How were you as a

[Anonymous 1]

mom when you had a newborn and later a toddler? Did you take your baby places? Were you strict on nap times? If there was a birthday party during a nap time, would you not go? If your child had a cold, would you stay home? If it was Christmas, would you keep up with nap times? Just a few examples/questions but just wondering in general how you were as a mom when you had a baby and a toddler.

[Mamaof5]

We have a 10, 7, 2 and 1 year old. We’re Flexible yet strict with schedules. We go anywhere we need/want, but if at home, we’re strict about following wake times for baby.

[Momto2boys973]

I was pretty easy going. I took them everywhere and we adjusted. The one thing I was very strict about was nighttime routine. DH bathed them, I fed them, changed them and we put them down to sleep in their bassinet. That’s probably why we never had sleeping issues and both were sleeping through the night at about 4 months old.

[Linda_Runs]

I was also fairly easy going. My kids were good sleepers for the most part so I was lucky there. From the get-go, our kids always came with us if it was appropriate. I used nap times as a guideline. I had a schedule for nap times but was not too strict about it. I would only stay home from work if my child was too sick for the daycare. As for nap times at Christmas and during holidays, I tried to stick to them, but was not strict about it. I think I had wonderful baby and toddler years.

[Olioxenfree]

We had a set nap schedule and followed it, but we also taught the kids to nap where they were so if we were out and about they would nap in their carrier. Once they were toddlers, we were more flexible on nap times if they ran into an outing. They kept the same nap times on holidays. I took my babies out. If they had a cold, it
depends on what kind of cold. If they just had a clear runny nose, we went out. If they had a fever, we kept them home. If it was somewhere in between, we went out but took precautions.

[mcginnisc]

Lilly was on a strict schedule as she was used to one in the orphanage. We tried to keep her on a similar schedule once she came home for bonding reasons. We did not go a lot of places because she was overwhelmed since she was not used to things we see as normal. We had to ease her into things like water, sand, bright lights, lots of sound, etc. Her first experience with a car seat was at 17 months old after a 24 hour trip home from China so we took her lead on most things for a few months. Once she started bonding more, we ventured out more. Her sleep schedule was strict due to trying to keep her on a sense of normalcy though.
Karli was very high risk as she was a 6 week preemie with health issues after she got home from NICU. I did not go out much except to the doctor with her until she was 6 months old and off the apnea monitor. I was basically housebound for a year due to my pregnancy and then her fragility. By the time she was 6 months old, Lilly had been home for a year, was fully bonded, over all of her fears and I was more willing to go places. We never went out if they had colds though as I was not willing to spread it to other people. No. Keep your germs at home, peeps.

[sarah824]

We were pretty laid back about schedules with both kids. If we were home then they took naps at fairly regular times, but we did not have a set bedtime for either kid until they started school. We did not rearrange our daily outings just to make sure we were home for naps either.

We also were out and about with both kids early on. I went from working full-time to being a SAHM and I couldn't just sit home all day, every day so we were on the go quite a bit. I think both kids were at the zoo by 4-6 weeks old. Both kids had flown out of state by 3 months old.

We stayed home if they were sick.

[Gorilla_Mama]

I was pretty laid back. We went places almost immediately. Nap time wasn’t scheduled. When they were tired they slept. We did keep them home if they were sick but thankfully my kids are rarely sick. Good immune systems.

[Poietes]

My three boys are 2.5 years apart. We have never had a schedule or set times with any of them. We followed their cues on when they got hungry or tired. I would never set my life around naps. As a result my kids never have issues with time changes, or when something goes late and they lose a couple hours of sleep. They have always been pretty flexible and I’m so glad I was never ridged on any of that stuff.

[WellPreserved]

My two are pretty far apart (6 years). We didn't do a feeding schedule as both breast fed on demand. We also took them everywhere and didn't keep a strict sleep schedule but both were good sleepers who could sleep anywhere at any time. We co-slept with both kids which helped. During the infant and toddler years for both kids we were influx, moving often so scheduling was basically impossible. It worked for our kids but I'm not sure I would recommend it for new parents - especially the co-sleeping.