The Semblance Of A Routine

One thing that Sara and I discovered during Connor's first few months was that a routine was a great simplifier to the craziness that can be everyday life with an infant.  Everyone had similar expectations about what was going to happen during each time of the day.  For Connor the routine worked brilliantly, and Sara and I maintained the routine in the face of just about every obstacle.  Sometimes that was probably a bad decision as I think we limited ourselves because we needed to be home for "nap time," but in the vast majority of cases it was a major positive that brought some sanity back into our lives.

As Owen has gotten a little older we've begun to try and develop a new routine for our family of four. We've discovered that we, and Owen, need to be a little more flexible than we were during Connor's first few months.  Having a nearly three year old with social obligations requires a certain amount of get-up-and-go.  Regardless, we have gotten to the point where there is a rough road map for each day, and it has made life significantly more straight forward.

One huge benefit to the routine is the fact that Sara and I have gotten our evenings back.  Before Owen was born, Connor would go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and Sara and I would be able to have two hours to talk to each other, pick up the house, do laundry, stare blankly at the television like a trauma victim...whatever was necessary.  During the first few weeks of Owen's life that time seemed to disappear.  It seemed that any moment that Connor was asleep, Owen was crying.  Trying to find a minute for Sara and I to say hello to each other was exceedingly difficult.  As Owen has progressed and started to learn when bed time is and has gotten better at sleeping a little more soundly and predictably, Sara and I have slowly gotten an hour, then an hour and a half, and now close to two hours where we can just be with each other.  With so much energy focused on Connor and Owen throughout the day it is nice to be able to look at each other without chaos in the background and remember that we are in this together, that there's no one with whom we'd rather share this experience.