It's Good To Be Bad.

I am a bad mom, and I'm perfectly fine with it.

Madison Brianna is 9 months old. She has no designated nap, bath, eating, bed, or wake-up time. She has no schedule, and 95% of the time she is happy.

To most people now days, no schedule for a baby is horrible. Society constantly tells you how to raise your child the best way. How you need to put them on a schedule, or your life will revolve around them and nothing more or less.

My daughter is a baby. She is not a clock.

She wakes on her own for the day between 6:30 & 8:30 and she goes to sleep for the night between 8:00pm & 10:00pm. Sometimes she wakes up between 3:30am & 5am for a sleep feeding, but for the last week she hasn't been waking at all in the middle of the night.

Bath day is every 2-3 days (depending on if we go in the heat or if she is otherwise dirtier than usual). Sometimes it is in the morning. Sometimes it is in the afternoon. Sometimes it is at night. Her bath time is whenever I decide "Okay, I'll give her a bath now." Usually right before we leave if we have things to do that day, whenever that may be. Her bath is not a cue for bedtime, or wake time. It is a bath. It is when I splish and splash her while she splishes and splashes herself. It is not a time for her to relax, it is a time for her to play and have fun while momma does her thing with that cup & washcloth that sure do look like fun toys.

She eats when she is hungry. Sometimes that is every 3 hours. Sometimes that is every 5 hours. Her breakfast is whenever she is hungry after her first morning bottle. Her lunch is whenever she is hungry in the afternoon. Her dinner is when we eat (which varies depending on when daddy comes home.)

My daughter is not a robot. She knows when she is hungry and/or tired. And she knows how to tell me that.

Now, if you put your baby/toddler/child on a schedule and it works for you, more power to you. But that does not mean it is what everybody should do. It works for some people, and others (while it will still probably work for most) prefer to let their child tell them when they need things.

My daughter is not in charge. But I am also not in charge of her basic human needs. While she is a person made from two people, she is her own. I will continue to let her be her own person so long as I am able.