Sleep Schedules

I agree with Julie B. The advice I kept getting is -- Never wake a sleeping baby. Who likes to be woken up? Do you? I am just saying-- pump before you go or leave a bottle and feed her when you get home.
Great for you for running! I used to be a runner too.
Mom of 2. (2 yrs old and 1 yr old)

I second what others are saying about possibly pumping just in case she wakens before you get back... I did, however want to respond to the previous comment about rice cereal, however. Do some research before giving a 4 month old cereals! The LLL and others recommend no grains/cereals until 1 year of age (though some MDs still say differently- keep in mind nutrition makes up about only 1% of an MDs education!).

I NEVER woke my daughter to feed her...babies will wake and eat when they are well rested and ready. I'm mainly writing to say that I absolutely do not agree with Samantha B. (or LLL) regarding rice cereal before 1 year old! Many people are going to have opinions about this, but moms know what is best for their baby...Our pediatrician, who has many more years of experience taking care of babies than I do, said that my daughter could start eating rice cereal at 4 months. She did and she is a very healthy 2 1/2 year old now. She was a large baby and needed a little more than just breastmilk at this age. She began sleeping through the night and did just fine. I breastfed her until she was 1 year old, but also gave her Stage 1 baby food mixed with a little rice cereal! Good luck and kuddos to you for running. I wish I had the motivation to exercise, but after working fulltime and taking care of a toddler...no way! I just watch what I eat and I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight (after gaining 86 lbs with my DD). Take care, D. H.

Nurse her before you and her go to bed and before you run nurse her again.

childcare provider and a mother of 3

I would never wake a sleeping baby--that was my personal mantra when my daughter was young. Why can't whomever is at home give your daughter a bottle of pumped milk while you are out? When my daughter was 8-11 months old, I did some temorary marketing work for a preschool and it required myself and my daughter to leave the house at 5:45am, so I started waking her up at 5. Guess how long it took me to break her of that habit? More than a year. As I said, do NOT wake a sleeping baby!! Good for you to want to start running again so soon.

Hi R.,
Kudos on running! I admire and envy you. I was a runner in my past life, but can't seem to regain my motivation...maybe you can help ME with that! ;-)

I ALWAYS wake my son to feed him. While I am sure this is just a personal choice you will have to make, do what works best for you. My son was in NICU for two weeks where they put him on a strict feeding schedule. One of the feedings was around midnight. I found that when we got him home if I woke him for that feeding (sounds like I am talking about an animal-- just don't know what else to call it), anyway, if we wake him to feed him at midnight then he sleeps until 5 am which works great for me. I am a morning person, so I don't mind the 5. My husband is a night owl, so he does the midnight thing while I sleep. It also gives my hubby his "alone time" with the baby to cuddle and coo. It works great for us, but others would say we are crazy!

Also, you could try pumping a few ounces out before you leave and put it in the fridge. If she needs it, then it is there. If you really enjoy that morning feeding time with her, then don't pump enough to fill her up, just enough to hold her over until you get home.

Good luck and happy running!

What about pumping before you go out so when she wakes someone can give her a bottle? (And you won't be full of milk?) I don't think I'd wake her if I could help it.

I would not wake her up to feed her.Why not increase how much you feed her when you put her to bed

It's just my personal opinion to NEVER wake a sleeping baby! I would just wait until I returned from running. Keep some pumped in a bottle so Dad can feed her if she wakes up starving before you return.

My baby will nurse in her sleep. So if you can nurse in a side-lying position where she won't completely wake, it's probably worth a try. And she might sleep in longer in the morning because of that.

My son is 10 months old and I began waking him to nurse him before I went to work around 5:30 when he was 6 months old. He still usually wakes up between 5 & 6 on most days even when I'm not working. He goes right back to sleep after I nurse him so it's fine with me, but you may want to consider this before starting to wake her because she probably will get in a routine of waking up early. But it is up to you. Congrats on getting her to sleep through the night so early. Mine didn't sleep through the night until he was 6 months old.

I would not wake her, you will start a routine that could last for a very long time and she may not go back to sleep so you can go running. I would have her breakfast ready before you go out to run, or right after your run before she wakes up, maybe your husband can help with the breakfast if he doesn't have to go to work real early. He could get the breakfast ready while you are running. When she wakes take her to the table and feed her. She will get the routine down soon. She is just probably growing right now. You will notice that when she is growing she will eat more and be hungry more often.

I wouldn't wake her up to nurse. Too many women with infants would love to have a baby that sleeps this well. If I were you, I would pump before I ran and if she needed to feed before you got back, dad wouldn't be at a loss. Anyway,she is old enough to eat rice cereal, so dad could just give her breakfast while you were out. The good thing about this is that when you got back, she would be fed and you could get your shower and get ready for the day without worrying about feeding her for a few hours.

I'd let her sleep. A few minutes of her waiting to eat is not going to cause a problem, but maybe you could try to time your runs so you're back before she's up most days. Another option is to invest in a jogger stroller. As soon as my 3 month old is finished with her first nursing of the morning, I load up her and my 3 year old into a double jogger stroller for some exercise.

If she is waking at around the same time I would make sure that I would be back before that time. and if she wakens before you get back who ever is staying with her could give her a small bottle with a low flow nipple and you can finish feeding her when you get back. You shouldnt be running for 2 hrs this soon anyway so you should be back by the time she wakes up. and deffinately make sure you are cleared to start running again like the other mom said.

R., I would count your blessings and let your daughter sleep through, feeding her when you get back from your run. I have read that if you feed a child who can't make it through, that yes, this early waking can become a problem. My son, 5.5 months old, has been sleeping from 7pm to 7am for 4 or 5 weeks now (before that, he still had an 11pm feed).
Just a thought -- have you considered putting your daughter to bed earlier? I learned that babies in ours' ages need 12 hours of sleep at night and 3 during the day. I would be curious to hear what kind of sleep schedule your daughter has. Thanks, and happy trails!

Glad to see your commitment to both nursing your baby and also to your own health/well being! One of the things I noticed is the 10 p.m. bedtime. Perhaps you could gradually adjust that back to 9 p.m. in 10 minute increments over the course of a couple of weeks so that she will adjust more easily to the new bedtime. With her in bed earlier for the night she will most likely still sleep the same number of hours but wake earlier (and hungry) for her feeding. You may even have to move it to as early as 8:30 p.m. to give you ample time to spend with her in the evenings when the dishes have been done and everyone is home and relaxing (does that really happen in reality?) in order to have her wake at the right time the next morning. You certainly don't want to get up and do your run at 5:00 a.m. as it would still be dark and not as safe as say around 6:30 or 7:00. This is just a suggestion for you, but you have to do what you feel is right about establishing bedtime routines/times in your own home and according to your family's schedule. I wish you well with your new little girl and with your 3 year old son who is probably reverting back to some babyish activities as a result of his sister's arrival (I speak from experience with my daughter Emily - 9 and my son Will - 5). The main thing to remember is that you love your children and want to do what is best to take care of them which means taking care of yourself and doing some things that allow you to recharge your batteries, get some sleep, spend time with hubby (who sometimes may feel neglected after baby #2), and even read a good novel or a magazine. The better you feel about you and your post-partum body, the better you will relate and interact with your children and spouse. Happy parenting and let us all know how things go!

I have to kids (22months and 3 months) and with my oldest I use to wake him up to feed him and he kept that routine until about 13-14 months, even when I tried to break it. With my 3 month old, he sleeps from 11pm-8am and I just let him sleep. At 8am thats when I feed him and yes he's pretty hungry at that point. So whatever you decide to do just know once you start a routine, babies usually get use to it and continue it themselves. If you are on a routine and will stay on that routine for a while (waking up to run) then it shouldn't be a problem to get your child use to your routine. Hope this helps.

I personally wouldn't wake her. You've got a good thing going, and I wouldn't mess with it by changing her patterns. She sounds like a good sleeper. As others have said, can your husband give a bottle if you're not back in time? And I say good for you getting back out there on the run! So many of us find excuses not to fit in exercise. Hope you find something that works.

I would just nudge her a bit, so she will nurse, but maybe not wake up all the way. I am a runner too, and I was told by my midwife not to resume until 6 months because of the recovery process going on in my body. That's something you might want to check on, it's hard not to though when our body feels ready to go! A bottle if she'll take one is an option too.

R.,
I'm thinking that you're right about waking her early -- don't want her getting into THAT habit! How about pumping when you get up, before you go running. Then, if she does wake, there's fresh milk waiting for her. That may make running more comfortable, too.
M.

my very unprofessional opinion is not to wake her to feed her - it could be fine, but ack! what if it did become a trend you couldn't break? or what if she wouldn't go back down after that 5 am feeding? i run too, and if i were you i think i would just adjust my running time to her schedule. i would leave my husband armed with a bottle and strike off on my run around 6 (depending on how long/far you run).

here's kind of an off-subject question: will she nurse well after you run? i know that lactic acid in the milk kind of turned my daughter off, and i had to plan to nurse her right before i left and then have as long as possible to drink water and relax to get the lactic acid buildup back down.