I am not an early bird or a night owl, I am some form of permanently exhausted pigeon.
Before leaving my workplace and departing to Jakarta, I thought life is gonna be easier. Considering Baby D’s life in Tembagapura is rather predictable, she followed the daily routine I made. Slept around 8pm each night, and woke up around 6 am in the morning. So basically I thought I could start my blog or YouTube channel while I babysit Baby D in Jakarta.
Now, it’s been my fifth week living in Jakarta with Baby D. But, hell nay, mommy ain’t got no time to even poop in peace or to read more than five pages of mommy’s favorite book.
Just found out that baby takes time to adapt to a new environment. In addition, Baby D just started to eat solid these past few weeks. So, she can become so cranky at midnight whenever she misses her dinner.
Becoming an exhausted pigeon, I decided to look for solutions. I called some friends, and look for some inspirational book to read. Until I found out this book, The secret of baby whisperer, by Tracy Hogg.
In a nutshell, these are few insights I got from the book. One of the secrets to a happy and contented baby is in their routines and structure. Through routines, babies know what to expect, to learn from their environment and to feel safe.
The EASY Method
This book suggests us to follow the basic EASY method. E is for eating, A is for Activity, S for Sleep, and Y is for You (mommy time).
In a nutshell, EASY is a pattern or cycle I can follow to create structure for Baby D. Below is an example of an EASY schedule.
Ironically, a happy and contented baby comes from a happy and contented mommy. Simple but quite mind blowing for me.
A happy and contented mommy comes from a mentally, spiritually, and physically healthy individual. How could I be mentally and physically healthy if I never enjoy my personal alone time? How could I be spiritually healthy if I don’t even have time to sit down and pray during my day?
What should we do then? The key I learned from this book is to be discipline in following the EASY routines. The more predictable my baby’s days are, the safer she will feel, thus, her body will follow the routines naturally. Moreover, I should provide personal space (a crib or a room) for my baby so she can learn to calm herself to sleep.
In this book, the author taught me to recognize my child’s cry and to respond to them appropriately.
First few weeks felt impossible to keep up with that EASY pattern, especially baby D started to wake up as soon as I put her on our bed. Please note, that I still sleep on the same bed with my baby but I try not to rock her to sleep or to feed her all night long. I know that co-sleeping is not recommended by the author, but it quite works for us anyway. My baby sleep earlier and tighter, and I can enjoy my ‘me time’ by 9pm every night. It is such a game changer for me.
After two weeks following the EASY routine, my baby started to enjoy nap and play time independently. She started to sleep at 9pm and now she is still having a peaceful sleep while I write this blog in the other room.
Hopefully, this EASY pattern works, so mommy can at least have 2 hours of me time each night to either read books, write daily journal, create contents, or just to have a longer sleep at night.
Can I hear an Ameen? Ameeen!!!
Bless This Mess 