Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

The book recommended that babies should be put to bed early and one horrible mistake parents make is to attempt to keep the baby awake because one or both parents work late.

My maternity leave ends next month. The earliest I ever get home from work is 7:30. Usually I get home around 8:30- 9. Occasionally I will have to work until midnight. I feel like I won't be able to put DS to bed on most nights. This makes me so sad.

Any other women on here have very demanding jobs? Did you change jobs or just not see your DC on weeknights much?

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

screw the book. do what works for you. when i started reading and following it my mother laughed at me. she complained that if you read it closely enough that it contradicts itself left and right to make it inclusive for everyone. i still refer to it, but don't treat it like gospel...

i'm a SAHM but DH works ridiculous hours. he's usually gone before DD's wake up and almost never home when they go to sleep. he hates it, i hate it, but it is what it is and he tries to make up for it on the weekend...

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

I let my baby sleep as much as he wants but he has always been late to bed and late to rise. If he wants to sleep late and I need to be out of the house early, he falls back asleep when he gets wherever he is going for the day. I often work late, whether at home or at the office.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

Honestly, EVERY BABY IS SO DIFFERENT! If those books worked for everyone NO ONE would ever post on here complaining about their DC not sleeping!

My DS was a night owl from the day he was born. The earlier I try to make his bedtime the worse he sleeps. The later he goes to bed (within reason of course) the better he actually sleeps.

My DH isn't home until 7 on a good night but he sees DS almost every night. We eat dinner together when he is home early enough but he is always part of the bedtime routine - DS gets SO excited whenever he is coming home - it is one of the highlights of his day.

Anyway, just wanted to say it works just fine for us! IN fact, when i was trying to make him have an earlier bed time he never slept good at all!

ETA: DS goes to bed aroung 10:30 - sometimes earlier sometimes later. He is 22 months old. On average he sleeps about 11-12 hours at night and about 1.5 hr naps. However, he is not always that good!

Message edited 6/27/2009 12:13:48 AM.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

DH and I work crazy hours. We both work 24/7 jobs and our shifts rotate around each other. DS never knows who is home when. Sometimes I swear he likes the guessing game of who will be home to give him a bath and who is home when he wakes up. It sucks, but it works.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

Have no added advice to what the wonderful ladies said but I just wanted to say It will be ok.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

you gotta do within reason whats best for you......baby will be happy to see and bond with both parents so we cant get hung up on the time

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

It seems like this book is too specific. Both dds hae a later bedtime than most and they wake up later in the am. they re both great sleepers. It is what works for our house - do what works for your family, regardless of what the book says.

GL!

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

I know what you mean. The earliest I get home is 7 and he is in bed by 7:30-8. There's no way I can even keep him up later. He is exhausted by this time.

Re: Reading that Healthy Sleep Habits book made me sad.

With commuting, I get DS home from daycare after 6:30 - bedtime is no later than 7:30 for him.

I remember worrying the same way you are now...I'd have no time with him. That really hit home in the beginning months of daycare and work...I'd pick him up and he'd sleep the whole way home Once he started sitting forward in the car we interacted more during that time...more so as he started talking.

Sounds sad...but I don't look at it that way. For my child, going to sleep by 7:30 pm is an absolute must...there is no way around it. He sleeps better and longer with that set time. So I don't get that time with him at night...but we make up for it on the weekends. Truthfully, I'd rather that he have the sleep. It's so important for these little munchkins and since my little guy has to be up by 6:15 am - he needs to go down as soon as he can.