Ok BFing moms - question

Anna&Matt

Does your DH do a "dream time" feeding? One of our friends who has an 18 month old suggested from the beginning having DH do the 11-12 pm feeding with formula. She said her boobs eventually just trained themselves not to produce milk for that feeding and that way she could sleep from 8 - 2 or 3 and do feedings then. Thoughts?

MattysGirl81

Mine doesn't, but it's certainly not a bad idea.  A friend of mine always gives a bottle of formula at bedtime because babies tend to sleep longer at night that way.  Breastmilk goes through them faster than formula.  And yes, your boobs will adjust to the amount of milk your baby drinks.

Mrs. Tara L

We tried this for the frst time last night. DH used a bottle of breastmilk. I had to pump at 3a.m. b/c I hurt and was leaking so bad!

Maybe my breast would become trained but I'll never know. I'm not trying to go through the hassle of doing that again!

I will say that it was nice to sleep for 5 solid hours, though.

Saturnmazz

that sounds like a great idea!!!  I'm always passed out by then and H is always up....hmmmm now how do I present this glorious idea.

Anna&Matt

Saturnmazz:

that sounds like a great idea!!!  I'm always passed out by then and H is always up....hmmmm now how do I present this glorious idea.

DH's coworker (who is a mutual friend of ours) actually suggested it to DH and I and he was all for it. She said to do it during the 2 weeks post-birth when you're on pain meds already so the boobs don't hurt as bad.

lecooke

I've never heard of this before.  I'll have to present the idea to DH and see what he thinks. 

MattysGirl81

Mrs. Tara L:

We tried this for the frst time last night. DH used a bottle of breastmilk. I had to pump at 3a.m. b/c I hurt and was leaking so bad!

Maybe my breast would become trained but I'll never know. I'm not trying to go through the hassle of doing that again!

I will say that it was nice to sleep for 5 solid hours, though.

I've heard it can take up to a week for your boobs to "learn" to produce less milk during that time.  Engorgement hurts and I agree - I wouldn't want to deal with it either!  Maybe doing it right from the beginning would avoid that issue. 

armandos_girl

Yes, your boobs will adjust, but depending on your supply you might not want to do that, especially early on. Basically the more you empty your breasts the more milk you make.When Gabe was tiny, I would go to bed early (8 or 9). DH would stay up with him if he was awake or keep an ear out for him if he was asleep. He would bring him to me when he was humgry around 11-12 and I nursed in bed, the put him to sleep in his pnp. He would sleep there until 3-4 when he needed to eat again. It wasn't that bad, and I'm someone who needs a lot of sleep.

Poeia

I thought I would do this, but it never happened, for a few reason.  One, I was already overproducing and I'd have to pump at the same time he took a bottle, so I'd be up anyway.  And second, he hated bottles.  Never bothered trying with Dos.

 

Also, I found that pumping in those first weeks hurt my nips more than they already were hurt from being broken in, plus pumping sent the signal to my bewbs to produce more milk than I really needed. 

I would say this would be worth trying once you have a good nursing supply established and once your nips have reached zero pain threshold, so maybe 6 weeks? 

Pearl723

In those very early days of breastfeeding, its all about the supply. The more you feed, the more you make. The less you feed, the less you make. The best way to keep up your supply is to nurse whenever the baby is hungry. I'll be honest, it's tough at first to only get 1.5-2 hour intervals of sleep, but  I found that stage only lasts for a few weeks. Nursing also naturally makes you sleepy so I agree with someone else on here who said its great to have your spouse bring you the baby in bed. Also, giving baby formula at that stage doesn't mean he/she will go back to sleep. They love nursing because its so comforting. This would not have been for me because I was very committed to nursing exclusively and was ALWAYS nervous that I would somehow affect my supply. But everyone is different and it sounds like this may have worked for your friend.

julia0402

As PP have said, the early weeks are very important for establishing supply-- if you plan to EBF I would not do this as a regular thing until at least 6 weeks, just to make sure that you don't have supply issues down the road.  Once in awhile shouldn't hurt, though, and it is GREAT to get a little extra sleep now and then.

iteachk

My BFF let her DH do all the night feedings (pumped breastmilk) and b/c she went 7 hours w/out pumping/feeding, she stopped producing enough milk for her LO.  She now has to supplement with formula.  I know that's not the case with everyone though.

It's not something I personally would do. I've breastfed Kate since birth, and have not had to give her formula.   I've gotten up several times a night every night for nearly 8 months.  You do get use to it.

Kriszta

Hmmm... I am trying to stay away from formula so tjhis just wouldn't work for us.  Plus we're on a different schedule.

Nurse at 6pm and again between 8-9.  This holds him over until 3am.  Honestly, I have already forgotten the sleep deprivation from the first month.  It's not that bad.