Supply and STTN

[Lirazel]

DS is 3.5 months and wakes up twice every night to eat. I have struggled with low supply and now things seem to be on track, but I certainly don't have much to spare - he needs everything I've got. His two best meals of the day are the ones in the middle of the night, but I keep reading all this stuff about how I should encourage him to sleep longer and need less milk at night. Stuff like "even if you don't mind waking up to feed him, he needs to learn to sleep longer." I *don't* mind waking up to feed him and I think he needs those meals more than he needs to learn to sleep longer right now. I don't think I'd be able to make up for it during the day. Am I right or am I asking for trouble in the sleep department later down the road? Of course, I won't let him CIO, so if he's really hungry I'll need to keep feeding him anyway. But I just want to hear the opinions of some other people...

[PatioGardener]

If I were you I'd throw out those books.

Your insticts are great! They're telling you that his night feeds are important - which is especially true for a Mama with low supply. Prolactin (the milk hormone) is highest from 1-5 am, so night feeds keep our supply up.

Breastmilk is so digestible - 90 minutes is what I've heard - that it makes sense for babies to stir to feed every 1.5-3 hours at night. It's normal. There are rare babies who sleep in longer chunks, but they really are the exception rather than the rule. And remember most of the books are written by people who have formula fed babies, who are not the biological norm.

Keep following your insincts, Mama!

[sosurreal09]

my supply is fine and DD is almost 7 m/o and she still eats twice at night. just dont worry about it

[kismetbaby]

Ditto! Who said STTN was "normal" anyway? And besides a lot of baby books say STTN, but mean 5 or 6 hours in a row. You just cannot expect a baby that young to go 8 or 10 hours without anything! BM is their everything. . .their water and their food. Don't grown-ups get thirsty during the night too?

My supply is normal and my 6.5m old still feeds 3x a night. I think its totally normal and healthy and even good!

[TzippityDoulah]

go with the obvious and throw out the books it;s just writen by and human wiith another opinion who doesn;t know your kid at all. a 3 month old needs night feedings! that's not opinion - it's biologically obvious fact :P

no really though, if by some miracle you felt he was eatin well, gaining well and thriving and he didn't want to nurse at night i wouldn't feel obligated to make him past a certain point - but my guess is he's start nursing at ngiht again once he had a growth spurt. night weaning at 3 months is crazy early! I know one friend who's kids actually (without any effort from her) sleept through the night by 2 months) but she is the ONLY person I know like that.

[lifeguard]

I agree with pp. I never had supply issues & ds still needs to nurse in the middle of the night at least once (18 mos).

[ElliesMomma]

one more vote in favor of keep on doing what you're doing. and get used to doing your own thing vs. following what everybody else says and does.

overnight feeds are awesome, especially if you co-sleep. other people just don't appreciate how easy and cozy it is! b/c they are struggling with waking up to prepare formula bottles, then struggling through CIO sessions and scheduled naps, etc. they've got it way worse, and they don't even know it, or they'd be doing the same as you already are!

my DD recently nightweaned. she'll be 4 this week. while this is on the late end of things, let me tell you that it was a pretty easy transition for both of us.

enjoy your little one!

[Quinalla]

Yeah, it's one thing if your baby is waking 10 times a night at that age and it is wearing on you, but two times a night is fine and your baby probably is truly hungry/thirsty. And since it doesn't bother you, then yeah, don't worry about it! And it better for your supply to nurse at night for sure, you are right on there.

[texmati]

ITA! chuck the books! Your baby is telling you what he needs.

[Asiago]

Listen to your instincts and your baby, you and he know what to do

[maptome]

Just chiming in. I agree with previous posters. You know how to take care of your baby better than those books.