let's talk nighttime bfing

sarelewis · February 2010

Is it safe to assume that every time the baby cries in the middle of the night I should wake up and attempt to feed him? I would imagine if he's happening every half hour, milk isn't the best answer...but with a 2 or 3 hour sleep pattern can I assume he wants to eat each time and I should get up, not my husband?

In the first few weeks were you ladies primarily responsible for all nighttime activity, or were there times when you knew it could be a husband turn?

niccole_e · February 2010

The first few weeks/ months you are a milk factory . In my instance my son needed to feed each time he woke. His patterns changed though he would got 3 hours then all of a sudden it was 4 then 3 etc. if you can pump and put it in a bottle then your husband can definitely take over a feeding.

Erika6504 · February 2010

I'm still responsible for the nighttime activity. DH doesn't even hear DD if she wakes up.

DD was a great sleeper when she was little. She would wake up eery 2-3 hours (sometimes 4!) and I would feed her each time. You have to realize that in the beginning their stomachs are SO small so they will eat a lot.

And, once you get in a groove, don't be surprised if you feel like your baby is attached to your boob for a LONG time right before bed. It's normal! They'll cluster feed during this time so that they can go longer stretches at night

NewzieMom · February 2010

We co-slept (i know some people are completely against it...but it worked for us) so whenever they cried I always nursed them back to sleep. It was really easy we never even had to get out of bed.

jessie55 · February 2010

It wasn't DH's 'turn' at night until I weaned him since DS never took a bottle..but he has done most of the nighttime wake-ups since DS was a year or so! It was hard at the time, but I was home full time so I didn't feel right having DH wake up.

Maddie'sMom · February 2010

My newborn baby would wake up only when hungry. If she woke up every 30 minutes, I would assume she wasn't getting enough at each feeding. I always was the one to wake up at night because I was breastfeeding and my husband worked (I stayed at home, so I could sleep during the day). He would sometimes take over on the weekends so I could get a full night's sleep, but I still had to get up for at least one of the feedings (or to pump) or I would be soaked in the morning.

ejh090305 · February 2010

I thought it was only fair that I get up since DH had to go to work and I didn't. I could nap during the day if I was able....

Ms.Wax · February 2010

I work and still did all the night wakings until we weaned DS a couple weeks ago. I actually still do most of the night wakings, since DS prefers me at night and I can usually get him back to sleep faster/easier than DH. However, there have been nights where I've called in DH because I was just going crazy!

FWIW, when DS was a newborn, he would cluster feed in the evenings for 3+ hours straight, and then woke up every hour all night long. Co-sleeping saved my sanity!

jacquelinethorne · February 2010

I never woke DH up when I got up to nurse LO, but sometimes he'd wake up on his own and come be with us. On the occasions that LO didn't fall right back to sleep and DH would get up and rock him to sleep. I was ok with this because he was on FMLA leave for 8 weeks, so he was home to help, not let me do all the work.

JhawkCE · February 2010

If they need to be changed or walked around (i.e. you tried feeding them and they won't go back to sleep) then it's time to hand it over to your husband so he can get some screaming, 2 am quality time.

MrsAmyB · February 2010

Being that DH needed to get up for work during the early months and I stayed home, it was my job (by choice) to get up. Now that I'm pregnant he will sometimes now get up to see whats wrong. Yes, not all kids STTN. She still gets up once a night.

MorissaW · February 2010

ejh090305:
I thought it was only fair that I get up since DH had to go to work and I didn't. I could nap during the day if I was able....

This exactly.

Mrs.Beasly · February 2010

We also co-slept and I would nurse her everytime she woke up. Somtimes is was longer stretches and sometimes shorter. And like the others said you can't forget cluster feeding! I agree with being a milk factory. If you're going to BF ask the lactation lady to show you how big their bellies are b/c it really is nothing. Oh and we didn't do any night bottles for DH to use b/c if I wasn't nursing then I was pumping to keep from getting engorged.

marta602 · February 2010

During the first couple months, anytime DS woke up it was to be fed. Like PP mentioned their tummys are so tiny that they have to eat constantly. I joked with DH that I spent the first couple months topless, but it wasn't that far from the truth. Wink

*speedracer* · February 2010

if you pump you might be able to skip a nighttime feeding, but in those early weeks emptying your breasts regularly is important to build your supply and so your boobs don't explode. it's very uncomfortable to skip a feeding if you're on a 2-3 hour schedule the rest of the time. so yes, if you BF exclusively, you will most likely be waking up every 2-3 hours to feed your baby. it's the hardest part of having a new baby, IMO. uninterrupted sleep is amazing.

KimW · February 2010

I nursed pretty much every time she woke up in the early days. It was so much easier to do that, with a guarantee that she'd go right back to sleep, then it was to try to try to figure out how to get her to sleep without it.

I was always on night duty unless I couldn't figure out how to get her back down. H was usually up by then anyway, so he would always give it a shot.

Now that I'm back at work, we take turns getting up with her if she wakes up in the middle of the night.

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