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An Alarm That Rings All Night

Two Hours, Then the Phone Rings Again

The routine starts at ten at night. Feed, settle, set the alarm, then sleep in whatever is left of the two hours. At midnight it rings again, then at two, then at four. My wife says I now reach for the phone before it even rings.

Our girl rarely wakes on her own. Left alone, she would sleep through the feeds she needs most. So the alarm stands in for her appetite until she grows into asking herself.

Alarms Every Two Hours, One Steady Plan

The alarm changes our sleep, not her care. The feeds run at the times the hospital doctors wrote on her discharge papers, in the amounts they wrote. The medicine they started goes on exactly as given, alarm or no alarm. We do not stretch an interval because we are tired. We do not squeeze in an extra feed either. Her doctors set this plan, and only her doctors reset it.

Signs That End the Night's Routine

Some nights would cancel every alarm in the house. If her breathing turns difficult or pauses, we leave at once. A greyish tinge around her mouth and face means we leave too. Feed after feed refused, fever before one month old, shaking, or a limp body that will not wake all mean hospital. A yellow colour spreading across her while she sleeps too deeply means the same. We would not lie back down and wait for morning.

For the Years After the Alarm Stops

One day she will wake hungry by herself, and this whole routine will end. As she grows past the newborn stage, her regular care will move to a child doctor near home. We have already saved the child specialist listings for Lakshmipur for that change.

What Other Fathers Ask Me

The alarm wakes the whole house. Is there a quieter way to keep feeds on time?

I keep the phone under my pillow on vibrate. The timing matters more than the method, so find what wakes you without fail.

Some nights she wakes before the alarm. Do we feed her then or wait?

We feed her when she wakes hungry and note the time, then count the next feed from there. Mention the pattern at the follow-up so the specialist knows.

I am back at work soon. Who keeps the night routine going?

My brother stays over twice a week and shares the two o'clock watch with my wife.

Can I ask the specialist about her sleep myself, or should her mother do the talking?

Ask yourself. The specialist questioned me closely about the nights because I am the one awake for them. What you have seen is worth saying.

How will we know she no longer needs the two-hour alarm?

The specialist will judge from her weight and feeding at the follow-ups. Wait for that word before you drop the alarm.

Tonight she feels limp and will not wake, even when we lift her and talk to her. What do we do?

Go to hospital now. A baby who cannot be woken is not a feeding problem to solve at home. Do not wait for the next alarm.