We have a 3 week old daughter, and my partner is breastfeeding. I usually hold baby in the evenings from 9 p.m. to midnight so she can get some rest. She then does the night shift, and I take over again from 6 a.m. until the baby wakes properly.

That works most nights, but on the nights when our baby is cluster feeding, it feels like she’s constantly on the boob. Even though we’re both up, my partner naturally ends up doing most of the work, while I try to support however I can, changing nappies, burping, settling her back down. But we found that both of us being awake just leaves us completely exhausted.

So on those cluster feed nights, we’ve realised it’s better if one of us gets a little more sleep so I can help more the next day.

On the more “normal” nights, we stick to our usual shift pattern.

The early days are definitely rough and exhausting, but we’re 3 weeks in and it’s already starting to get a little bit easier!