Your Lifestyle and Your Baby
Rod and Colleen are a disciplined couple. They are neat, orderly, precise,
and systematic in everything they do. There is a place for everything, and
everything is in its place. This couple would never dream of leaving a
pair of muddy loafers at the back door. Early risers, they have jogged two
miles, showered, and are prepared to sit down for breakfast—all by 6:30
A.M. Dinner typically is served at the same time each evening, and the
activities of the day are fairly predictable. Their lifestyle represents a
tight routine.
If you feel Rod and Colleen have life just a bit too together, maybe
you lean more towards the lifestyle of Dave and Kim. This couple seems
comfortable with a little more flex in their lives. They appreciate things
which are neat and orderly, precise and systematic, but consider some
types of confusion to be an art form. If the day doesn’t turn out as
planned, no big deal. Sometimes they rise at 6:30 A.M. while other days
they sleep longer. Perhaps they even daydream about an entire Saturday
spent lounging in bed. Mealtimes are anything but rigid, easily worked in
around the day’s activities. This lifestyle represents a loose routine.
Look at your spouse and you as a couple. Which of the two
personality styles named above best represents you as a couple? Is life
very predictable, or are you comfortable with variations in routine? If you
view life most like Rod and Colleen, you will have a tendency to
establish a tighter routine for baby. In contrast, being a couple more like
Dave and Kim means feeding periods will have some flex to them. For
example, some days Kim’s baby will receive his first feeding at 6:30 A.M.
Other days it may be 7:00 A.M. before baby gets food. When this happens,
Kim automatically adjusts the baby’s morning routine based on this
feeding. Regardless of parenting style, your baby soon learns to fit with
your personal style.
Flexibility
Whether you are a Rod and Colleen, a Dave and Kim, or any combination