Going back to work- dealing with day/night confusion h

Re: Going back to work- dealing with day/night confusion h

• APendola member

  October 2013

  That's so tough.  It can take a while for some babies to sleep more at night.

  
  

  Since your DH and you are on different schedules, maybe you can go to bed earlier and he can take care of her for a few hours so you can get some rest early in the evening.  Then you can deal with early mornings.

  
  

  Is she going to go to daycare/dayhome?  Sometimes when babies go to daycare, it helps them get on more of a structured routine and that might help her sleep better at night.

  
  

    
  

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• ForeverNewlyWeds member

  October 2013

  Hi - I'm new here too. I had DS at the end of July and have been back to work for three weeks.
  
  We had day night confusion too and I 100% second pp. At night keep things quiet and subdued and most important DO NOT engage the baby... After we put DS down for the night we would feed and change with lights off using a light in an adjacent room to see. We also held, rocked and shushed as needed but no talking, smiling, or eye contact at night. It was really hard and felt cruel not to look at baby or smile back (3am was prime smile time at the beginning) but after 3-4 days it worked... And he's since started being an awesome talker and smiler during daylight hours.
  
  Also we made it a point not to make it especially quiet when he was sleeping during the day. We didn't try and keep him up (for us sleep really does beget sleep) but we would still have normal volume conversations, do dishes, etc.
  
  Hope this helps. Good luck!

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• ridesbuttons member

  October 2013

  You're just going to have to weather this storm.  It's going to be tough.  Get relief when you can, have lots of naps on the weekends.

  It won't last forever.

  promised myself I'd retire when I turned gold, and yet here I am

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• jamiem538 member

  October 2013

  @nicb13 - she's 7 weeks Monday. She will usually sleep from 8 or 9 pm until 10 or 11pm. And then she will refuse to sleep and cries most of the time that my husband has her, which is usually 11-3 am, when I sleep.
  
  @apendola - we're keeping her home for the first yet because she was a month early (paranoid of germs) and were lucky enough to have some leo from family.
  
  @forevernewlyweds - we've totally been trying everything you suggested! I agree, it's so tough to resist! And congrats

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• Myaflowers member

  October 2013

  I'm a lurker here. My DD was the same way...up and crying until the early morning hours. Around the time I went back to work (9.5 weeks ), she got her days and nights straight and stopped doing this. It was such a relief! My LO doesn't go to daycare because my husband and I work opposite shifts. Hopefully your LO will get her days and nights straight soon! My LO was also a month early. 
  

  
  

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• iverske9 member

  October 2013

  You are not alone, my son didn't sleep through the night until 6 months. It is temporary, can you get your husband to help? I was breast feeding so it was on me but it did end.

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• chiboo9 member

  October 2013

  FTM here so I'm no expert. I've done what few PP's have suggested. I woke LO up from naps during the day if it's been 3 hours since she last ate. I kept it bright and loud when she was awake during the day. While she napped, I turned on a box fan for white noise but still went about the day washing dishes, vacuuming, watching tv, etc. During the night after her bedtime routine, it was lights off in her room with the exception of a small nightlight. MOTN feedings and diaper changes were done with just the night light and I didn't talk or even look at her. At around 5 weeks, I didn't even change her diaper in the MOTN, unless she pooped. I just made sure I slathered on Desitin after her bath around 8:30pm.
  
  Do you have a nighttime/bedtime routine? Not saying it'll fix everything, but it might help.

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