Schedules

***I feel I should add the caveat that I realize I'm pretty spoiled to be able to even worry and fuss over this.  7:30am isn't that much earlier, or possibly any earlier, than many working moms must report to work.  And many of them have to work a full 9 hour day.  In fact...I'm feeling like I was acting rather self-entitled to worry over it at all.  I guess it's normal to worry....but I'm definitely regretting the email I sent to my boss.  Sigh.  

To Schedule or Not To Schedule.  Or baby-led schedule.  Or something.

Scheduling is something I've been pondering and struggling with since Wiggles was about 5 weeks old.  As mentioned previously, The Sleep has been elusive in this house.  Things are finally, finally getting better.  And I am ever grateful for the roughly 6 hours a night I get now.  And try very hard not to read about other people's 4 month olds that give them 10-12 hours a night. 

There was a time I read Dr. Weissbluth's book and tried to put Wiggles on his recommended schedule.  Waking at 7am.  Nap at 9am.  etc.  It did NOT work.  Wiggles just was too stubborn.  And at 5, 8, 12 weeks (when I tried it) he was too little for true crying it out.  Which I'm not opposed to...if I can be sure the little guy is old enough and not crying for another reason.  He's finally "old enough".  I have a hard time though worrying he's crying for another reason.  But, at any rate, as he did not adhere to The Schedule, and I was playing stay-at-home-mommy...I just followed Wiggle's cues...such as they were.  And at 16.5 weeks he finally fell into his own schedule.  It's similar to Dr. Weissbluths, except he gets up in the 8-10am window.  And goes to sleep in the 8-10pm window.  So it's just shifted by about 2 hours.

These 2 hours, are kind of critical.  You see, I will be teaching a 7:30am class.  Which means I need to leave the house by 6:45am.  Which means...in order to get myself ready and feed a baby...getting up at 5am.  And means that in order to feed the baby...it'd be helpful if he was awake...right around 6:00am.  Because then I could feed him and then go.  He still usually wakes in the 3-5am window for a feeding.  (I need to ask the pediatrician if I should still be feeding him then, or if I'm cultivating a waking habit...)  So, do we just try to shift his schedule?  Get him to adhere to a more parent-led kind of timing?

But do we dare?  At this point, I am hesitant to do anything to disturb our very recently found sleep.  VERY hesitant.

I mean, my other option, I suppose, would be to pump in the am before leaving, and then go.  But...I feel like I don't get as much pumping as he does direct from the boobie.  And I worry we'll quickly run into a supply issue, with him demanding more than I can pump to keep up with.  I guess we can always try that first and see how it goes?

So then, the only tragedy to this whole mess is that I miss out on some sweet, sweet sleep.  And/or I need to give up my 1-2 hours of wind down time with Mr. Random after putting Wiggles down at night.  Maybe I'll just try to arrange my schedule so I can get an afternoon siesta? 

I started writing this post distressed and confused.  After writing it out - it really gave some clarity.  Which is just what this blog is really for.  *contented sigh*  It really is so much clearer.  Before starting, it seemed like an impossibly tangled mess with no clear solution.  I see now that there are really several viable solutions.

As far as morning feeding, my options are:

1.  Switch Wiggles to an earlier schedule.  *trembles with fear*

2.  Pump instead of directly feeding in the morning, letting Wiggles sleep in and keep his current schedule.

and as far as my desperate attempts at getting sleep, my options are:

1.  Afternoon siesta

2.  Give up evening "fun" time.

Maybe both.  :)

Well, I should have written this up before I emailed my boss in desperation pleading to see if I could switch to a later class.  haha.  I doubt I can, so it's good to see that I should be able to make the early class work.  Even if it isn't particularly ideal.