Thread: Managing Baby and Work

I'm having a small dilemma. My little David is quite the handful. He hates to be put down for a single second, and he gets bored after about 5 minutes of any activity, so I spend most of my time trying to entertain him. He has, though, started sleeping through the night. Currently, he goes to bed around 7:30 pm and I dream feed him at 10:00. I then wake up at 5:00 in the morning and feed him again. Sometimes I'm lucky and he goes back to sleep for an hour before I take him to day care. Most times, I'm not. Usually, as soon as the diaper comes off for the diaper change, he's wide awake and raring to go.

So, my problem is that I teach at a college. And I'm falling behind on essays and class planning because he requires so much mommy attention. He likes daddy, but he wants mommy. I know I can work on things after he is in bed, but I'm just so tired that I can't hardly think straight. I thought about going to bed when he does, and getting up around 2:30 am to begin the day. It would be the same 6 and a half to 7 hours of sleep I get every night. I would just be going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. Has anyone else tried this in order to balance baby and work? I would welcome any advice at this point.

In addition, I'm experiencing terrible hair loss right now. I've heard that some women go through this post partum? Any vitamin or diet recommendations for those of you who have experienced this? Thanks!

Sounds like he has started seperation anxiety alittle early? That's never easy! It might just be a stage and might resolve with time.
My hair is falling out too!! It's everywhere. I think it just has a period of falling out since our hair gets so think during pregnancy. Not sure if there is anything you can do about it except keep brushing it to get the loose strands.

Do you need to do the early morning diaper change or can it wait until you want him to get up?

Re the hair loss. It just happens. mine was really bad 3m-6m postpartum but it is better now.

Originally Posted by blondiess4u

My hair is falling out too!! It's everywhere. I think it just has a period of falling out since our hair gets so think during pregnancy. Not sure if there is anything you can do about it except keep brushing it to get the loose strands.

Mine is falling out in big handfuls. I was so frustrated with finding long hairs all over my son, and I was tired of having it pulled all the time, so I went out yesterday and had it all cut off. Now, I hope that if I do experience noticeable hair loss, it won't be as apparent because shorter hair has more body.

Originally Posted by Danifo

Do you need to do the early morning diaper change or can it wait until you want him to get up?

Re the hair loss. It just happens. mine was really bad 3m-6m postpartum but it is better now.

David wakes up soaking wet if I don't. In fact, the past two nights we had to wash his sleep sack and his fitted sheet. At least we know his kidneys are working. My husband went out and bought some overnight diapers, so maybe those will work a little better.

This was exactly how Christian was as a baby. He was super high maintenance and needed CONSTANT attention. I was a stay at home mom but I was finishing up my master's online and boy was it hard to squeeze in all the work I had to do while playing with a baby constantly, and he didn't STTN! I found once he started crawling and moving more he was easier. The jumperoo also came in handy a bit. We have the rainforest one and Caleb is a huge fan as well .

How did the overnights work out? I had some leftover pampers from DD and even though they were a size too big they worked great. Then we picked some of the huggies up and I noticed they changed them! Caleb leaked through them just like he does regular diapers, they used to be amazing .

So how's it going now? What did you decide on doing? This go round, I stay at home, but with Abby I worked full time. It is def. hard to balance the two. Honestly, I wouldn't adjust my schedule to wake up that early. No stage lasts forever and I just can't imagine getting up that early. My DH wouldn't like it either as it would cut into his time with me in the evenings. But, you have to go with whatever works for you in your situation. Just wanted to check to see how it was all going. I actually have a morning to respond to posts b/c both kiddos are still sleeping!!!!

Originally Posted by K_Lo

How did the overnights work out? I had some leftover pampers from DD and even though they were a size too big they worked great. Then we picked some of the huggies up and I noticed they changed them! Caleb leaked through them just like he does regular diapers, they used to be amazing .

I haven't had any luck with Huggies or Luvs. As far as plain old regular diapers go, Target's diapers are really good as are Kirkland's, a Costco brand. For overnights, we bought some Pampers Baby Dry. They last for ten hours (I do wake up with him at 3 am now to feed him one more time. I'm too scared to let him sleep more than 6 or 7 hours because I breastfeed. He certainly doesn't seem to mind.). The diaper is pretty heavy in the morning but no leaks so far!

My husband wasn't too keen on the idea either, so I decided to just adjust the feeding schedule a little bit. David seems to be entering into a bit more of an independent stage than previously. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'm still up to my neck in late work though. It is nice when they sleep, isn't it?

It's the BEST when they sleep . I'm glad you decided not to get up so early! If I've learned anything about babies, it's that everything is a phase, especially in the first year. They change so quickly it's best not to count on them continuing most behaviors.

I'll have to try the Kirkland diapers. I've never tried them since you have to get so many, so I worry if they don't work I'll be stuck with 250 of them . Pampers have been the best on Caleb too. That surprised me because Christian always leaked through pampers but not huggies. Grace did better with pampers though.