This is my 2nd post on being a work at home mom, read my first post – WAHM Seeks FTH.
Warning!!! The amount of time that you work can directly affect your child’s sleep. I unfortunately learned this the hard way, and I am here to help you learn from my mistake.
I have been exclusively breastfeeding my son, that is until last Saturday. (More on that later) I have been extremely busy with work lately and to add insult to injury Noah decided to stop sleeping through the night sometime in the last three weeks. I have now figured out that my working is what caused Noah to stop sleeping.
Usually when I feed Noah I breastfeed if at all possible, except for his “dream” feeding where he receives a 5oz. bottle with his pro-biotic and Vitamin D mixed in it. When I started having more meetings and being away from home more often, that meant that he received more bottles. When I asked and researched, my doctor and many of the books just told me that I had to let him drink as much milk as he wanted/needed. I hate vague answers. So I was giving him anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 ounces each feeding, except for the dream feed. He wasn’t hungry at the end of the feeding and didn’t fuss, so I just assumed he was getting enough.
After speaking to a couple of other mom’s I realized that I was underfeeding my little man and that was why he kept waking up in the middle of the night. So now we have started a new feeding/nap schedule and (fingers crossed) it seems to be working. Noah only woke up at 5:15 and 6:15 this morning and then woke up at 7:00 for his first feeding. Here’s hoping he sleeps even more tonight!!
Here is his new schedule. Hopefully this helps you, like those other mom’s helped me!
Noah’s Schedule (6 months old)
7:00AM – Breastfeed or 6 oz Breastmilk or Formula
8:30AM – Nap
10:30 – Breastfeed or 5 oz Breastmilk or Formula
12:30pm – 3 -4 oz Breastmilk or Formula; Solid Food
1:30 – Nap
3:30pm – Breastfeed or 6 oz Breastmilk or Formula
6:30pm – Breastfeed or 6 oz Breastmilk or Formula
7:30 – Bedtime
10:30pm – Breastfeed or 5oz Breastmilk or Formula