Returning to work in 3 months - need a plan to get my 6 month old DD ready

[drr]

Help please!

I have to return to work in 3 months and need help planning out all the things I will need to do (and how to do them)to prepare my 6mo DD for my absence. My work takes me abroad for overnight stays and my DH will need to cope with DS (4) and DD alone.e.g.

1. Am currently breastfeeding my 6 mo DS. How do I move onto other forms of milk? She does not seem interested in bottle at all at the mo.

1. I feed her to sleep. How do we get to stage where DH can put her to sleep in evenings and keep her asleep through the night.

1. All four of us (!) currently co- sleep (or rather DS and DD sleep.... DH and I cling to edges of bed all night). How to get DD into cot and DS back into his bed? (He got jealous of baby being in our room when she was born back in July and has been coming into our bed at night ever since.

4 We live in 2 bedroom house... so DS and DD will have to share a room. Any tips on how to make this work? Especially as we anticipate DD will be waking/crying once moved out of our cosy cosleeping arrangement!

My brain is to fuzzy to work out all the things I need to do (and the order I should do them in) to move away from DD being wholly dependent on me to situation where hubby can care for her for days on end without me.

Any help/ tips for me appreciated - I know I am being pathetic but 3 months doesnt seem long enough to get everything sorted!

Oh drr - I haven't got much advice but just wanted to send you some positive vibes...

Keep trying with a bottle (can DH try to give it so the baby doesn't root for you?)

Waking at night - I think they turn a corner with this when they get more mobile so DD might be crawling/shuffling by then.

DS - maybe try a star chart or something for sleeping in his own bed?

Good luck... sorry to not be much help...

thanks Nonno. Positive vibes much appreciated. Will go to bed now and hope there is some 'Monica' out there who will organize my life and make me a plan so I dont have to think of one myself

Hi drr
I have recently gone back to work with similar aged chidlren (ds 6.5 months, dd 3.9). Am also bf and part time co sleeping. i am back part time (2.5 days) and do co sleep on work nights as helps me re-connect with him and means more feeds and helps me keep up my supply.
Not sure what I did to prepare ds. Does you dh have any leave to take before you go back? Mine took leave to cover all the time I was off work for this first month which has helped as at least I know ds can survive without me and has been taking a bottle fine. The only other thing was that I got a childminder sorted a copule of months before I started. Not sure what your childcare plans are, but I found that part time days plus 2 kids made my choices of childminder quite limited. Hope all goes well for you x

Thanks flabby. That is a good tip to get DH to take some leave to practise looking after the baby. Also - am now thinking that on the days I have to go abroad (ie DH looking after her overnight and until the next night)it will not harm DD to skip a day of milk as long as she is getting the calories and liquid from elsewhere.... (??) But I will keep trying to get her to take a bottle or cup of milk from DH.

I am trying to get DS2 straight onto a cup.

Perhaps you could tackle the sleep thing with you sleeping in their room for a few nights with them?

Another great idea. Thanks Cece!