Ftwm and early wake-ups

Right now my 4w old and I stay in bed till 10ish. She is ebf and feeds every 2hrs or so and I'm sleep deprived. Don't judge. But I have to go back to work at 12w. Most days we will have to start our day at 5am. She has to be in daycare by 630 so I can get to my train. When should I start the 5am wake-ups to get us both prepared?

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

Right now at 4 weeks it's too early to start a routine. Sleep when you both can and basically forget about looking at the clock in the morning. That will just add more stress to your day. What you and your baby are going through right now wont last forever, and she will start to sleep for longer stretches as time goes on.

Once you go back to work, take it week by week, because even at 12 weeks, our little ones aren't on a set schedule.

So for now, don't worry about what you will have to do 8 weeks from now. Worry about the next 24 hours and take it one day at a time.

Ftwm and early wake-ups

That's what Dh said but being ftm wasn't sure

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

I started to change my schedule a few days before I went back to work. I stopped pumping, started going to bed earlier, and getting up earlier. Don't worry about it just yet, it will only take you a few days to get used to your timing.

Just curious, do you work in the city?

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

Honestly, I think it's too early to start worrying about routines. I think that you should enjoy your sleep while you can, and then when you do return to work your DD will just get used to the early wakeups. She will probably just sleep in the car seat after she has her first feeding.

Good luck!!

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

Just to give you an idea of how it works for us right now, my DD is almost 4 months old. I went back to work at 11 weeks. She wakes up around 4:30-5:30 in the morning. I change her diaper, feed her a bottle, and then she falls right back to sleep in my arms. That's after sleeping 8-9 hours. Not all babies sleep through the night at her age. My son did not. I'm super happy when she sleeps til 5 a.m.

I can't recall what our routine was like a month ago when I returned to work. It's all a huge blur. But we got through it one day at a time.

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

i wouldnt try to get dd onto a routine anytime soon. you should start trying though about a week before you return to work.

my DD and i used to sleep until about 10-11am too and when she started daycare at 12 weeks we had to get up by 7am (preferably 6:30am)
i kept putting off starting the "routine" until literally her second day of daycare (i had her in daycare 3 days prior to my return to work)...the first day i wanted her to go when she was alert and awake so we didnt arrive until about noon. the next day i got her up for the early morning routine...and she would eat and get a diaper change and go back to sleep. after a week of that, she started to shift her sleep patterns on her own and wake up anywhere from 6:30am -7:15am for a feeding and sometimes she goes back to sleep, sometimes she doesnt.

personally, i think 5am is early for a lo to wake for the day so i would worry just about feeding her and then i would let her sleep in the car etc.

what i do that helps me since dd is normally a late sleeper...is put her into her outfit before bed (or at least most of the outfit - if shes in a sleep n play i put a clean one on before bed and if shes going to wear pants and a onsie i put her in the onsie before bed so in the morning all i have to do is a diaper change which doesnt wake her as much as a full changing).

its rough bc dd still doesnt sleep through the night and im back at work. we manage one day at a time...its harder for us to adjust then them! they can nap at daycare...we have to learn to function on lack of sleep

Message edited 5/28/2013 10:51:03 AM.

Ftwm and early wake-ups

I never prepared myself or DS for the routine change. I was too exhaustedto try to get up any earlier than necessary! I went back to work at 12weeks and would just get up and nurse DS then have my husband get him dresses. I would nurse one more time before leaving. Some days DS falls back asleep in the car (he's up by 6:30 we leave by 7:30) but most days he is still awake when i drop him off.

Ftwm and early wake-ups

I never put DS on a schedule. Things changed everyday until he was consistenly sleeping through the night. I went back to work at 8 weeks and the only thing I could control was beeign as prepared the night before as possible.

We never started to wake him early or anything before that 8 week mark. He was usually up anyway since he never slept.

To make things easier I used to shower at night and do my hair so it wasn't crazy in the am. Now that he sleeps I get up at 5am and get myself together and then work on getting him up and ready. I leave at 645 for the train but DH takes DS to daycare. I try to have DS ready before I leave so DH has an easier time.

Getting out of the house is easy when they can't move around so just try and have bags packed the night before. Other than that there is no way to predict sleepign etc. Each day will be different in the beginning.

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

I was home for 6 months, so it's a bit different, but I started the morning routine very early - I didn't think it was fair to let them so used to a set routine and then drastically change it

If I were you, I'd probably start 2 weeks before you go back

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

Ftwm and early wake-ups

Thank you everyone

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

Hello! I wouldn't worry about a routine just yet! My ds is 10 months and he still doesn't have a solid routine. Sometimes he wakes up when I am gettin ready and is happy in crib, sometimes he wakes up screaming, sometimes he Sttn and sometimes not, sometimes I have I wake him up to get dressed! Good luck! I work in the city also and the worst is when they wake up before you are dressed! My DH is out of the house before I even get up.

Ftwm and early wake-ups

I imagine you will be pumping so I suggest you let daycare give your DD her first bottle. That way you don't have to wake her up at 5am. You can let her sleep later while you get ready. If you let the daycare feed her (which I do) then all you have to do in the morning is change her diaper and clothes and leave the house. It does make it a lot easier!

Ftwm and early wake-ups

I also wanted to add. Get up at 5; get yourself ready; then go and wake the baby. I dont get DS up until I'm just about ready to walk out the door (dressed wise not time wise) this way all I have to do is get him ready (which DH has been doing) and feed him. For your supply you'll want to nurse her in the morning before you leave as late as possible. This will delay when her next feeding will be at the daycare. And then you can pump at work (if you choose to continue to BF).

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

4 weeks is WAY too early to worry. Things will change 4 or 5 more times until you actually go back to work...and then they will change again, and again. About a week before you should start to think about your morning plan.

Re: Ftwm and early wake-ups

My girls dropped their midnight feeding at 7 weeks but still did a 4:30 til we basically stopped it. Then they slept til 6:30 for awhile but have been getting up at 5:30-5:45 the past few days. NOT cool.

Once she is almost sttn (drops feedigns) you can try pushing her feedings a little here and there a half hour or so to mold them. I kinda let my girls work into their own schdule then I adjusted a little.