Night-time nursing w/a Lact-Aid

[cristeen]

Anyone manage this? Any tips or tricks? I really hate having to get up, get the baby up, to sit down and nurse upright 3x a night.

[cristeen]

Nobody? Really??

[mambera]

How old is your LO, and does he really need the supplement at night? Could you try a week without it while tracking weight gain?

My DD nurses on and off all night but I don't think she is actually drinking very much - it seems more like comfort nursing. I think after a certain age babies can make up in the day what they don't get at night (or vice versa).

[Llyra]

DS and I used an SNS at night for about two months; we only needed it once during the night, although we used it four times during daylight hours. I used to get it ready at bedtime, and put it in a cooler with ice packs next to my bed, so that it would be there for me and I didn't have to get out of bed. There was still the issue of having to sit up to use it, and I never managed to learn side-lying nursing with the supplementer. But I'm sure it could be done; you'd have to stay awake, though, to unattach everything when babe was finished.

I do tend to agree with the PP who said that you might be able to get away with just supplementing during daylight hours, and just nursing at night, depending on the reason for your baby's needing supplementing. We only used the SNS for a few months, to boost my supply while I was recovering from a very serious illness.

[marge234]

I don't have any advice. Just wanted to say I admire your dedication and wish you luck.

[Megan73]

I did eventually figure out using the LA lying down but sadly it was long after my son started STTN so I didn't get to fully appreciate it.
How much are you supplementing a day? If your supply is borderline, you might get away with no supping at night. Otherwise, I'd work on using the LA lying down (maybe try during the day when you're more awake) then keep the supps in a cooler by the bed like Llyra suggested.
Good luck, mama.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by mambera

How old is your LO, and does he really need the supplement at night? Could you try a week without it while tracking weight gain?

It's not a supplement, unfortunately... I have almost no milk of my own, so he gets everything (donor milk) through the LA.