Sleep, engorgement and supply questions

[Addie]

My son is four months old and EBF since birth. His nighttime sleep stretches have been getting longer and longer over the past 2 months, and this week he has had a few nights of 9-10 hour stretches. We've really tried to follow his cues about sleep, so I trust that this is just what he needs right now. I still wake up several times at night and check on him, and by the time morning rolls around, I am painfully engorged. Like, it hurts just laying down and I've had dreams about it when I drift off. Is there anything I can do to remedy this situation? If he continues STTN, will my body somehow adjust and produce less milk in the night, or will I always deal with engorgement? I've always suspected that I have some degree of oversupply/OALD, so that may be part of the problem as well. Also, I've never pumped and don't have a pump, so I'm not looking to go that route.

And, a related question - am I in danger of harming my milk supply by going this long at night without nursing? I'd like to think that because this schedule has presented itself naturally, my body will adapt accordingly. Anyone BTDT?

Thanks!

[akind1]

:

I am having the same thing go on with my 4 month old! I am not quite to the painful stage in the morning, but boy, am I glad when he does wake up to nurse! looking forward to what some BTDT moms have to say

[NJKim]

How often are you nursing during the day?

If you're still waking at night, you could just hand express a little milk so that you won't feel so engorged, no need to have a pump. This will help prevent any infections or plugged ducts. And yes, your body will eventually acclimate and you won't have the engorgement. But depending on how often you nurse during the day, this could decrease your supply a little, might not be enough to be concerned about though, women often see a dip in their supply sometime around the middle of the first year, but most can easily continue nursing into toddlerhood.

[Addie]

He usually nurses every 2.5-3 hours during the day, from 6-7am until about 8:30 pm. For a while he was only nursing on one side per feeding, but lately he's been nursing on both sides each time.

This morning, he'd only nurse on one side before he fell back asleep - so I had lop-sided pain for a few hours more. I'm guessing that's because he gets more milk out of an engorged breast, and fills up more quickly. I tried a bit of hand expression, but I need to learn to do it better.