The shift thing really did not work for my partner and me, with our first kid, so we didn't even attempt it for our second (who is now a month old).
What we tried: I would pump some milk before heading to bed @ ~10am, and he would stay with the baby and give her the expressed milk. At around 1-2am, we'd switch.
Why it didn't work:
* I am really bad at getting to sleep, especially if I know I have to get to sleep. So I wouldn't get to bed til 11/12, and then I'd have to wake up soon after. (Relatedly, I'm incapable of napping).
* The baby wasn't particularly happy with the bottle feeding and my partner was pretty stressed out by trying to keep her from crying and interrupting my sleep.
What we do now: I co-sleep with the baby in a floor mattress all night, so it's easier for me to drift in and out of sleep. My partner sleeps in a bed in a different room so that he can maximize his sleep hours and be functional during the day to help out with chores and cooking. So yeah, it's pretty much all me at night, but that's the reality of breastfeeding. My partner would breastfeed if he could, but alas, biology. (And yes, co-sleeping isn't approved by AAP, so you'll need to decide for yourself if you think its safe).
Anyway, everything depends on each mother/baby/father. Experiment, see what works/doesn't work for you!
All my children have slept next to the mother at first. Of course, IF mother is exceptionally hard sleeper and/or overweight, this MIGHT be somewhat dangerous. But in all other cases its imho SO much better for the both of them. Afaik most mothers are during that time SO light sleepers, that even when baby coughs, they check whats up and fall asleep again.
What we tried: I would pump some milk before heading to bed @ ~10am, and he would stay with the baby and give her the expressed milk. At around 1-2am, we'd switch.
Why it didn't work: * I am really bad at getting to sleep, especially if I know I have to get to sleep. So I wouldn't get to bed til 11/12, and then I'd have to wake up soon after. (Relatedly, I'm incapable of napping). * The baby wasn't particularly happy with the bottle feeding and my partner was pretty stressed out by trying to keep her from crying and interrupting my sleep.
What we do now: I co-sleep with the baby in a floor mattress all night, so it's easier for me to drift in and out of sleep. My partner sleeps in a bed in a different room so that he can maximize his sleep hours and be functional during the day to help out with chores and cooking. So yeah, it's pretty much all me at night, but that's the reality of breastfeeding. My partner would breastfeed if he could, but alas, biology. (And yes, co-sleeping isn't approved by AAP, so you'll need to decide for yourself if you think its safe).
Anyway, everything depends on each mother/baby/father. Experiment, see what works/doesn't work for you!