Our Mindful Babycare routine +WIN a Babycare Sheepskin.

Clean, feed, sleep repeat
Clean, feed, sleep repeat
Clean, feed, sleep repeat

Day in, day out you get in this automated rhythm of taking care of your babe. And it’s basically the same every single time. Being a parent of a baby is hard. Especially that first year using. So going on survival mode and the whole taking care routine on autopilot
But sometimes the “autopilot mode” becomes the “normal”. A habit of just getting the job done and get it over with.

And then your baby starts acting out around those care rituals… Twisting and turning, trying to help you change the diaper grabbing all the dirty bits getting poop everywhere. Grabbing your face with their hands or kicking you with their feet for attention or maybe even try and turn to get away from you.

But put yourself in their place. Someone grabbing you and starts clothing you, changing and washing you while completely ignoring you as a person. No eye contact. Nothing. They are just getting it over with. Sorry, no one home. Not mom or dad. Autopilot has taken over.

Once in a while, I noticed it happened to us again. We’ve been overwhelmed and exhausted for a period, so we’ve slipped into this survival mode. And never came out. Usually, it hit me when my baby wasn’t working with me but making it impossible to get the job done. Acting out in all sorts of ways. Literally, shake me up and making me snap out of it.

Instead of shouting to my baby “keep still” or “stop that NOW” I would realize what was happening.
I am making her do this! It’s on me!
So the solution was always simple, and always the same:

1-make eye contact.
2-talk to them and include them in what you are doing.
3-sing to them.
4-tickle them.
5-cuddle them.
6-lots of kisses and attention.
7-take your time

And we’ve all been there.
Multiple times. This survival/autopilot mode is actually pretty handy for night changes or moments when you have trouble coping because your baby has been sick and keeping you awake or you are not feeling well or whatever. But after the crisis moments.. Get back in the moment and enjoy the precious one on one time with your little one.

MAKE EYE CONTACT, TALK TO YOUR BABY. TAKE YOUR TIME.

The Vachtenspecialist.nl send us a Babycare sheepskin for our little Quinn to chill on while we give her all the attention in the world.

So tell me… Do you catch yourself sometimes being an apathetic exhausted on-auto-mode operating parent sometimes?
How do you notice you’re out of it and how do you get yourself back in the moment?