This week’s Carnival of Beauty is being hosted at Scribblings by Blair, so if you’d like to participate, you’ve still got until 3 pm today to post on the topic of “The Beauty of Order” and send Blair your link.

I confess, I’m shooting two birds with one stone here. One of my high school friends is co-authoring a book on the subject of “Breastfeeding,” and she’s asked me a couple of times to send her some tips. Well, it’s one of those things I keep meaning to get around to but haven’t. Then yesterday I realized my #1 tip for nursing moms also relates to the theme of order, so here goes.

First of all, if you’re one of my guy readers (and I know you exist, though most of you never comment!), you may just want to click on out today — because this is woman stuff here. That is, unless your wife is taking care of a newborn — in which case, what I’m saying here may make you the hero.

I don’t like to talk about controversial subjects in my blog (got too much else going on in my life!), but I do have strong opinions about the importance of scheduling a routine in homes with newborns — and toddlers for that matter. This is something that doesn’t come naturally to me — we were so blessed to be invited to take a class before our first son was born. The couple who taught the class were our neighbors, and they were the experts for me — with three happy, orderly children.

The first thing we learned was how important it was to establish a schedule for feeding your baby. This is especially important for nursing moms. Why? Because if your newborn nurses more often than every two hours, he or she will be “snacking” and not getting the rich hind milk that comes from nursing long enough to have this released. Plus, you’re going to be exhausted if you’re nursing a baby every hour around the clock.

When you can establish a flexible routine of nursing every 2-3 hours (aiming for 3), your life will start to have some order, and your baby will learn how to sleep longer at night. Getting a full night’s sleep is important for you and your baby — if a baby continues to wake up several times a night, he or she will probably be a toddler who can’t sleep well either. This makes everyone grumpy!

I’m not the kind of mom who likes to nurse out in public, so I liked to schedule my feedings when I knew I’d be at home — or in a quiet place (as much as possible). I didn’t carry my newborn in a sling and let him or her nurse all day. I know there are moms who do that, but I think this can be exhausting, especially when you’ve got two or more siblings who want to sit in your lap and be held.

With each baby I brought home from the hospital, I scribbled out a very flexible routine — that I adapted and changed each week as it became more apparent how this baby’s personality fit into our family. This schedule helped me keep my sanity, and I can’t imagine if I’d had to survive the first six weeks without having something written down to go by.

Moving on from feeding your baby, here are some other advantages of establishing daily routines. It’s very easy when you’re home with only one baby or toddler to fall into a slump of “I have nothing I really need to do, nowhere I need to be, so I think I’ll stay in my pajamas all day.” This is OK every now and then — even fun! But it shouldn’t be routine, or you’ll start to resent your husband for being out in the “real world” of adults, while you’re staying home day after day in your pajamas.

You should plan something for every day, and write it on your calendar. “Today, I will get dressed and go to the grocery store.” Or plan out a little schedule of weekly activities that you can do with your baby — or even something that you can do without your baby. I specifically joined a gym and church Bible study that both provided great child care!

Even when we were pinching every single penny in graduate school, I kept our two little ones on a routine. We didn’t have the financial means to take expensive Mommy-and-Me classes, but we looked forward to daily walks with our neighbors, free library storytime, and a couple of mom playgroups. At least three times a week, I tried to plan something that involved getting out of the house for a little bit — even if it only meant for a walk down the street.

Why am I writing all this? Because I have such a tender heart toward new moms. Sometimes I felt so alone during those early years. It’s so much easier when you have older children because they’ll have schedules that dictate how you spend your time — the baby will just come along for the ride wherever you have to be.

But it’s easy to fall into depression when you’ve got a newborn, and you’re home alone. Since many women don’t make up a schedule to live by — they feel like they’re bored or on the verge of going crazy, and they end up heading back to work as soon as possible. This makes it even harder for the moms who stay home because you really have to seek out like-minded stay-home moms.

Wow — I feel like I’m just getting started. Yikes. Blogs should be quick to read — sorry! Can you tell I’m passionate about this topic?