Montessori mentions the need to follow the natural rhythm of the child and to meet the child's natural needs. I think this is especially important for feeding and sleeping.
For Otis (2 months) this means
- feeding by demand (no timing or scheduling feeds)
- allowing him to detach himself from the breast and finish feeding when he is ready
- sleeping when he needs to for as long as he needs
- providing safe, warm, comfortable environments for him to sleep.
Fortunately feeding Otis is simple, he is always with me, he feeds well and is growing well.
For sleeping we provide lots of areas within the home for him to rest and sleep. A soft blanket or a lamb's wool is perfect for this. Then as we play or work he can drift in and out of sleep as he needs and we can move it around. This is a great way of keeping him involved in our family life. If I see him getting sleepy I do put him in his bed, but it's ok if it doesn't always work out.
We are not actively putting him to sleep but rather he chooses when to sleep. He is also learning to sleep independently. Luckily following the post Sleep. Day versus Night he has two consecutive long sleeps at night, only broken by a feed.
Although we don't use them intentionally we have also found a car drive and his mobiles work well. Here is a favourite photo of mine from a couple of weeks ago, Otis sleeping under the Octahedron.
