"Sleep when the baby sleeps" but how do I wake up when the baby wakes up?!

[Nobhobs]

36 weeks pregnant with my first, and I keep getting the advice to sleep when the baby sleeps.

My question is that's all well and good but how do I wake up when the baby wakes up? I always assumed you'd wake up when they cry but midwife said by the time they're crying they're too hungry so watch out for earlier signs. So when the baby falls asleep, and I want to sleep too.. what do I do? Do you set an alarm?

Honestly you will know, don't worry. My LO gives me about 2 minutes before breaking into a scream-the-house-down cry to run around like a headless chicken making a bottle!

In the really early days as previous posters said, I set alarms for every few hours so they don't go too long without a feed x

You will hear them. They make little snuffly noises and start to stir. Sleep with your baby near you Mum's are tuned into wake up when they hear the slightest change in their baby. Having said that i was never able to sleep in the day. It's good advice if you can manage it Try not to worry and congratulations

Daytime, mine slept mainly being pushed in the pram so not much use, and night time they sounded like wrestling wart hogs, so not much sleep then either . Don't worry, you're very unlikely to sleep more than they do

God yeah, nobody tells you how noisy newborns are even when they're peacefully asleep I used to sleep with earplugs in when they were beside me - took the edge off the warthoggery!

all your senses will be on super high alert for what the baby needs. All the time. The kind of sleep you have now - you just won't have that. Imagine dropping off on.the bus with an eye to your stop, keeping waking up uneasily. That's more the kind of 'sleep' you will have for month's if not years.