Routine

I never quite like a routine lifestyle. I prefer one that's more "exciting" with ad hoc "surprises". That's me. Hence, there's one aspect of SAHM-hood which I'll never get used to --- routines!

In the munchkins' first year, many mommies I knew often emphasize on the importance of a routine for their infants or toddlers. It never occur to me why it should be so and honestly, I couldn't be bothered to find out why. My usual response to these mommies would be "Why do you want to organise your life around your kid's schedule? It should be the other way round, isn't it?" As such, whenever we have an appointment and my girls are still napping when its time to go, I'd just put them in my arms and make our way there. Very often, they'd wake up by the time we hit the lift lobby of our flat. Sleepy but happy to be out of the house, they'd normally behave themselves, so I don't see the need for a routine then. Looking back, I count myself very blessed to have breezed through the first year. Or perhaps, I'm already suffering from dementia such that I cannot recall those difficult times in the first 12 months of motherhood. Kekeke... (Oops! I should review my earlier blogs before posting this! Hahaha...)

Over the past 2 months, I began to intensively read up on books on the toddler years because I find myself suffering burnouts and getting stuck in "no win" situation so very often with the munchkins. And guess what? Routine, routine, routine... This word kept appearing pages after pages in one of the books I read, until I decided to seriously give it a try. I have a chart placed on the door to the storage room, so everyone at home have a clear idea what activities are expected for the munchkins throughout the day. So far it was Di who find the routine particularly useful because he now knows exactly what to do for/with the girls on his off days. As for me, I'm trying my best to stick to it, though I still find myself deviating from it time and again. Hee! Old habits die hard!

But I must stressed that post implementation of the chart, the kiddos are napping longer and sleeping better lately. They also seemed a lot happier. It may not be directly due to the routine but its definitely because I can better manage them (and my own expectations) after so much reading. For a person who's not an avid reader, this is an achievement, you know! Hopefully my pea brain can retain those information or I may have to revisit those books again. Darn!