BF'ers: bottle or breast before bed?

bwm2bmw

I posted this on the working mom's board but I think it's a bit slow over there (I hope they're all on vaca!).

Yerterday was my first day back at work. I was previously EBF and DD was getting one bottle a day of pumped BM right before bed. She'd take a good amount (5 oz) and then STTN! I want to BF her when I'm home at night but there's no way she got 5 oz from me last night - I used to only pump that much combined between both sides and she only took one. Consequently she was up at 3am I'm betting because she didn't eat enough. Has anyone else run into this dilemma? Do you wind up pumping at home for a bedtime bottle? The last thing I want to do after pumping all day is to pump again plus I want to be able to still BF her

majors31

first, remember the baby is MUCH more efficient than a pump. 

the not sleeping also be a change in routine and surroundings.

i EBF before bed and DD cluster feeds at night.  i hate pumping and spend enough time with my pump at work.

rssnlvr

I only pump at work. Having baby nurse from you when you're together will help maintain your supply. Like pp said, her waking could be the result of any number of things, including her feeling "off" because of the new schedule.

cabo_kate

I would bet she's getting close to the same amount, considering the baby gets out way more than the pump will. I have had times where he still seems hungry after the bedtime nursing session (especially if i only pumped at work less than 3 hours before that), so I will offer a bottle if he still seems fussy.

But if she seems satisfied by the nursing, I wouldn't cut out that special time with her. 

easyBreezie

I hate the pump but literally every single time I try to BF I end up doing only that all day b/c DS will never get full. I'm a firm believer of giving a bottle before bed instead of BF. DS has been STTN since 2 months but every time I've tried to BF before bed he was up and wouldn't go back to sleep unless he ate.

Chrysallys

DS refuses bottles so we only BF.

alibabbbs

It would break my heart to lose the nursing before bed or first thing in the morning. I even usually end up dreamfeeding DS before heading to work because anything's better than pumping.

Shlei

On average a baby can get an extra ounce out of what you pump out as they are better able to extract BM than a pump. Not only that but there are days they are hungrier than usual. I breastfeed my daughter when I am home even if that means extra feedings because it encourages milk production. Some nights she sleeps through the night and other nights she requires an early morning feeding. If you are truly worried you could always pump a bottle and feed it to her prior to bed.

margeincharge2

I've been ebf for a while now. I just nurse DS to sleep so no bottle here. I get much less milk at night and DS sleeps 8 hours. It's my understanding that babies get accustomed to different amounts of milk at different times of day...like they eat more in the morning than they do at night.

If it were me, and it's just me speaking, I would still nurse at night and nurse in the middle of the night rather than giving my LO a bottle at night (since you're away all day now). I am going back to work next week and am prepared for more nursing during the night as babies often make up for what they don't get during the day.

I've heard that babies often nurse more at night once mom goes back to work and they wake up more at night to get more face time with mom. SO maybe this change is all your LO adjusting to a new schedule.

margeincharge2

Mrs. VanKirk:

I hate the pump but literally every single time I try to BF I end up doing only that all day b/c DS will never get full. I'm a firm believer of giving a bottle before bed instead of BF. DS has been STTN since 2 months but every time I've tried to BF before bed he was up and wouldn't go back to sleep unless he ate.

It may work for you but that's not a requirement to get babies to sttn. My LO has only ever gotten breastfed before going to bed and he sleeps 8 hours through the night. It's more of a case of every baby being different rather than how you feed him. But that's my $.02

maddmask

Well, I'm lucky enough to bring DS to work with me so I'm able to BF during the day so my situation is a little different.  But he usually gets on bottle before bed because my supply is low by then (I've had major issues from the begining) and he ends up having the same problem of not sleeping through the night.  Then I pump at his bedtime and again before I go to bed.

ntnylizard

Not only is baby more efficient than a pump -- my LC believes they can get as much as 2 times more from the breast than a pump -- your milk changes composition as the day goes on.  While quantity is down later in the day, fat content is up (water down), and the milk is a more concentrated source of fat, protein, etc.

I always nurse before bed.  Partly because I want that bedtime snuggle, partly because it helps DS fall asleep.

As for sleep, every baby is different, and it could be a million and one things that made yours wake last night.  Mine didn't start regularly sleeping longer than four hour stretches until less than a month ago.  Waking up at night sucked at times (and still does, every few nights), but we're all growing and learning together.  Bedsharing worked for us during the timeframe I was back and work and DS was still waking three times a night to eat.

alibabbbs

Mrs. VanKirk:

I hate the pump but literally every single time I try to BF I end up doing only that all day b/c DS will never get full. I'm a firm believer of giving a bottle before bed instead of BF. DS has been STTN since 2 months but every time I've tried to BF before bed he was up and wouldn't go back to sleep unless he ate.

DS has slept 10-12 hours per night since he turned 3 months old, and he only gets bottled BM while I'm at work, which has been spotty and part-time. I wouldn't take STTN only with the bottle as the norm.

easyBreezie

margeincharge2:

Mrs. VanKirk:

I hate the pump but literally every single time I try to BF I end up doing only that all day b/c DS will never get full. I'm a firm believer of giving a bottle before bed instead of BF. DS has been STTN since 2 months but every time I've tried to BF before bed he was up and wouldn't go back to sleep unless he ate.

It may work for you but that's not a requirement to get babies to sttn. My LO has only ever gotten breastfed before going to bed and he sleeps 8 hours through the night. It's more of a case of every baby being different rather than how you feed him. But that's my $.02

I know all babies are different and I think I'm an exception to everyone else it always seems when it comes to pumping/bfing. I pump way more than DS ever eats and the pump is more effective for me. Maybe I'm scewing (sp?) the responses b/c I always seem different than the *norm* responses. I've had to pump since day 1, so maybe this is why, I don't really know.

Suparstarz714

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