We've got a bit of a dilemma, so I figured I'd pose the question to you people who know stuff about babies.
Noah has just discovered that once he starts his job he'll be switching shifts regularly - nights for 6-8 weeks, then days for 6-8 weeks, then nights, and so forth for the foreseeable future. I get terribly lonely sleeping without him, so if it were just the two of us, I'd just switch sleep schedules when he does - sleep nights when he's on days, sleep days when he's on nights.
Alas, James is determined to complicate the matter (well, maybe not determined, but complicating nonetheless). My question is: is it reasonable to expect a baby to switch sleep schedules that often, or will that screw him up but good? I'd much rather sleep when Noah does, but if it won't work with a young baby, then I suppose Jim and I will be sleeping nights and just looking forward to the day-shift months when Noah can join us.
So, that's the situation. Any advice or commentary is extremely welcome.
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6 comments:
You'd probably end up with a cranky baby on your hands. He would adjust each time,but that is just close enough that he would only be getting used to it when you had to switch him. Get a body pillow and put one of Noah's tshirts on it to sleep with.
This is assuming that they're eight hour shifts, but say that the day shift is 7-3 and night shift 11-7, would you be able to schedule it so that you as a family sleep during the 3-11 period every day(+/- a few hours on either side depending on the week and your sleep needs)? That way Jim would have a regular routine, you and Noah could sleep together, and Noah and Jim would see each other more(because Jim must learn all about mustache twirling and how to abuse the womenfolk in his life)!
Just be aware that this would probably mess up everyone's circadian rhythms, and it's shown that night shift workers(women at least) have higher rates of cancer, so stay aware of how healthy you feel and change plans accordingly.
I'm so excited to meet James and see him develop as a person! Enjoy these last few weeks, and I'm sure once all members of your family are present a schedule will be formed to fit your needs.
Leah, unfortunately, raising a healthy child includes much sacrifice...Actually, not so unfortunate, because it builds character. In a few short weeks, the big question will no longer be "What do Noah and I like to do at this moment?"
Instead, you'll need to ask yourselves "What is the best thing we can do right now to raise Jim in a healthy and productive fashion?"
With a baby, it's all about the schedule - if you change his sleep schedule every 6 - 8 weeks, you'll be wondering why he's so cranky all the time. You'll both suffer from sleep deprivation and none of you will enjoy it. When Baby ain't happy, ain't nobody happy...
Hey - there's always naptime, when you can lay down beside Noah for an hour or two...
Besides, insufficient sleep lowers IQ. James is bound to be such a brainiac that you don't want to hinder his ability to learn and reason.
I didn't know the IQ thing-good point. Baby's are about adjusting-us,not them, so you'll adjust and everything will be fine. It's kinda nice to have the whole bed to yourself sometimes too! Don't worry about it yet and when the time comes you'll figure it out.
Aww. I kind of suspected as much, but wanted some confirmation from you People Who Know. Cranky baby and sleep deprivation do not sound fun to me, so I suppose Jim and I will just be doing nights.
Rhianna - that's actually a really good idea, except that he'll be on 10-hour shifts (9pm-7am and 7am-5pm), so there's only a four hour overlap in time off. Kind of puts a damper on that.
I think you'll be tired enough that you'll sleep every chance you get!! It's easier with one...you get to nap when he does! I haven't got much else in the way of advice, though. Good luck!
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