Three Hour Schedule or Routine with Baby Samuel and my other 3 children.

Anyone who has visited here long knows I like to be organized. So I'm sure no one is surprised that after being home from the hospital for a week I have put ink to paper and formed a new schedule for my little family.

It's necessary for my sanity, Will to have school, and Sam to get fed. I realize some of my readers may find putting a newborn on a schedule shocking or controversial. I've done this with all of my children and find it helps them to have regular feeding and sleep cycles and gives me a consistent milk supply.

Without further ado, here is my new schedule or routine.

You'll notice that Sam is on a 3 hour routine and I'm fitting him into what we already do. I've had to move a few things around but not much. In a couple of weeks Joel will bottle feed Sam's first daily feeding in order to give me a little more sleep.

In a couple of months I'll transition Sam to a 4 hour schedule. Hopefully he'll be sleeping through the night by then!

Now to answer a few questions from the comments on the Schedule/Routine I posted before going into the hospital.

Amy asked: "do you have separate Bible time with Ellie before bed or all 3 kids together?" Until about a month ago, Joel read a book of Ellie's choosing and I put her to bed. Then we had evening Bible reading. But at 2+ years she's sitting still longer and paying attention better so we've begun including her with the boys.

We are currently reading one section (NOT chapter!) of Acts a night. Joel will ask each of the boys a question after he reads. This helps keep them focused on the reading and helps them remember the passage. Ellie often demands her own question, which she usually answers with "Jesus" or "God." It's a little chaotic with all three together but at this stage we're more interested in consistently exposing them to Scripture than for them to be theologians.

Melissa asked: when did you have your quiet time? I keep wanting to get up before Silas but that doesn't work because he gets up at different times even with the same bed time - 8:00. I have two responses to this. First, ALL of my children nap/rest from 1:00-2:00 pm. Non-negotiable. This is when I usually have my quiet time. I also need to sit down and rest by that time so it accomplishes two things at once.

Secondly, when my kids are still in a crib I get them out at the same time every day. This requires training them and me. It may mean a few days of them crying in their crib until I'm ready for us to start our day (my pediatrician tells me it's ok for children to cry). They learn to play independently while they wait on me to come.

Let me say my home and the people in it are not perfect. We don't follow the schedule to the minute every day. It's really more of a general guide to keep us on track. As I watched my home spiral into chaos last week I remembered why we live by a routine/schedule. Without it my children pick at each other, whine, cry and find trouble; which results in my behavior not being much better than theirs. Peace has a fighting chance of existing when we have a plan for each day.

Whether live by a schedule/routine or fly by the seat of your pants, the key is to find what works for your family and use it. I hope you have enjoyed seeing what works for my family.