Night Nursing and Supply

littledaisies · April 2014

My LO pretty much nursing all throughout the night. I was hoping he would eventually cut some feedings out on his own but that's not happening so I'm in the process of weaning him. I'm a little worried it might hurt my supply. I'm having a hard time pumping enough for him during the day so I'm worried this might really hurt my day supply. Anyone have an issue once their LO STTN?

littledaisies · April 2014

Sorry I forgot to add some detail. I had originally posted this on a month board. He's almost 11 months old and nurses every 2 hours at night. I work full time and I can't keep up with it anymore. I'm barely functioning during the day.

I'd like to cut down the feedings at night but I'm a little worried how it will effect my day supply. I'm wondering if anyone else has supply drop when their LO STTN and if so did it go back or keep going down?

littledaisies · April 2014

@sing2phins No he doesn't and I'm slowly working on getting him there. I've been hesitant to do so because I've had a hard time pumping enough for him during the day. I'm worried that all the night feedings are keeping up my supply and if I drop them it will go even lower.

vvvvvfee · April 2014

i wouldn't stress too much about it. if your LO is 11 months, then you only have 1 more month until you can opt to stop pumping at work anyway. and you can definitely still nurse at home even when you stop pumping at work.

have you heard of the jay gordon night weaning method? he recommends that you only completely night wean once your baby is 1 year or older, in case they need the extra nutrition, but you can certainly use some of the techniques he mentions to cut down on the nursing a little. like you can limit the duration of the nursing sessions, or try to rock and pat him to sleep, or have your SO do it some of the time.

i do think that your LO is probably just through a growth spurt/new developmental phase and that this is a phase that will pass soon.

littledaisies · April 2014

@vvvvvfee That's the method I'm using! I know it's not recommend before 1 but I'd like to cut out some of his night waking. I wish I could say it's a phase or growth spurt but it's been like this from the beginning. I think at this point it's more out of comfort and habit. I'd be fine with 1 or 2 feedings a night but we are 5 sometimes 6 and I can't continue anymore. I've been worried cutting back since I have a hard time pumping enough during the day with so many night feedings that cutting back might make my supply completely drop. I'd like to nurse after a year. I don't want to pump at work but I'd like to nurse when I'm home.

vvvvvfee · April 2014

@littledaisies i definitely know where you're coming from-- my DS was always a big night nurser, too. i think he reverse-cycled because i work F/T. i stopped pumping at work at 14 months but we still nurse at home. i was always reluctant to totally night wean, even after a year, because i didn't want to deny him the nutrition or comfort. i do think it will get better for you, though. my DS's sleep has improved a lot over the last several months-- he will STTN for 10-12 hours now (when he's not sick). you can definitely cut back on the number or duration of night feedings without stopping them completely. hang in there!

sarahandeddiejune212008 · April 2014

You can slowly cut back on night nursing and your supply should be okay. I had a hard time pumping towards 10m or so. My body just stopped responding to the pump. The good news is I was able to nurse with no problems and I ditched the pump. I used my freezer stash and then started giving WCM at 1 when I was at work. We continued to BF until 17m and she self weaned.

BootsOrHearts · April 2014

Sometimes babies just wake up not because they're hungry but because they want some cuddles or they're having trouble getting themselves back to sleep. My guy does this sometimes. He normally goes 7-8 hours at night so if he wake up earlier than that, I know it's probably not hunger, just that he needs help getting back to sleep. Giving him his binky and rocking him a little bit usually does the trick. Is it possible your LO isn't hungry he just wants to comfort nurse? In that case you could introduce a pacifier. I know people are funny about them but at 11 months it's not likely to interfere with your nursing relationship.

As long as you continue to nurse on demand when you're home and pump 2-4 times at work your supply should be fine if baby starts sleeping longer stretches. If you find you need to pump more for bottles, add some pumping sessions after nursing or pump one side while baby takes the other. Just don't do that too often or you may end up with the opposite problem.

I hope you can start to get more sleep soon!

[Deleted User] · April 2014

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littledaisies · April 2014

Thank you everyone!

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