Dads with Stay - At - Home Wives: what is your night strategy?

[MissTerri]

Originally Posted by Casey Ryback

ok here's an update! I've been back to work for the past 2.5 weeks and here is how things are going:

I bottle feed him around 9:30 and he's usually good until 3:30 or 4 in which case I need to almost be up anyway and I take care of him until I leave for work (usually 6ish).

If he was to get up like at 12 or 1, my wife would either nurse or deal whatever she thinks he needs.

He is very clingy to my wife so she doesn't get to do much throughout the day. If she tries to put him down he cries easily, so her napping isn't always a possibility.

Glad you guys figured out something that works for you both. Thanks for the update.

[Kibbiekat]

Originally Posted by Casey Ryback

ok here's an update! I've been back to work for the past 2.5 weeks and here is how things are going:

I bottle feed him around 9:30 and he's usually good until 3:30 or 4 in which case I need to almost be up anyway and I take care of him until I leave for work (usually 6ish).

If he was to get up like at 12 or 1, my wife would either nurse or deal whatever she thinks he needs.

He is very clingy to my wife so she doesn't get to do much throughout the day. If she tries to put him down he cries easily, so her napping isn't always a possibility.

Thanks for the update. Sounds like that's working well.

[Cloudwalker]

Thanks for the update, always good to hear how things turned out. Seems like the later bedtime is helping, fingers crossed that his wake up time gets closer and closer to 6am.

We found a front pack invaluable in the early days for keeping baby close and happy, but still being able to actually do something.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by Casey Ryback

My son was born a few weeks ago and I was lucky to get a few weeks of paid paternity leave, but I'll be going back to work next week. my wife and I are trying to establish a nightly routine in which I feed about 4 oz of bottled breast milk at around 11 pm, 2 am, and 5 am. My wife usually pumps more around 2 or 5. 11 PM is usually bedtime for everyone.

Unfortunately, I usually have to get up for work around 5:15 and I need to leave the house by 6. My commute is about 2 hours each way so I normally don't get home until 7 on a good day!

Should my wife being taking over some of the feeds at night? I've only been getting about 4 hours of sleep max each night and right now it's not an issue because I can nap during the day, but it's unfeasible when I'm at work...

What did some of you do during the first few months?

I think it's reasonable for your wife to do the lion's share of nighttime feeding, chiefly because you can't take naps during the day while your wife can.

That doesn't relieve you of the responsibility. You could spell her on weekends. But you can't be expected to drive two hours to work, put in a full day, and drive two hours home on five hours' sleep indefinitely.