My 6.5 month old son has just started sleeping through the night. He goes to bed around 8 p.m. after some solid foods and a nursing. I have woken him up at 5 a.m. the past couple days b/c I didn't want to compromise my breastmilk supply. Does sleeping through the night - not nursing for 8 - 10 hours at night threaten supply? I would love to go until 6 a.m. (although I know that sounds above and beyond to moms still nursing every 3 - 4 hours at night - I was one until 5.5 months). He has become a much better eater in the day since he started sleeping through the night nursings. He nurses around every 2.5 to 3.5 hours in the daytime, and I always breastfeed him before giving him solids (1 or 2 solid feedings per day, usually in the afternoon, evening).
Also, I hope the answer doesn't involve pumping. With the long-awaited opportunity for me to get some sleep, I'd hate to have to get up and pump. I'd rather get my son up, but when I did this morning he was so sleepy he didn't nurse actively, just drank the let downs.
I have been looking forward to sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a stretch for so long, but want to keep nursing for at least another 5 months. Please let me know that I can have both - sleep and nursing my sweet boy!
You should be fine. We had one little fellow who went 13 hours, and I never had a problem. If you notice that you are loosing milk supply, you can always add a feeing back in. Until then, enjoy your sleep. I'm a bit jealous. My first two were very good sleepers, but #3 seems to think 4 am is a nice time to wake up. Uugh! Congratulations!
i never had any trouble with milk supply during the day when my kids started sleeping through the night. in fact, with my current baby i've been taking fenugreek to keep my supply up, but the longer she sleeps at night, the less fenugreek i have to take in the morning.
I have a little 3 month old girl who has slept through the night since she was 4 weeks old.. I've been very fortunate. I was a little worried like you, but went with the flow. I have been fine. I am ready to fead her in the morning but I'm not engorged or in pain. She also eats really well after going so long without eating. Sometimes she wants to eat right when she wakes up, and sometimes she just wants to coo and smile for a while and then eat. This is child number 4. I can't quite remember how it was with the others, but I know I didn't wake up and pump. It just took a little while for my body to adjust. I still have enough milk during the day.
Good Luck and Congrats on your little guy making it all night!! Happy Days are here to stay!
Your milk will be fine. you will just stop making milk through the night, and only make it when your baby is most likely to nurse. Your body knows what time it is, and also knows at what times you nomrally nurse. Don't worry about it, you will be fine.
Human milk production is all supply and demand. Your body will tailor yor supply to meet your baby's needs. If he's not nursing at night, you will produce less milk at night, but if he then nurses often during the day, your production will be sufficient to meet his needs.
Contact your local La Leche League Leader for free, accurate help with breastfeeding questions. They've saved me dozens of times! www.llli.org. Best wishes!
Enjoy it! I know everyone is different, but all 3 of my boys slept 12 hours straight at night from 3 months old and I was never short on milk (nursed the first 2 for about a year each and am still nursing my 6 mo old). And I never wanted to pump so I didn't! Every once in a while they'd get a bottle of formula from a babysitter- also didn't affect my milk supply since it wasn't too often. Keep eating and drinking lots of water and hopefully you'll have the same experience! Congrats.
Your body will adjust accordingly. You won't make much milk at night anymore, but as long as he is nursing fine during the day, you will keep up your daytime supply.
I would just be thankful that he is sleeping through the night. I wish mine would!!
Your milk supply will adjust to his demands. So it's ok for him to sleep till 6. You may feel overful, but you'll also adjust. It's a great feedback system.
What a great thing!! I remember when I got a 5 hour night when my kids were nursing - I felt like a new woman. I think your milk supply will be better as you get more sleep. My supply was always better when I was rested and well nourished. He will eat more during the day and will keep the supply up that way. I do have to add (maybe just because I am jealous!) I don't think the sleep will last. So enjoy and relish it for as long as you can!!
This will not "threaten" your supply. At this age, if baby is happy to sleep 8-10 hours. . . . live it up, it may not last :) he may go back to waking in the middle of the night again. at six months, you have a good milk supply established, you will be FINE to just nurse him throughout the day. Good job mom!
Get that sleep when you can !! :)
My daughter slept through the night at 6 weeks and we nursed for 13 months with no supply problems!
Hmm, unfortunately for me, it did seem to affect my supply. Granted, I was able to continue for another 4 months or so, but when I didn't pump when the baby slept through the night, I stopped leaking as much, but the supply definitely went down. However, I did not have the luxury of staying home and had to pump while at work. That may have had a huge impact. Good luck- but I would say, take the sleep!
My 3 month old little girl has slept through the night since day 3. She eats and goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up to eat between 6am- 7am. And yes, I know how lucky I am because her older brother woke up 4 times a night. : ) My milk suppy is great. I would suggest that you make sure you are eating a good healthy diet and nurse him whenever he wants it. I cannot see an hour making a big difference in your supply and the extra hour of sleep may help you more.
Good Luck
if he is sleeping through the night on his own, then he no longer needs to nurse at night, so you body no longer need to produce milk during that time. Yes, your supply will change some, but it is in response to your baby's needs. Definantly do not wake him up at night to nurse him is he has started sleeping all night long, or you might end up with a 1 year old who wakes up mulptiple times a night to nurse becuase of habit, not becuase of nutritional needs. Let him sleep through the night, let you body adjust to your baby's changing needs and enjoy a full nights sleep most nights! =)
Hi J.,
I am a mom who nursed her babies and loved it! My children are grown now but here is what I remember. As your baby starts to grow and eat more foods and sleep more through the night your breast milk supply will naturally change. You produce what your baby demands. Your body should produce enough for your little one and you may be uncomfortable during the adjustment periods. It is not such a terrible thing to wake your baby up in the night every once in awhile to see he will nurse a little to relieve the pressure since you seem adverse to pumping.
As for pumping...you could pump before you go to bed and if you wake up early and need to get rid of some milk before your baby wakes up. This will keep your production up until you are sure that your baby is really going to need less.
I hope this helps a little.
Hooray for you and your little one getting some more sleep!! When my little ones started sleeping through the night I would pump after the morning feeding. Neither of my kids needed everything that I had in the morning and it allowed me to bank some milk. That way when I traveled my hubby had an adequate supply and we didn't have to switch to formula. I loved being able to open the freezer and see a weeks worth of milk sitting there, just in case we needed it!
