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Breastfeeding and sleeping through the night?

Jen4jeezJen4jeez
in Babies: 0 - 3 Months
My exclusively breast-fed six-week old just went from regularly waking to eat every 4 hours at night to sleeping 6-8 hours for the past 4 nights, a pattern I hope continues since he is still gaining weight well.  This would be a very welcome change, except that I continue to wake up every 4 hours with painfully engorged breasts.  I've been pumping one side and then the other a couple of hours later if LO is still asleep.  I worry that if I don't regularly empty them, my milk supply will diminish but LO is now eating more than ever during the day.  For those of you lucky enough to have babies sleeping longer stretches at night, are you able to sleep longer as well, and if so, has your milk supply been affected?
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Re: Breastfeeding and sleeping through the night?

  • BejebusBejebus

    If you don't want your body to make milk during the night, stop pumping. BFing is supply and demand, but whether or not your breasts make milk at night doesn't affect whether they make milk during the day. Your boobs are actually pretty smart- nurse when LO wants to nurse (more during the day, less at night) and they will keep up, especially if you've already got the BFing relationship well established, which it sounds like you do. Just try to make it through the engorgement, and you will be fine.

    Although I will say, if you want a freezer stash of milk, this is how I got mine with DS. I would get 8-10 oz at the 3 AM pump and had to buy a deep freeze when DS was 4 months old.

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  • Kell0708Kell0708
    DS#2 has been sleeping 6-8 hours at night recently too. I dont pump during the night. I figure that if he is sleeping, I'm going to be sleeping too! I only pump once a day first thing in the morning after he nurses and freeze it since we dont use bottles at the moment. I'm able to get between 8-10 ounces in just that one pumping session. I havent noticed any issues with my supply by not pumping during the night.
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  • boggs507boggs507 member

    DS started STTN at 9 weeks.  He would go to bed around 7:30 after nursing and I would pump (and still do) before I go to bed around 9:30,10.  The first few mornings I woke up around 4 in pain from being so engorged.  I pumped about 2 oz from each side and went back to bed.  It was enough to make me comfortable again. 

    My supply has never been affected by him STTN and I agree with PP's, if you don't want to make milk during the night...stop pumping.

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  • abell77abell77 member
    your body will eventually adjust at night.  BF'ing is all about supply and demand, so if you keep pumping at night, your body will keep producing milk at night.  the transition period can be painful, but eventually your body will learn it doesn't need to produce as much at night.  if lo goes back to waking more at night, which can happen, then your body will start to produce more again if you go back to nursing her more at night.
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  • dixiemamidixiemami
    Me and DD ran into the same problem when she started sleeping lomger. For us it was more a case of way too sleepy to bother sneaking out of bed, tiptoeing around the house, putting it together then sitting there and pumping in the middle of the night. I just slept through it and my supply adjusted within a few days.
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