I am about to start back to work week after next. Every 4th night I will work overnight. DS, 7.5 months old, has never slept apart from me before, and never been put down for the night by anyone other than me. DH has tried once when I was out, but when I arrived home at 9:30 DS had been crying and wildly looking around for me for an hour so I did it. Normally these nights DS nurses when he goes down to sleep at ~8, again at 11-12, once during the night (anywhere from 3-5), and then when he gets up. Our usual bedtime routine is that DH gives him a bath and then I do book/song/nurse in bed and put him down drowsy in a sidecarred crib. He pokes me in the night when he wakes and wants to nurse and I sit up, pick him up (we still haven't mastered sidelying comfortably), nurse him, and put him back in the crib.
Anyone have any thoughts on how to make things as smooth as possible when I am gone? It will sometimes be DH with him at night, sometimes the nanny if DH is on business travel. The nanny, who is great with DS, is willing to keep him at our house or take him to hers. Some things I'm considering:
- should I stop "nursing him down" and shift the nursing earlier in our routine? I fear this would make life difficult in the short run because this is currently the best way to help him get sleepy.
- should DH permanently take over more of the bedtime rituals (though sometimes he travels--about a week per month)? should we be trading off?
- how many bottles should DH or the nanny give in a night? DS doesn't seem to love and be comforted by the bottle the way he is by the breast, though he's happy enough to take a bottle when hungry. Also, he doesn't take a paci.
- should the nanny take him to her house (very safe & babyproofed, he'd sleep in a pack and play) to just get him used to a totally different routine when we aren't there, or is it better to ask her to cosleep with him in our bed?
Anyone have any thoughts on how to make things as smooth as possible when I am gone? It will sometimes be DH with him at night, sometimes the nanny if DH is on business travel. The nanny, who is great with DS, is willing to keep him at our house or take him to hers. Some things I'm considering:
- should I stop "nursing him down" and shift the nursing earlier in our routine? I fear this would make life difficult in the short run because this is currently the best way to help him get sleepy.
- should DH permanently take over more of the bedtime rituals (though sometimes he travels--about a week per month)? should we be trading off?
- how many bottles should DH or the nanny give in a night? DS doesn't seem to love and be comforted by the bottle the way he is by the breast, though he's happy enough to take a bottle when hungry. Also, he doesn't take a paci.
- should the nanny take him to her house (very safe & babyproofed, he'd sleep in a pack and play) to just get him used to a totally different routine when we aren't there, or is it better to ask her to cosleep with him in our bed?
