It’s scheduling that allows you to delight in a baby who peacefully sleeps through the night (every night) in her own crib, in her own room.

Scheduling means you can count on having a baby who mostly giggles and rarely screams; who can self-soothe and self-play.

Scheduling allows you to enjoy a happy, playful, peaceful family life, devoid of the marital problems that too often occur as a result of other types of parenting styles.

Scheduling allows you to possess the confidence, as a brand new parent, of knowing, more often than not, what your baby needs, when she needs it.

It’s Scheduling that allows you to revel in the knowledge that you’re giving your baby a restful babyhood, in which she can optimally learn and grow and thrive!

…So how does scheduling your baby do all this???

1) Scheduling creates good sleep for your baby.

We totally believe every baby needs good, consistent sleep, just like everyone else does.  How is she supposed to function well during the day when she experiences erratic, unpredictable sleep at night?  You don’t…do you?  Putting your baby on a schedule right away is the key to creating a “rock star” sleeper and it’s entirely possible and totally beneficial for your baby. Think about this: pediatric nurses at the hospital put babies on a schedule, why wouldn’t parents continue this practice at home?  And we’re not talking about letting your baby cry-it-out all night long or some rigid schedule that doesn’t allow for flexibility.  There is nothing cruel, dangerous, or militant about sleep training starting on night one!  And there’s no reason to wait to start.  Your baby doesn’t need a fourth trimester…she joined this world ready to learn how to live and thrive in it!

Showing you the techniques and products that will teach your baby how to sleep on her own (and sleep well!) on an every nap/every night basis is one of Practically Perfect Baby’s most important missions.  After all, we teach toddlers how to behave; we teach children how to read, why would we not teach our babies anything?  During your baby’s first year, it isyour job to teach your baby how to eat, play, nap, and sleep through the night because she won’t learn how to do any of these things well on her own (at least not for a year or two)!  We’re talking about regulating your baby’s metabolism, setting her body clock, and creating her overall health and happiness.  You can’t afford not to teach her!  Your baby, even if she’s colicky, is completely capable of sleeping through the night at around eight weeks old, so why wouldn’t you want to help her achieve this?  Nobody wants to be responsible for an overtired, cranky, sleep-deprived baby.  You want to know what your baby needs and when.  And because you are your baby’s first and most important teacher, we want to help you become an expert on fulfilling her needs.

Nursery, Night One! Post

Nursery-Night-One (2)

2) Scheduling allows for good sleep for you, too.

Imagine not sleeping well for a year…or TWO!?  Ask yourself: what kind of parent will lack of sleep turn you into?  And how could you possibly be a good spouse; let alone a good friend, employee, boss, or sibling when you’re consistently getting bad sleep?  How could it be in any way healthy for your body, soul, or mind? The truth is you can sleep well during the first year of your baby’s life and so can your partner.  In fact, you could both even sleep better than before he arrived.  Yes, you read that right…better.  The bottom-line: you want to be the best parent you can be and becoming sleep-deprived only hinders you (and your partner) from becoming one.

Monitor Post

monitor-post-teaser

3) Scheduling is good for your marriage/partnership.

When you bring your baby home to live with you, she is joining your family, not taking it over and holding it hostage!  The single best way to achieve a harmonious household and to maintain a joyful marriage is to put your baby in her crib, in her own nursery, and on a schedule starting on her first night at home.  You’ll have a monitor and you’ll probably go blind from staring at it, but you absolutely do not want to have your baby physically sleep in your bed (remember, it’s the “marriage bed,” not the “family bed!”) or in your room.  And no, it’s not necessary or more convenient if you’re breastfeeding to co-sleep!  Set your alarm, get up, walk to the nursery, and feed your baby in there.  Take turns with your partner feeding the baby during the first few weeks by using bottled breast milk that you pumped.

No matter what method you choose to feed your baby, it’s best to let one person sleep while the other is doing a feeding.  And remember, if you’re using Practically Perfect Baby’s schedules, you’ll all be enjoying a longer night sleep-stretch as soon as four weeks.  So, it’s up to the two of you to become a team and to support each other, during those first few crazy, beautiful weeks.  Always remind each other that you’re working toward this lofty, but totally achievable goal:  with our schedules, everyone will be sleeping through the night as soon as possible!

1st 3 Weeks Parent Plan Post

First-3-Weeks (4)

4) Scheduling builds a good foundation.

You have to think about what the ultimate goals for your baby are and start off trying to achieve them from the get-go.  So, for example, if the ultimate goal is to have your baby eventually sleeping in her own room every night, why would you start off any differently?  Do you want your toddler to go through the traumatic experience of being kicked out of the “family bed” after teaching her to need it?  You have to teach your baby how to sleep independently, how and when to feed, how to self-soothe, and how to self-play right away, because it WILL NOT happen by accident.  In other words, you have to show your baby how to become an independent member of the world outside of the womb as soon as they’re out of the womb!

You can’t create a confident, peaceful, playful, joyful baby with an inconsistent, unpredictable, and unreliable schedule.  You may get lucky, but who wants to chance it?  After all, this is all about your baby’s overall health and happiness and letting your brand new baby dictate when, where and how she will sleep, play, and eat is the fastest and surest way to create a cranky, confused, overtired, overly needy, and unhappy baby.  We believe it is your job to direct, to teach, and to stabilize your baby’s world right from the start with a good, consistent, scheduled home-life.

Baby Blueprint for 1st Year Post

Baby-Blueprint (1)

 

Want to start scheduling your baby? Try reading these posts first:

How to Become a Practical Parent, Get All PPB Schedules, Starting Late

start-here-full-imageAll-Our-Schedules-2Starting-Late (2)

Other Related Posts: PPB Scheduling Logs, Baby Playtime Activities, Swaddling, The PPB StorySound of MagicCrib EssentialsNursery Organization Must-HavesCrib SoothersMagical Bedtime Routine, Self-Soothe & Self-Play, 1st Year Baby Sleeping Milestones