EASY routine and "getting out and about" - how to?

[WIPsMom]

Hi,
I'm all new to this and baby is due in June and I'm trying to learn as much as I can - so much wonderful information but also sometimes overwhelming.

I was just wondering and hope you experienced Mommies can help me out  - as I read through the EASY routines it seems that there isn't alot of "flexibility" especially regarding "getting out"... seems to give the impression that you are "tied to the house" so to say.  I assume everyone needs to get out for various reasons - appointments, strolls in the park, walking the dog, etc. 
 
How is this incorporated into an EASY routine?  E.g., can you just plan to go for a stroll in the park with baby during an "S" or "A" during the day?  Or MUST it be in his crib?

I'd really like to try to use EASY but my home responsibilities - including a dog that needs walking once a day usually mid-day - have me wondering if it wouldn't be possible?

Thanks for your feedback for this first time mom-to-be.
 

[corrina01]

With my DD, I do all my errands, like going to the shop during her A time.  Naps times I always plan to be home to let her sleep in her crib.  When she was younger, newborn, I would let her sleep in the pram, while going to the shops.

The thing about an EASY, it is not a schedule, it is a routine, babies thrive on a routine so they know what is coming next.

HTH

[LŠuren]

I also do what Corrina does, but if I am going to be out all day I make sure I stay at home or near to home the following day, so he can sleep in his bed.

[RachelC]

It's definately not "easy" to always be EASY.  I have a 3 year old who started preschool the day her sister was born.  I have to be out of the house Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Like Lauren, if I have a busy day planned, I try to be home the next day.  Who knows, my first was an angel baby and I could take her anywhere and she did fine.  This one is touchy and thrives on routine.
Best of luck!
~Rachel

[josie k]

To WIP's Mom
I had similar questions myself when i started easy and the advice you have been given has been spot on. I think if you keep the baby in the routine most of the time, the days when they can't sleep at home etc don't really matter. I have to say though when first establishing the routine itself i think you do have to just stay in the house and follow the 'schedules' to the letter. After two and a half months of easy  i can be a little more flexible with the routine now as it is well established. Some days he may have a shorter nap in the morning or afternoon if i have to run errands etc but the next day he is back to normal as he conforms to what we have practiced for so long.Good luck!

[Mum of girl, boy, boy]

Hi ya,

I have to confess I didn't always get out. Some friends from the post natal group were out every day but this didn't work for us as my DD would soon get overtired. With DS I spent the first fews months trying to balance it out. In the first few weeks he was asleep the whole time but around 3/4 weeks I needed to make sure he was awake for his awake time because if he was being held or in the car / pushchair he would sleep the whole time and then forget how to go to sleep in his cot. Now I have the opposite where I am trying to keep him asleep in the pushchair as to not make him overtired.Once they get used to going to sleep in the cot / crib and its in there memory I have found it easier to miss naps or let them have them out. If I have a day out I often spend the next one in so DS can catch back up on the sleep he has missed. My advice would be not to go out to many days running and remember you are trying to get baby to remember how to go to sleep in his crib / cot so you aren't up too much at night.

Good luck.

[Loujo]

Hey
I have been doing Easy for over 2 weeks now with my 6 week old and I had exactly the same question!  I know that it is best to stay in for the first 2 weeks to establish the routine but I found this impossible as I needed to leave the house for mother's day, tesco shopping, baby clinic, hospital appointments etc.  However what i tried to do is as follows (although am not sure if it is 'right').  We are on the 3 hour Easy -  Thomas generally has much shorter naps and shorter active time in the morning - an hour from when he wakes up he is shattered and then he only sleeps for 45 mins/an hour - in the PM he sleeps for 1.5 - 2 hour naps which fits in with the 3-hour cycle better - so I take him out on errands when he wakes early from these morning naps - most of the time he will fall asleep in the pram - which is just fine by me - and we arrive back home for feeding time.  EG:

7am wake and feed and then active time
8am sleep
9am wake then active time
9.30am feed
10.00am sleep
10.45am wake
then take for a walk/shops/out in pram for errands
12 - 12.30pm back at home for either feed or active time then feed

This fits into the routine really well!  Depending on your little one's napping routine (ie if his nap is significantly shorter at a specific time of the day) then you might be able to use your outing as an extension to either his nap or as an active time before a feed!
Hope this is useful!
Louise
x

[bellymum]

Louise,
Thanks this post of yours has really helped me clarify things. i was struggling with this too, when to go out of the house, as I just started EASY this week with my baby Benjamin who is 7 weeks old. I intuitively did leave the house during active time and he fell asleep but I am hoping that was fine as we did some activity before leaving.

[moomin]

Its very difficult when you have to go out to try and remember to follow EASY which is why being a routine rather than a schedule its much easier.  My LO (8 weeks) is just now starting to sleep well in his moses basket (doesnt go on his own yet tho!) and only sleeps fitfully in his buggy.

When we are going out, I give him his feed, then count his activity time as the getting ready for the outing (change of nappy, putting on his coat/jumper etc, settling him in the car) and then if he falls asleep in the car he's had some activity time.  For eg today he had his 10am feed, then we got ready to go out so his activity time was about 40mins by the time Id packed everything and got him ready, then he fell asleep in the carseat which was perfect.  I also try to plan travelling in the car around his S time so that he doesn't get too much (chance would be a fine thing -  )

[bellymum]

Yeah that sounds like a good process you got going. My baby is also 8 weeks, well 9 on Wednesday and I have been doing EASY for about 2 weeks now. WHen you say he does not go on his own, I presume you mean to sleep. I'd be interested to know what you do to help him fall askleep, if anything. I do a lot of shhhhing and a bit of patting and it gets quite tiring and I have begun to wonder, if this is not a prop for him in itself. Would be good to hear your thoughts.

Bellymum (i.e. still got the belly!! trying hard to lose it)

[moomin]

Hi Bellymum,

Yes, I know what you mean -mine is still hanging around too - might have something to do with the snickers I keep stuffing my face with!

Anyway, yes he doesnt go to sleep on his own and I do the same as you, shush to sleep (I dont pat) I think at this age its a case of just trying to teach them to sleep independently of you rather than you having to rock etc and I think (someone please correct me if Im wrong) by the age of about 6 mths most LO's know how to self soothe so probably wont need shush. 

My LO (will also be 9 weeks on Weds ?!) doesnt always sleep the amt that he's supposed to and so by evening time can be very restless so what I do now is bottle in the bedroom with the curtains closed, then I swaddle him, and let him start to drift off in my arms, then just before he falls asleep I put him down in his moses basket and he goes off completely himself -sometimes they just need to be more relaxed to go off.

Im new at this too and EASY really isn't easy but I am starting to feel like we're getting somewhere - he's much easier to settle for naps now and I can get him back off if he does wake, so all good!

[*Mona*]

When we are going out, I give him his feed, then count his activity time as the getting ready for the outing (change of nappy, putting on his coat/jumper etc, settling him in the car) and then if he falls asleep in the car he's had some activity time. 

I am doing exactly the same: around noon I feed my dd, change diapers, get her dressed [and get myself dressed ], put her in the stroller and go out for some 1,5~2hrs walk. [after she stops screaming because of being forced to wear her cap on, which she hates] she stays asleep most of the time we're out and sometimes even after we've come back home. here in Poland it's pretty unheard of to stay with your baby at home all the time without going out for a walk. well, unless it's raining cats and dogs or below -10 degrees [Celcius] in winter. even if you're trying to implement EASY or anything else. I guess it's just really healthy for a baby [and a mum as well] to get some fresh air

[hollybush]

Hi,
I'm all new to this and baby is due in June and I'm trying to learn as much as I can - so much wonderful information but also sometimes overwhelming.

I was just wondering and hope you experienced Mommies can help me out  - as I read through the EASY routines it seems that there isn't alot of "flexibility" especially regarding "getting out"... seems to give the impression that you are "tied to the house" so to say.  I assume everyone needs to get out for various reasons - appointments, strolls in the park, walking the dog, etc. 
 
How is this incorporated into an EASY routine?  E.g., can you just plan to go for a stroll in the park with baby during an "S" or "A" during the day?  Or MUST it be in his crib?

I'd really like to try to use EASY but my home responsibilities - including a dog that needs walking once a day usually mid-day - have me wondering if it wouldn't be possible?

Thanks for your feedback for this first time mom-to-be.
 

[corrina01]

Hollybush,

Would you like some help?

[hollybush]

Hi,
I'm all new to this and baby is due in June and I'm trying to learn as much as I can - so much wonderful information but also sometimes overwhelming.

I was just wondering and hope you experienced Mommies can help me out  - as I read through the EASY routines it seems that there isn't alot of "flexibility" especially regarding "getting out"... seems to give the impression that you are "tied to the house" so to say.  I assume everyone needs to get out for various reasons - appointments, strolls in the park, walking the dog, etc. 
 
How is this incorporated into an EASY routine?  E.g., can you just plan to go for a stroll in the park with baby during an "S" or "A" during the day?  Or MUST it be in his crib?

I'd really like to try to use EASY but my home responsibilities - including a dog that needs walking once a day usually mid-day - have me wondering if it wouldn't be possible?

Thanks for your feedback for this first time mom-to-be.
 

just wanted to say how much better i feel now ive read your notice!!!  I am also a 1st time mom an have all these worries!!
thank you!