From Dawn Till Dusk

Nice, who also blogs at MommaStuff, is reviving her Mommy Question of the Week that she started months back. The Blog Carnival aims to gather and share opinions and experiences among Moms on certain motherhood topics. And for this week the question is about the importance of routines for kids: Do you have routines for your kids? Care to share? Does it really help?

Thanks for inviting me Nice. Yes, we do observe a certain routine for Nico and it all started soon as he was discharged from the Neonatal ICU, 10 days after his birth. Whether it’s mealtime, playtime, weewee and poopoo time, homework time, or bedtime, following sets of patterns as early as infancy is as important as providing our kids with the basic necessities because it is with routines they come to remember and appreciate consistency and predictability. And what makes it more important is the fact that parents also benefits from these routines. In as much as we spend a great deal of bonding time with the kids through these routines, we also get to enjoy a special Me-time for ourselves because everything is planned and anticipated.

In our case, since we were caring for a preemie infant back then, we had instructions from the Neonatologist to strictly observe “habits” especially on two things. First was on feeding the baby on a 45 degree angle and on certain intervals and stops to avoid choking since his lungs was still on the process of maturing and that his heart had a hole back then. And second, as much as possible, we were told to comfort the baby quickly when he cries, thus avoiding him to turn blue. These two habits, on top of observing what time he’ll be given meds to calm palpitations of his heart and a medicine to induce urination (so the lungs will not be flooded with liquids), we definitely observed. Whew! And looking back, I can’t clearly remember how we did it!

As far as I can recall, aside from the instructions of Nico’s pedia cardio, we also frequent Heart Library, it’s a great resource about anything and everything about the heart. And what’s even better about HeartLibrary is that they have an interactive heart video library where one can view the anatomy of the heart, various heart diseases, and patient stories. Take for example, this video of a Rapid Heart Rate, it’s really very helpful in understanding how the heart works. And at times we are not familiar with medical terms, there’s a Heart Glossary Library to consult. Aside from that, the Heart Library’s Frequently Asked Questions were also very helpful to us.

Anyway, fast forward to present, our routines have changed as Nico grows. A Day in the Life of my four-year old Little Boy goes something like this: (PS. Some of the photos were not taken on the actual time of the routine, but it’s there for illustration purposes)

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