Anyone just nurse at night/overnight?

NYBride1125 · July 2014

Lurking from May...I will be going back to work soon and I don't think I'm going to be able to pump while at work (yes, I physically can, but I'm choosing not to). However, still wondering if I could just nurse at night and overnight if necessary...has anyone done this? I know my pedi had mentioned people do night/morning but morning is a rat race trying to get ready and I'm not sure that would work. So just looking for others' experiences! Do you have enough milk to satisfy your LO?

vacsx2 · July 2014

I have no solution, but I'm extremely interested in the answer as I've been wondering the same thing.

Aliki · July 2014

How soon are you going back? If you're going back while LO is still under 6 months, I would think your breastfeeding relationship isn't that established, and by not pumping at work and only nursing overnight, your supply is going to start to dwindle, not to mention wouldn't you be engorged during the day without pumping? Not sure how the logistics of this would work, unless you are near to weaning and nursing for comfort and not for nutrition. I know near the end of my BF relationship where I was only nursing at night and not pumping during the day, she was mostly on solid food and just nursing for comfort. I can't imagine you would be making enough milk to satisfy LO for the whole day?

linzerd · July 2014

You must be supplementing with formula, right? Or you have a massive stash built up? If you are only nursing at night, what is the baby going to eat while you are away? Lastly, why can't you pump at work? Sorry to answer your question with so many questions.

lazyreader · July 2014

Hmm. Doubt it? I mean maybe there is someone out there that does. But let's break it down...

Baby is born and you'll nurse (assuming this works without complications). The baby will eat a lot. Round the clock. But by the time you go back to work, baby maybe will likely sleep more at night. Right? So if your are only feeding at night, and baby starts to sleep more at night then your milk won't stick around. ?
In my non dr opinion it won't work so well.

Gotta drain the milk to make the milk. And even then it doesn't always work.

jbelle · July 2014

I don't know the answer to your question, but my DD is somewhat reverse cycling. She often eats 6 oz or less during the day at daycare and nurses a lot overnight.

I assume you plan to offer formula at daycare? I would guess making this work has to do with your child and their personality and how your body reacts to the change. But I'm certainly not well versed in encouraging reverse-cycling while supplementing. Maybe try the breastfeeding board?

I didn't purposefully encourage reverse cycling, but do cosleep, so that could perhaps be considered a factor.

I'll throw this out there just in case: you might not mind making time to nurse in the morning or pump at work. I've got my system down fairly well--and they've actually become some sweet and productive times, respectively. I just wanted to throw that out there because I thought it'd be worse than it is. Best of luck.

NYBride1125 · July 2014

Thanks for the responses..yes I would do formula during the day and then just nurse at night and overnight... I understand about the system of pumping at work, but I tried it with my first LO and it just didn't work well. And now my job is much more stressful and demanding...I work at a four-letter sports network on one of the top shows and there are constant ratings implications.

kstar83 · July 2014

I am able to pump 3 times a day and make enough for her. I pump as soon as I wake up, one in the afternoon or after work and once before bed. I also realize I am very lucky to react so well to the pump. BF was hard for us, we cut back to only night s and mornings and I would pump after and during the day originally. Some times I throw an extra pump in there if we are starting a growth spurt, but to be honest it doesn't help my supply much. I guess I just make what I make. But by morning I am definitely hurting and leaking. Ours also STTN. I know, baby lottery. I won it.

I had to slowly space out pumps over the course of weeks to avoid engorgement. I have a long trip coming up for work that involves long days and I really won't have a place to pump or a chance for a break so It will have to wait until after the conference ends for the day.

Aliki · July 2014

@ NYBride1125 If you give formula during the day for your LO's nutrition, how are you going to deal with your breasts being full of milk during the day? And if they aren't filled with milk during the day, that means your supply is low, so how would you be able to feed your LO at night? I dont see how you can sustain this in any way.

Do people take cigarette breaks? The amount of time it takes to run to a private room to pump cannot be more than the amount of time I see some people take to go downstairs, walk away from the building, and have a cigarette. And they do it way more than the number of times you would need to pump.

Hays0770 · July 2014

i do!!

i was getting bitten to bits and it was essentially the straw that broke the camels back- long story

i night nurse, but i think it is mainly for comfort at this point

i do feel let down, however, and still drip some before i get in the shower

so i know im not all the way dried up yet

during the transition i would wait as long as i could to pump

it was about a week of 3x a day, week of 2x a day, and then just a few times of once a day

now im just down to the 3am-5am nursing session

katykatykaty · July 2014

Aliki said:
@ NYBride1125 If you give formula during the day for your LO's nutrition, how are you going to deal with your breasts being full of milk during the day? And if they aren't filled with milk during the day, that means your supply is low, so how would you be able to feed your LO at night?

This isn't necessarily true. I've known people who successfully only nurse at night and on weekends, and their body adjusted and knew not to make milk during the day just as those moms with babies that sleep through the night learn to stop making a ton of milk at night.

kare_bear_12 · July 2014

I just nurse in the evenings with LO. I pump before work, and also once at lunch, but my supply went down drastically when I went to work. I supplement of course, but I still love that evening time with LO. I work in sales and it is very demanding so even pumping 3 times a day at work was not letting me get my job done.

stephcrosby09 · July 2014

My mom nursed us at night and formula fed during the day. It's all about supply and demand so I don't know why it wouldn't. If she only needs it at a certain time of the day, your body *should* respond accordingly.

Aliki · July 2014

katykatykaty said:

@ NYBride1125 If you give formula during the day for your LO's nutrition, how are you going to deal with your breasts being full of milk during the day? And if they aren't filled with milk during the day, that means your supply is low, so how would you be able to feed your LO at night?

This isn't necessarily true. I've known people who successfully only nurse at night and on weekends, and their body adjusted and knew not to make milk during the day just as those moms with babies that sleep through the night learn to stop making a ton of milk at night.

How old were their LOs?

I agree with you to a degree, as I myself successfully only nursed at night and on weekends when my daughter was 1 year old, and my body was able to do that... but it wouldn't have worked if our supply wasn't established, IMHO.

MA&CB · July 2014

I have a friend who is a kindergarten teacher and was not able to make time to pump during the day. She began cutting out one nursing session and adding in one bottle of formula every two weeks while still on maternity leave starting at 2 months so that by the time she returned to work at 4 months, he was on formula during the day and she was still able to nurse morning and nights. I do think you'd need to nurse when you wake up at least to empty before you go to work.

Similarly, I began cutting down pumping sessions at 11 months and stopped pumping by 12 months, but continued to nurse when we were together up until 18 months.

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