7 week old STTN & Supply Issues

agytay

My 7 week old has started STTN which some would claim would be a good thing. Unfortunately, I have noticed a big hit to my supply. We put him down around 10:00pm with his last feeding being around 9:30pm or so. And for the past 3 nights, he hasn't gotten up until 6:30am. Each night, I pump for comfort around 2:30am/3:00am, but I don't empty the breast in case he wakes up to nurse. I do notice that by 2:30am and 6:30am my breast are hard as rocks.

During the day, I have noticed that LO is satisfied after the first couple of nursing sessions, but by the noon seems like he is fishing at the breast for more milk (e.g., he is falling asleep more and it is taking longer to satisfy him). Has any one experienced this? Is he too young to STTN? Should I wake him up ever 3-4 hours at night to eat instead? If it matters, I am still waking him during the day to eat every 2 to 3 hours if he has yet to eat. Do those that feed on demand generally let their LO go longer than this during the day?

Any advice?

Aviee

DD has started to sleep longer for me, but I still get up and pump completely empty in the middle of the night.  When she does wake up at night she comfort suckles rather than drinks, so having full breasts isn't an issue if I pump. 

I say, do not wake him up. Even during the day.  If you expect him to sleep longer than 2 hours, pump an hour after he had eaten (will  help with supply) on one side (probably the side he had eaten from) and the other side will be ready whenever he wakes.  If DD sleeps 5 hours during the day, I'd let her sleep the whole time even tho when she's awake she would eat every 1.5-2 hours.  I just ensure that I pump at least every 2 hours while she sleeps.  If she does wake after i'd pumped, I can just give her that bottle.

During the day with DD, she has been unsatisfied during certain times of the day, which I just let her stay on the breast to help train them to be more efficient during those time intervals (usually right before bed or early in the morning).  To get the supply up, how often you nurse during certain times of the day are what affects the feeding amounts during them.  Middle of the night engorgement won't make your early afternoon feeding amounts any less.

I hope that was helpful...my brain's a little bit scattered today...good luck!

watermellens

I agree - I would not wake him to eat (especially at night). It's good that you're waking up to pump at 2, but I would pump completely especially if he's not waking until morning. Then when he does wake, try feeding him from one side and have him empty it completely and then pump the other side.