[henhao]

After driving to work and then not remembering most of the drive, I got scared I'd have an accident due to sleep deprivation.

Sooo...we used a combo of NCSS and another gentle method to get her to sleep longer. We also transitioned her from our bed into a crib in our room. She just would NOT settle down in our bed and all 3 of us kept waking each other up so it wasn't working. I always thought I'd cosleep for years and years. Well, I'm learning my "plans" don't always work!

What I'm wondering is how did you working mamas keep your supply up? Do you mostly rely upon night nursing to keep your supply?

I'm cool with waking up 2 x to nurse her, but I can't hack 5-6 times per night...is there a way to encourage nursing just 2 x per night? I know she can go that long at night without food...

Your thougths?

I'm trying to blend my need for sleep with her need for comfort AND keep my milk supply up.

ETA: My DD is 12 months.

 

[lauren]

Hello there, how old is your baby? Babies go through stages where they are nursing more and then less; also as they approach toddlerhood can understand possible limits a little better. Is this an infant or toddler. It is frustrating to be a working mama and also be doing a lot of nightime parenting! Is she teething? Is she 'high needs'? Are you concerned about supply because you are pumping during the day? (if not, my guess is you will produce exactly what she needs, day or night).

 

[henhao]

My baby is 12 months. I do have some trouble with pumping. I never pump as much as she eats. Supposedly, she reverse cycled but she still ate a ton during the day as well.

In my ideal world, we'd nurse 2 x per night.

I just feel like going to nothing is not right...I am following a book (good night, sleep tight) to help the baby sleep yet the main prob I have with the book is that she bascially says to cut out night feedings, and I am beginning to see I'm not ready to give those up entirely. NCSS says you can keep night feeds, but NCSS wasn't working for us very well.

Tired and confused...

 

[kerc]

Can you modify your plan a bit? No nursing before say 4 am. So nurse baby to sleep (or whatever you do), then find a time you like and nurse during that time.

From about 12 months on dd1 had cows milk at daycare, nursed when she was home and had solids....

 

[henhao]

Kerc,

Thanks for the suggeston...Did you pump at work?

 

[lauren]

I also had trouble pumping after 12 mos. I think we do produce less volume after solids are introduced. What worked for us in the post 12 mos. phase, was to use goat's milk at day care, and then nurse whenever at home and night time. I wonder if even easing off on the stress of pumping might reduce your stress some and contribute to a less tired mama. My own experience is that it is a lot easier to introduce limits on nighttime nursing around 18 mos. or up, because of the major cognitive changes between 12 mos and 18 mos. I felt better knowing my babies could understand a little more, and I never felt that they did at 12mos. For example, I can say to my 19 mos. old, 'mommy is sore, share my pillow instead' and she can accept it and not insist on more nursing. I couldn't have done that at 12 mos.

I haven't read the books you are using, though I"ve heard about them around here. It certainly can't hurt to try helping your baby to sleep without nursing, as long as there is no CIO. My current baby will sometimes go back to sleep if I just start singing a little bit, or do some 'sh, sh, sh--ing'. My firstborn never would have done that, so part of it is the baby's temperament.

I empathize with your tiredness. I know how hard it is to be tired and still function.

 

[BusyBeeMom]

I night-weaned at about 10 months, using Dr. Jay Gordon's method. Until about 14 months, DD would nurse occasionally at night if she was sick, or hadn't eaten much, etc.

I was never a super-pumper, and stopped at about 12 months. I never had a supply problem. She nursed when we were together, and I always had enough to meet her needs, except during a brief drought around weeks 15-19 or so of this pregnancy.

You need to get your sleep - whatever gets the most people in the family the most sleep is what wins. We have a crib side-carred to our bed. DD climbs in for morning nursies, or in the night if she's wimpering or cold or something, but she mostly sleeps in the crib, we sleep in the bed, and everyone is reasonably rested.

GL!

ETA: When I say nightweaned, that meant about 7 hours w/no nursing.