FIFO wife - is anyone else struggling with this?

[Obee6239]

I am the wife of a FIFO miner, we have just had a baby whom is 7 weeks old. My partners shifts are one week on, one week off!
I had NO issue with my partner returning to work! But every single time he leaves our baby just will not settle for me.. she has 3 naps a day & sleeps 9-11 hours a night when he is home but the second he leaves she immediately stops sleeping and gets all out of sorts to the point where she’s so over tired, I spend the entire week a mess of tears completely at a loss.. I do the lions share of sleep time etc even when he is home, so it’s not like she’s had any changes.. But She turns the corner the second he walks in the door and sleeps like an angel.
This is my 3rd week of him being at work, I’m on day one and she has already started refusing her day sleeps..
I have tried everything and I mean EVERYTHING. To comfort her, I wear his shirts, I play a recording of him reading a book, I even recorded him snoring at night to play for her.
I know there’s not much I can do, she just misses her dad.

But I really wanted to know if anyone else has struggled with this..?

[Courtney-RO]

Hi @Obee6239 and welcome to our online community!

I'm sorry to hear the trouble you have been having trying to get your newborn to sleep while your partner is away, that sounds really stressful and exhausting. It sounds like a lot to be dealing with right now! Do you mind me asking if there have been any other changes to your routine, other than your partner leaving for work?

While you are waiting for responses from other community members, I wanted to share a couple of articles that I have found on Newborns and sleeping as well as Responsive Settling. I wonder if maybe they might be able to give you an idea of other things you could try.

I was also wondering what supports you have around you right now. Is there someone that you would feel comfortable talking to about this? If you would like to talk to someone, we suggest reaching out to a helpline like Parentline who can support you and your family in finding a solution that works for you.

We're all here for you.