Advice:Going back to work and Sleep

My twins are 4 months (2 months adjusted) and I am returning to work in three weeks. So far we have run a really loose schedule. The babies eat every four hours during the day and will go 5-6 hours at night, so their awake time is different each day. When I go back to work I will be waking them at 5:30 each day. Sometimes they eat at 10 and 3. But I know they won't be hungry at 5:30. However, they are going to have to eat before going to grandma's. We have gone to grandmas twice 1 hour before it was time to each and each time was a disaster. They stay awake too long, get too hungry and then are a mess for the rest of the day. So, will they fall into a schedule once I wake them each day?
I guess our issue is that they are not sleeping through the night. I am a nervous wreck about how this is all going to work when I go back to work. The babies sleep in their swings due to reflux and I would like to get them to their cribs instead. My dd can sleep in the bouncy as of two days ago, but not ds. I plan on putting her bouncy in the crib to get her used to it, but have no idea what to do with ds.
I guess I am just looking for any advice from mom who have been in my shoes or moms with sleep advice. Any certain sleep book you recommend?
Sorry if I am rambling....can you tell I have no idea what to do when I go back to work?

 

My twins are 4 months (2 months adjusted) and I am returning to work in three weeks. So far we have run a really loose schedule. The babies eat every four hours during the day and will go 5-6 hours at night, so their awake time is different each day. When I go back to work I will be waking them at 5:30 each day. Sometimes they eat at 10 and 3. But I know they won't be hungry at 5:30. However, they are going to have to eat before going to grandma's. We have gone to grandmas twice 1 hour before it was time to each and each time was a disaster. They stay awake too long, get too hungry and then are a mess for the rest of the day. So, will they fall into a schedule once I wake them each day?
I guess our issue is that they are not sleeping through the night. I am a nervous wreck about how this is all going to work when I go back to work. The babies sleep in their swings due to reflux and I would like to get them to their cribs instead. My dd can sleep in the bouncy as of two days ago, but not ds. I plan on putting her bouncy in the crib to get her used to it, but have no idea what to do with ds.
I guess I am just looking for any advice from mom who have been in my shoes or moms with sleep advice. Any certain sleep book you recommend?
Sorry if I am rambling....can you tell I have no idea what to do when I go back to work?

 

This is a great question!!

I have heard that to get them sleeping through the night, you should keep them fed every 3 hrs. during the day. Easier said than done! But worth a shot! They might fall nicely into a schedule when you are controlling their wake up time! That's basically how you start a routine anyhow.

Can you do that now, at about 7:00 a.m. Start waking them at this time if they aren't already up and then you will move it. You can try for the week before (I, realistically, wouldn't give up the extra sleep in the morning - but you might ) and see how that structures your day!!

Good luck!! You will figure it out and maybe grandma will have luck with getting them scheduled!!

 

quote:
I have heard that to get them sleeping through the night, you should keep them fed every 3 hrs. during the day. Easier said than done! But worth a shot! They might fall nicely into a schedule when you are controlling their wake up time! That's basically how you start a routine anyhow.


Ditto, consistency during the day and a nightime routine can lead to better sleep at night.

I went back to work when mine were 17 months, so things were a little easier for me.

I wish you all the luck you need! Keep us updated on your work adventures.

 

I am replying not so much b/c I have great advice, but to bump it up so it doesn't get lost. I had the same concerns you did before returning to work about getting them into their crib & affecting their schedule by waking them.

We slowly transitioned them into their cribs the 4-6 weeks before going back to work. It was a slow process and in the beginning a 15-minute nap was considered success if it happened in the crib. Eventually their naps lengthened (now 2 hours). I also took the kids over to Gmas to learn to nap there 1 day a week for about a month before going back to work.

We also transitioned slowly for nights (they were both sleeping on top of my chest). First we just started the night off in the crib, then they came to bed with me when they woke. Then, we worked on getting them to go back to sleep on their own.

As far as waking them early, we just adjusted for those days. Naps & meals happened at intervals based on their wake up time, not what the clock said. (IE, morning nap 2 hours after waking up, etc.).

One thing that saves my sanity for morning drop off is always having everything I need packed in the car before going to bed. That way I just have to change diapers/clothes and give meds in the morning. I can let them sleep until 10 minutes before we have to leave. We have Gma/Gpa do the morning bottle. Partly b/c we don't want to wake them earlier but mostly b/c they have no interest in the bottle until they've had a chance to move around and play for about 30 minutes.

Good luck with your transition back to work.

 

I went back to work about the same time and ours were not getting up at the same time each day either. What we started doing was feeding them each night at 11, and then they could generally go about 6 hours during the night, so they'd wake up about 5. Sometimes they would sleep until 5:30 or sometimes they would wake up at 4. If they woke up before 5, we would not feed them (we put pacis in, rocked, etc.). It was tough in the beginning, but they settled into a routine. You'll probably be very tired the first few weeks, but your body will adjust. If you want to try to feed them later than 10 to push the 3 am bottle later, I'd try waiting until 10:15 for a few nights, then 10:30, etc. until you get to 11. We would have to adjust the schedule in the evenings each day depending on whether they went 3 or 4 hours during the day for bottles, so for instance one day might look like this - 5, 9, 12, 4, 7, 11 and another like this - 5:30, 9:00, 1, 5, 8, 11.

My sister bought Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child for me. I'd highly recommend it!

I don't have any advice about getting them to sleep in their cribs b/c ours were already sleeping in them at that point, but hopefully someone else will have some advice about that.

Good luck. It's tough, but you can do it. And it makes you feel so great to go back to work and have everyone tell you they can't believe you have twins and don't know how you do it, etc. As they're saying that, I'm thinking, "Why the heck do you think I came back to work!"

 

Mine ate every 4 hours from birth and slept 12-13 hours a night at 3 months old, so it is possible. That said, I would do as the PP and work on giving them their last bottle at 11, then putting them down in the crib. If they wake before 5:30, then try a small bottle and decrease the amount every few days, or try giving a paci first. Then wake them at 5:30 and start the routine of the day. It may take a day or two of adjustment, and then they will probably be fine. If they are only "sipping" the 11 pm bottle, stop waking them for it, and they will probably be ready to sleep all night.

 

I really worked on the day time schedule and the night seemed to fall into place. Since the babies were 4 1/2 months old the schedule goes as follows:

Wake at 7 am
Bottle at 7:30 am
Nap at 9:30 to 10:30
Toys from 10:30 to 11:15
Bottle at 11:30 am
Play time til about 12:30
Nap at 12:30 to 2:30
Play or errands til 3:30
Bottle 3:30
Short 20 min nap at 5:30
Baths around 6:30
Bottle at 7:30
Bed between 8 and 9

Be consistent and eventually it works out. I would put mine down for nap every day at the same time and they finally figured out it was nap time and now they never fight nap. I would adjust the times based on when they wake. I also put the bouncy seats in the crib and let them sleep like that for about a week (nights only). At first mine would not nap in the same room so I put one in the crib and the other in my room. Once they got used to the schedule I put them in the same room. It is hard to get on the schedule but once you do life is so much easier. Good luck and stick to your guns. Also make sure Grandma knows how important it is to stick to the schedule. Sorry so long!