. They can put themselves to sleep every time. They are sleeping 8 to 9 hour stretches per night. The only thing I need to start adjusting is their day feeding routine. They are still eating every 3-3.5 hours. Incorporating cereal has been slow. Elinor does not like it at all and John takes a couple of spoonfuls.
The routine has worked really well. I especially like that Andy follows it too. It doesn’t leave room for any questions. When John or Elinor start to fuss after playing for some time, we know that they aren’t hungry. That’s when we scoop them up, lay them down in the crib, put a blanket over them, turn on the sound machine and nap time begins. I cannot imagine what it would be like if I had to fight with two babies to get them to nap.

Thanks for your affirmation Les.