May 2011 Moms
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DS sleeping through the night...milk question
DS just started sleeping through the night (YAY!!!), but I am still waking up around 3:00 because my breasts are engorged and I'm in pain. Is there anything that I can do? I know that I shouldn't pump because that just keeps producing milk. Will my body adjust on its own? How long will that take? Thank you!
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Re: DS sleeping through the night...milk question
I used to just pump the excess and freeze it. However when we went on a one week vacation I only brought the manual pump and ended up hardly pumping at all (because I'm lazy). I never got too engourged because DD didn't sleep well on vacation so she nibbled a lot through out the night. Well needless to say my body stopped producing so much milk at night and now I just make enough during the day to feed DD. I am no longer able to add to my freezer stash.
I would guess you don't want to wake LO now that he is sleeping through the night. Maybe you could try just pumping enough out so that you can feel comfortable. However you may find this reduces your over all supply like what happened to me.
I am currently having this problem (believe me, I much prefer a problem where DS is sleeping to one where he's not!). DS was sleeping from 8-3am, eating, then sleeping until 8. At first even going that long was too much for me and I'd wake up to wet sheets and rock hard boobs. After a few days, my body adjusted.
Then he started waking up at 4am, and again with the engorgement. Adjusted.
Last night was the first time EVER he slept from 8pm-6am solid. It was unreal. I of course woke up at 4 and after making sure he was alive, tried to just fall asleep. I was so full that I did hand express 5oz from one side in a matter of a couple of minutes and was still engorged on that side.
I think it's better to not take extra out unless you're trying to build a stash. Otherwise, your body will adjust after a few days to what your LO's needs are.