My sister has a friend who is, well, pretty regimented. She is a smart, savvy woman- successful, funny, enthusiastic and dedicated. She just had a baby, and is using the babywise program.
I’m torn between wanting to wrap my hands around her neck and scream at her for not doing her research first and wanting to offer as much information and support as I can because being a new mom is overwhelming and scary. Mostly, I want her to think for a minute.
If reading a bunch of developmental articles, scientific studies and parenting books is too much, how about just focusing on one simple thought: your mission for the first year of your baby’s life is to teach your baby about trust and love. How you respond to your baby’s attempts at communication teaches about the mundane day-to-day issues like, “yes, your parents will meet your basic needs,” and the existential- the ethics of power, the strength of the parent-child bond and love.
Schedules change as babies grow. The essential element is not that your child sleeps without disturbing you; it’s that your child is willing to disturb you down the road when the pressures of adolescence rear their head. Will your child believe that you’ll answer her calls? Or will she have already learned not to cry?