Forgive me Gina Ford for I have sinned....

So I knew having children would affect the amount of sleep I have. I also assumed that after having had my second baby I would learn to survive on less sleep than I would have ever deemed possible post mummydom. However, this is ridiculous! I am rapidly turning into the sort of mother that Gina Ford would drop kick soon as look at. Dummy? In! Night feed? Still there (I know at 7months this equates to child abuse in Gina world). Then there was the night time routine, complete with organic lavender baby bath milk, which has rapidly flown out of the window, the routine not the bath milk.  Babybear2 is watching an unhealthy amount of The Style Network in the vain hope that I'll get a little rest and catch up on Big Rich Texas! But what struck me last night, as I watched the highly addictive reality show 'Tia and Tamera' (yes, of Sister Sister fame) whilst simultaneously bouncing the bouncer and telling myself that this could possibly constitute a bedtime routine, is that it doesn't really matter if I'm bending the rules a little.


The first time round you beat yourself about the little things. 'I let him fall asleep in my arms instead of the cot' or 'I gave him a sneaky bottle at night to make him fall asleep'. But the second time round you learn to give yourself a break. Yes, he should have a routine at night. But the road to self soothing is a bumpy, sleepless one and there are no guarantees he'll suddenly sleep through the night. Control crying works but I don't have the energy to partake yet. So as long as little man's first words aren't 'fashion police' or 'Jerseylicious' I'm not going to worry too much. Sorry Gina.