Schedule or No Schedule

I never really had a set schedule with Pumpkin. He slept when he was tired, ate when he was hungry, and was able to sleep anywhere, still is. None of my friends had kids when I had Pumpkin, so talks of "schedules" never came up.

Now that my friends have kids, and I have another one, schedules are a common topic. It seems that all my friends have their children on set schedules, with no flexibility. Wake up, breakfast, playtime, nap, lunch, read books, nap, dinner, TV time, bath, bed, always the same exact time every day. And naps MUST be in the child's crib or bed.

Source

Miss L is on a different kind of schedule. She wakes up when she is done sleeping. She has a bottle when she gets up, and then she hangs out. When she gets tired, usually around 11 am, she has another bottle and will take a nap. She wakes up once again when she is done sleeping, anywhere from 1/2 hr to 2 hrs later. She hangs out some more, and around 2-ish she will have another bottle and another nap. Sometimes she will nap again around 5, sometimes not, depending on how tired she is. We like to try to get her to bed at about 9, but if it doesn't happen, my panties don't bunch. She can sleep on the floor, in our bed, her car seat, my parents' house, the car, her vibrating chair, our arms, the couch, and even in her crib. She is flexible, making our lives a little easier.

Pumpkin was always like that too, and still is. Sometimes he wakes up at 9:30, others he is up at 7. We do whatever we feel like during the day. Sometimes we set up sprinklers, do a craft, play outside, play inside, watch a movie, whatever we feel like doing. Lunch is at a general time, the afternoon. It could be noon, it could be 2, depends on what we are doing, and how long ago we got up and ate breakfast. He has a bedtime, but once again, if we don't make it exact, its not the end of the world.

When I call up my friends and want to meet at 1:30 to do something, its fine with us. L will fall asleep when she is tired and sleep anywhere, Pumpkin doesn't nap, normally. I can go about my life and do the things I need and want. Unfortunately, my friends aren't the same way with their kids. They have short windows of time they can do things because they have to get back home to put their kids to sleep. I understand having a schedule, but it gets really frustrating when you want to see people!

I think our "schedule" works out great for us. I understand its not for everyone, and some people like more set schedules. I don't really understand the super strict schedules though. I think flexibility is a good thing to teach your children.

Do you have a set schedule? Is is super strict or somewhat flexible? Or are you like me, and your schedule is whatever goes?!