sleeping through night and supply

[Hannah'sMommy]

I am exclusively breastfeeding my daughter, who is now 8 weeks old. She appears to be sleeping longer during the night, so I'm curious how long I can go between feedings at night without affecting my supply. Last night she fed at 9pm and I still had to wake her at 5:30am to feed her since I figured she should eat by then. She ended up only really snacking before she fell back asleep. She is gaining weight fine and eats at least 7 to 8 times during the day. Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated!

[e(Lisa)beth]

My DD began sleeping through the night (9 hours!) at 5 weeks. She is 14 weeks now and absolutely fine - 14lbs. As long as your baby has several wet diapers a day and is gaining weight, she is getting enough to eat.

As for my supply - I was worried about it going down, too. My lactation consultant told me to pump in the middle of the night to prevent this. I did that for a week or so, but it was a big PITA so I stopped for a while to see if anything changed. My supply stayed strong and so I never picked up the middle-of-the-night pumping again. I do pump right before bed since it's usually been about three hours since she last nursed by that point, but other than that I don't worry about it. She nurses all day long (or I pump on days I work) and the milk has been flowing without a problem.

Hope that helps!

[friendlymamma]

My DD starting sleeping through the night really early too, like 7-8 hour stretches by 7 weeks. In those early days, I did have to get up in the night to pump, but it was mostly for my comfort - my breasts hurt so bad and got so full that I couldn't sleep, so I knew I had to pump or I wouldn't sleep! Now she is 7 months old and sleeps 10 -12 hours at night. She goes down aroun 7 -8 pm and then I pump by around 10 and go to bed. Again, this is mostly for my comfort. I've skipped that before bed pump but then I wake up at 4 or 5 and can't make it any longer. I think your body adjusts, eventually. HTH!

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by e(Lisa)beth

My DD began sleeping through the night (9 hours!) at 5 weeks. She is 14 weeks now and absolutely fine - 14lbs. As long as your baby has several wet diapers a day and is gaining weight, she is getting enough to eat.

As for my supply - I was worried about it going down, too. My lactation consultant told me to pump in the middle of the night to prevent this. I did that for a week or so, but it was a big PITA so I stopped for a while to see if anything changed. My supply stayed strong and so I never picked up the middle-of-the-night pumping again. I do pump right before bed since it's usually been about three hours since she last nursed by that point, but other than that I don't worry about it. She nurses all day long (or I pump on days I work) and the milk has been flowing without a problem.

Hope that helps!

My situation is really similar to this. She started STTN at 6 1/2 weeks, and I just waited until the next morning and gave her the breast that was ready and waiting (usually very full.) I didn't pump, because it just complicated things. My supply was/is fine. I guess my body just knew to wait through the nighttime "down time".

[twinsplusone1]

DS started sleeping through the night at 2-3 mos and i have never pumped but I would wake him at midnight just bc I was worried about supply and got so full...however about7mos I stopped waking him and supply is just fine. Hindsight I don't know if I would wake him again. I think our bodies were made to feed our children so if we just follow thier cues and not feed them on "our" schedule then all is well...feed on demand during the day.

be thankful for that long sleep

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

nak

DS is 6 wks. old and started @ 2 wks. old sleeping through the night. Usually it's from 12-6:30 however he also nurses every 1.5 hrs. in the evening beginning at 5:00 p.m. He gets tanked up so he can sleep all night. I haven't noticed a supply issue so far. Does she seem to tank up in the evenings??

[threadbey]

I just went with ds on the sleeping thing - it was painful fir me as we were adjusting, but you do adjust. Certainly pay attention to your supply, but I think you'll be fine. Supply is naturally on a clock, too, I think - if baby eats a lot in the evening and then not overnight, you will eventually have lots of milk in the evening and less overnight. But don't worry, if baby starts to wake from sickness or teething or whatever, you will still have milk. There's always milk.

[Heba]

*Nodding head* once supply has been established, there should be no problem with sleeping through the night!