The closer I get to my due date, the more often I find myself imagining how our daily life will change. These last weeks feel like a transitional space where I am trying to gather as much information as possible about what happens after the baby arrives. I read books, watch videos, take classes and study various experiences from other mothers. I know perfectly well that real life will never match what the books describe, yet my instinct is always to prepare. It is the same perfectionist habit I have had my entire life, something close to a straight A student mindset. I need to understand, analyze and learn everything I can before I face a new reality.

But the more information I absorb, the more contradictory it becomes. It seems like there are two completely opposite schools of thought regarding newborn routines. One insists that you should build a clear schedule from the very beginning, while the other encourages following the baby’s cues entirely and letting the little one dictate the rhythm of each day. Both sides are convincing in their own way, which makes the decision even more complex.

I have always been a person who appreciates structure. I live by schedules, even when it comes to something as simple as planning meals. Naturally, I feel drawn to the idea of a predictable daily rhythm. At the same time, I understand that a baby is a separate little human with unique needs that change from day to day. So my vision is something balanced, somewhere in the middle: a system that offers stability while still being flexible enough to respond to the baby’s signals. Whether this approach will work in real life, I genuinely do not know. Sometimes I wish children came with a user manual that explained every step in detail.

Mothers, I would love to hear about your experience. Do you follow a strict schedule or allow your baby to guide the routine entirely? Every approach is valid because each family finds what works best for them. I am simply curious to know which philosophy most of you follow and what helped you during those first months.