Practice vs sleep?

ejb23 · December 2013

New here so here's my intro + a question. My DD is 11 weeks and I'll be heading back to work in 2 weeks. My husband and mom will watch DD for a week and a half until after the holidays then DD will start daycare. She is EBF and is having trouble taking a bottle.
My question is when should I start practicing getting up on time for work/ day care drop off etc? I think I should start in advance but don't want to miss out on to much sleep while I still can sleep in! She's still not on any set schedule but usually wakes up twice per night (last wake up could be my wake up for work time usually).

Any other tips on how to prepare to return to work?
Thanks!

ss+el · December 2013

I never practiced. Have everything ready to go before you to go to bed at night. Get yourself as dressed as you dare before waking her up. I often just took DS in whatever state he was in as long as he was clean & dry, so there was never a rush to get him dressed, etc. Sometimes I'd just stick him in the car and go. I didn't BF, and daycare was less than 5 minutes away, so I'd leave the morning feeding to them if I was in a time crunch.

MNgirl326 · December 2013

I don't think I ever practiced. I made sure I had everything laid out the night before, packed up as much as possible and ready to go (bottles, diaper bag, etc).

The first couple weeks I got up super early so that I would have time to figure things out, and then I adjusted my routine and eventually got faster and better.

I don't think there is a set "start practicing now" opinion because everyone is different and everyone has difference circumstances. You kind of just have to go with what works for you and what you know about yourself.

As far as baby goes- the first few weeks will be tough. She will cry, probably not sleep well, and most likely refuse the bottle for a bit. And then she will figure it out and adjust, just like you will on your morning routine.

Daycare will also help get her on a schedule when she is ready.

hungryhippo · December 2013

DS had his first 3 days at daycare last week. I didn't "practice" the morning routine and it was a little different every day. DH helped out a lot because all three days DS woke up while I was pumping. The best morning was the one where absolutely everything was ready the night before. I think it may take another week or two to figure out a routine that works best, but with evening prep, it wasn't too bad.

iverske9 · December 2013

I practiced for about 2-3 days. First day was when I thought I should get up, second was when I really should have and perfected it by the third. Good luck going back :-)

Curls218 · December 2013

I just went back to work last week and didn't really "practice", but what I did was starting the week before was when DS would wake up for a feeding after 7am I would just take him out of his room and I'd go have breakfast, etc. It was my way of helping him transition to getting up for daycare, but I didn't wake him up. I also don't wake him on weekends, I let him get up when he wants. DS is 15 weeks old.

The first day of me getting ready for work was my first day. My routine is that I set my alarm for 5am hoping that DS will sttn until after that. He hasn't yet on a work day (but does on the weekends, of course), so depending on what time he wakes to eat I set my alarm a bit later (up until 5:30) so I put him back down to sleep until I'm ready to get him ready and then I hopefully get a little bit more sleep myself. When my alarm goes off I get up, shower, have breakfast, do my hair & make up and pack the car. I set my clothes out but don't get dressed quite yet. I wake him up at 6:45, get him dressed, feed him, then I go and put my clothes on, put my coat on then pick him back up (so when he spits up it's only on my coat!) then I get him into his car seat and we're out the door around 7:30.

TheBorg7of9 · December 2013

Just sleep. You and your baby will figure it out as you go.

sdlaura · December 2013

I spent a lot of time the last month of my maternity leave stressing about the morning routine, and in retrospect I really wish I hadn't. At that age their sleep schedules/wake up times are changing so much anyway, and it will all work out in the end. My advice would be to go with the flow as much as possible until you actually go back, and then figure it out.

APendola · December 2013

At that age, I don't know if I would bother with practices. As you said, she's not even on a schedule yet. So I don't think you need to do that for her benefit.

On the other hand, maybe you might want to see how long it takes you to get ready, get her in the car etc so that you get an idea of how much time you will need in the morning. I never practised this at all though - I just got up extra early the first couple weeks.

dglvrk2 · December 2013

I never "practiced" with DD#1 either. I did three to four trail days at DC before I returned to work. DD started with a couple of hours at day care and we worked up to a full day before my first day back working. I gave myself an extra 45 minutes to get ready and get her ready my first day back at work. I had to pump, feed her and feed myself before getting out the door. It worked. I too try to have everything ready/laid out the night before. This includes clothes for DD AND me, my work bag, DD's DC bag, packed lunches, and - when I was pumping - the pump. DC takes most of DD's supplies on Mondays, so Sunday night packing was/is a bit more involved than other nights.

I'm expecting #2 in January. We will do some trial days at DC with her too. I usually drop the kids off as DC is closer to my work than to DH's. I do plan to practice the mornings before I return to work since I'll have two kiddos to juggle. DH is a big help. However, there's a small window between when DC opens and when I have to be a work, so timing is critical.

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