Building a routine early on VS going with the flow in the early days

[Dozeyland]

what's your views?

Seconding togarama here, bacon - and it's a bit of a sweeping statement to say - as your post seems to imply - that routine is always good and no routine is always bad. Plenty of posters on here have happy, settled DCs who sleep, eat and function well without having had routines forced on them from day 1. If that's PC parenting, I'm for it.

I do enjoy having a routine...but it's because I like to have wind down time myself in the evenings. The early months are really down to personality more than anything...I have treated both mine the same yet ds isn't (at nearly 3) a great sleeper,dd was settled from day 1 and slept through from 6 weeks. Completely different personalities

Yes Roo, I find I can cope with hectic days and even getting up in the night if I know I have my evenings. Also DP works away so much I can be on my own with both children for days and days so I need to know when I can cook dinner for DS and myself, and sit and read with him etc.

Routine from as early as possible even if baby isnt following it. I did Gina Ford twice DS1 was great from start, DS2 I started from 6 weeks. Personally, the longer you leave it the harder it is and I read contuinal stories of problems all caused because parents didnt think it was "Kind" and let baby "make their own decisions". Not us!

Oh how you have made me chuckle. I enjoy life which DD fits into rather than the other way.She is fab BTW.

I definately think go with the flow. I just myself in such a state with DS because he wouldn't follow the EASY routine to the extent that i thought i was a bad mother. Finally at 3 months i relaxed and it all slotted in to place. Also if you're bf then unless your baby is able to go 3/4 hours naturally then i really can't see how a routine could work for you as the whole idea is to feed on demand. With DD we went with the flow from the word go and she was a doddle and she soon fell into her own routine anyway. I also didn't like the idea of not going anywhere for weeks on end while you get the routine establised and then not being able to go out anywhere for a long period of time because you needed to be back for nap time!
The only thing i've been routine about is bedtime and introduced that from about 6 weeks consisting of bath, milk and story then bed and that's worked a treat. Oh and as for all this 'if you don't have a routine your baby won't sleep through the night' nonsense, Ds slept through from 13 weeks old and DD was 18 weeks old and that was 7-7!