Hi,
I'm kinda looking for some gentle parenting support. I have a 11+ week old and things have been great- although I've found it has been the last week or so that I've been more tired than ever. My sister is hugely into gentle parenting but other than that I seem to be surrounded by people who opt for "cry it out" strategies which I think is a cruel and unusual punishment for a baby!

I don't know if it's just because these are the people in my life or not, but I keep getting asked about whether we are in a routine or not - and I am totally detesting that word because it equates to controlled crying and the like now, in my mind. So my DH and I have started to talk about "patterns" - and really I think I "should" be in a "pattern" by now but when I wake up of a morning i honestly couldn't tell you what time I'll be doing what or when my DS will be sleeping.

Most of me thinks that is totally natural, that children ARE unpredictable and I refuse to set a routine for him to follow. I like that he will set out what he needs. BUT. The allure of knowing what might happen when is kind of there...

So what I'm wondering is - do gentle parenting families have "patterns" (or routines)? How did you end up with them?

My DS rarely will sleep in the day longer than 45 mins at a time so we seem to spend a lot of time and energy focused on SLEEP - though he's great at night. Is this why I can't see a pattern emerging because the day is so choppy?

Ahh sorry this is getting long. I have loads of questions and not many people to ask. It's HARD to find people with similar parenting techniques.

THanks for being here!