Working Moms

Overnight feeding schedule help...

I'd like your suggestions on how I should start getting my daughter on a schedule that will work for me going back to work.

Right now (and I hope the Doc will tell us we can change this at the 2 month check-up) we need to wake her up at night to feed.So our night feedings look like this:  9:30pm  12:30am 3:30am then she wakes up in the morning on her own between 6:30 and 7:00.

 When  I go back to work I need to leave the house at 6:30am.  I was thinking of pumping when I get up so that my husband can feed her after I go to work.  But I'd really like to not have to wake up for that 3:30 feeding.

Can you share how you deal with the nightime feedings and not be a zombie at work?  Can I expect as she gets a bit older she'll sleep for long periods at night?  When could this start happening?

Thanks!

Re: Overnight feeding schedule help...

  • My doc gave the ok to let them sleep once they were back up to their birthweight. Not that either of my kids were good sleepers  Stick out tongue

    Right now my DS wakes at around 10 pm (goes to bed at 7:30 pm), and then again at 4.  One night feeding is totally do-able, at least for me, and I'm still able to function at work.  I try to go to bed as early as possible and then get a chunk of sleep before he wakes up.

    I'm sure at 2 months you'll be able to start going much longer, I'd even call your doc before then unless your DC was  a preemie or such.  My DD had dropped to 1 night feeding by 8 weeks, DS was closer to 16 weeks.

    My two PCOS miracles! Lilypie Kids Birthday tickersLilypie Kids Birthday tickers
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  • Kepe in mind I never had to wake my baby to feed, because when he was young he woke himself up often enough. By the time I went back to work, he was down to 1 or 2 wakings a night. We never tried to schedule him, we just let him do his own thing and eventually he dropped the wakings on his own around 5.5 months. My H and I rotated what nights we would wake up with the baby.

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  • I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your baby sleeping through the night is glorious and chances are, even when you don't have to wake her, she won't do it forever. She'll have times where she'll wake up once a night and then twice or three times a night (ever heard of the 4 month wakeful period?). The best thing you can do is first ask your dr if you can stop the middle of the night wakenings. Then, when you go back to work start doing the dream feed right before you go to bed (check out babywhisperer but what you do is feed them while they're sleeping). Also, try to keep yourself on the same schedule of going to bed and waking up and drink lots of coffee and eat well. That's all you can really do! My DS STTN at 5.5 months (we had to sleep train). Up until then, he'd get up once to twice a night when I went back to work.

  • Unfortuanately, you'll probably have to wake up for that feeding, for many more months to come. Its really not that bad, once DD was that age, she would wake up only once for a nighttime feeding, and it wasn't long. I would jsut get up, feel around for her in the dark stick the bottle or breast in her mouth and doze while she ate, and by the time she was done, she was asleep agian. I don't know if this is true for your baby. And I'd feed her right before bed. For me, waking up for a few mins at ngiht doesn't bother me or effect my energy level. Eventually you will get used to that feeding time and your body will adjust. DD did not start sleeping for long periods consistently until a year or more. I mean of course, from 1 month compared to 6months she slept alot longer. By 6months, I think she dropped the night time feeding and slept through the night inconsistently. When she did wake up,  I would go in comfort her and let her get herself back to sleep. But baby will wake up for a night time feeding until 4-5 months, and if shes used to eating at those times now, chances are she'll continue to wake at those times or close to it to get that feeding. Don't worry to much, its not that bad and you adjust quickly!!
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