Hey parents of little ones, any ideas on how to function on very little sleep?

Question

I have a 4 month old; I work 10 hours a day. I come how at midnight my husband/baby is asleep. The baby wakes up at 1:30am to be fed. She is up till 3am. She sleeps till 5:30am when my husband gets up for work. So I have to get up to feed her (I breast feed). She is up till 8am. I go back to sleep with her till 10am when I have to get up to get ready to go to work. So I end up with about 5-6 hours of sleep but I almost feel worse for having slept for only short periods of time instead of 4 strait hours. I am so tired I can barely function at work I feel dizzy and achy, and I keep forgetting all kinds of important things. Any ideas? On keeping the baby asleep longer or better ways to cope? Thank you for any help

Answer 1

WOW! We're on the same exact schedule!! No joke!!! Except here is how we differ, maybe this will help! I get off work at midnight, pump as soon as I walk in the door, fix a bottle and go to bed, my son wakes up about 1:30 to eat, so my husband gets up to feed him with the bottle I prepared, baby and husband go back to bed. My husband gets up to go to work at 5:30, he places baby in bed with me and I nurse while I doze!!! Baby goes back to sleep til about 8, nurses, goes back to sleep and wakes up at 10am to start the day! So in all, I get about 4 1/2 hours all together and then on and off sleep from 5:30 til 10am. I feel fine. And of course I know caffeine would make it soooo much easier, but as we both know, we can't do that! I gave up the 1:30 feeding, it was toooo much! I know it doesn't sound like enough to make a difference, but trust me... It really did help!!! Good luck to you!!! and Kudos for continueing to breastfeed under such trying circumstances!

Answer 2

You could pump and have your hubby take one of the shifts. That's what I did with my son and I breast fed as well. At 4 months, you've established the breast so a bottle once a day won't mess with the progress you've made. If she wakes consistently at those times, then you can plan around it. Like the person who takes the 1:30 goes to bed early and switch shifts every two nights or so. Also, you could breast feed in bed, that might help to put her back to sleep...but I don't know if you want to start that, it's a hard habit to break when they get older. The good news is that it does end and it won't be like this forever.

Answer 3

You need to figure out how to nurse laying down, that will SAVE you. I work as well and it's hard sometimes when you're nursing, but if you can figure out how to do the side=lying position, or some of the other positions where you can sleep and nurse the baby, you will do a lot better. Your baby is just getting old enough where they will do better with latching on in side-lying. I couldn't figure it out until my kids were about that age. I think they just need a little more control of their bodies and 4 months is a great time.

Make sure that when you get up, it's quiet, that there are no distractions and low lights. In fact, when you figure out how to nurse laying down, you'll be in your own bed, where it's dark and quiet. You might just have a reverse cycler baby on your hands--where they want to be and nurse from you during the evenings and in the night because they are away so much from you during the day.

Just to answer some of the other responses:
Pediatricians, and every major medical organization on earth, now recommend that breastfed babies ARE NOT Fed any kind of solid, including cereal until AT LEAST 6 months of age. It's an old wives tale that cereal will make them sleep longer, it won't.

Answer 4

The best I can tell you is that it gets better with time. Your baby will start getting on a better schedule and you should be able to spread out feedings more and sleep for longer periods.

It may sound odd, but the best solution I have for when I am falling asleep on myself during the day but my son doesn't want to take a nap is I take him for a walk. The fresh air and exercise energizes me enough to make it a few more hours rather than being miserably stuck in the house. I don't live in the safest neighborhood, but I still make a point of getting out when I feel safe.

Also, be sure to drink lots of water, eat well, and take your vitamins.

Answer 5

Get help anyone parents, siblings, especially friends to give you a break! You need to sleep consecutive hours at least once in a while. I tell you from experience I had people assist me but I was depressed and the not sleeping and it was making me not enjoy my time with my son. I was on my own after three months and I was miserable at work. I used the Baby Whisperer technique (its a book). I could not always follow it but it helped me diagnosed my son's GERD when not even the doctors would listen. It also gave me sanity when I had my son on some sort of feeding schedule. I work 8 hours and I was dying I can't imagine how you can function. I would get naps here and there and left the house a mess then I would catch up when someone would take him but it was never enough until he began sleeping through the night. I was a first time mom on my own and it helped me . Pump if you can but don't feel bad if you suplement with formula once in a while. You need your health so you won't feel overwhelmed. Apparently this is a time when husbands/boyfriends feel they should not loose sleep over their child and leave work, home, and children to a mother.

Answer 6

Is it possible for your husband to get up and take the 1:30 feeding? That is, assuming you pump your milk. Since he is already asleep when you get home, I am guessing he gets a couple of hours in before you arrive. He could easily take the middle of the night feeding, allowing you to sleep from midnight to 5, uninterrupted. Good luck. Its really tough the first year, but it gets a lot better.

Answer 7

They say that a baby can start trying cereal (rice or oatmeal) between 4-6 months. Maybe you could pump your breastmilk and add a little bit of cereal. It helped keep my 1st daughter full for about 3 hours. Babies need to be fed on demand though. I have a 3 week old who thinks she is hungry ALL night. I don't get much sleep and I have to take care of her and a 1 year old all day! So I know how you feel. Do you HAVE to work? Or is it a choice? Could you pump your milk and let your hubby feed the baby when she wakes up 1:30 or 3? My body has pretty much grown to "no sleep"!! Maybe you could get a grandparent to keep the baby for a weekend so you can get some rest? Whatever you do, good luck. No sleep equals stress and that's not good.

Answer 8

I do sympathize with you, and it is hard to get through this first year or so.
Would your husband be willing to get up with the baby during the night (I assume she takes formula as well)?
Could you hire a sitter for the morning once in awhile? Is your mom handy?

I don't have any advice for you to help your daughter sleep through the night - but PLEASE: don't take any well intended advice from anyone here about feeding a four month old cereal, either alone, or in formula, or soft foods.
These people might mean well, but do not understand why this is a bad idea. Please, listen to your pediatrician on this one!

Answer 9

Wow! I don't think I could keep up, either. Does your husband ever get up with the baby? When my kids were that old, my husband got up with them at night all the time. He said that I needed to sleep to keep up in the day. I don't know about that caffine idea. That catches up to you pretty quick and it isn't good for you. Maybe when the baby goes on the bottle, you can get more sleep. I do like the idea of supplementing the milk with a little rice cereal. I did that with my kids at about three months and it did help them to stay asleep pretty much through the night. I hope things smooth out for you soon. Merry Christmas.

Answer 10

well she is 4 months old now. myself and many pediatricians would recomend introducing cereal and stage 1 foods at this age. since breast fed babies nurse often and will wake up many times at night i would recomend giving her a jar or 2 of stage 1 food (or cereal) at bed time along with some pumped breast milk or just a small bottle of water. since breast milk is quickly digested she is feeling hungry very quickly, so the solids will stay in her belly longer so she will not get hungry as quickly. so make a trip to the store and get her some fruits n veggies n meats n slowly introduce them 1 at a time so u can make sure she has no allergies to them. i wouldnt expect an immediate difference but id say in about a week or 2 u should deffinately notice a change in her sleep. good luck!!