Sleep and Breastfeeding
Can I really breastfeed and have a baby that sleeps well?
This is such a common question and frequently asked as well. Many women believe that they cannot have a positive relationship with breastfeeding and teaching their baby health sleep habits. Taylor has touched on the sleep side of this coin, BUT I am here to share with you the supply side!
First, I need to preface this conversation in that many women are different. Their bodies, their breasts, their milk supply, so YES there are some women that still need their middle of the night pumps. If you are unsure, contact me and we can discuss how to maximize sleep while maintaining your supply. Typically, when your baby starts sleeping through the night there is a dip in the supply until you can adjust your body and "schedule". The dip in your supply is different for everyone.
Babies sleep in length based on the number of weeks that they are old. For example, a baby that is 6 weeks old should developmentally be able to sleep 6 hour stretches in between feeds at night. If you do your "bedtime feed" at 9 pm then your baby would wake at 3am and then go back to sleep until 9am. Therefore, your baby is only getting 1 night feed and those dropped feeds need to be replaced during the day. This means WAKE THAT SLEEPING BABY during the day to get calories in!!
Between 4-8 weeks of age, your baby will need 7-9 feeds a day (this includes that overnight feed). If you miss a feed because thus is life, try to replace with a pump. As baby grows, sleep with lengthen and that nighttime feed needs to go to daytime. The most important thing to remember is that you cannot produce more milk if you do not remove milk frequently. A strict "schedule" is so important in the first 10-12 weeks in order to establish a milk supply. As baby grows and they will not need as many feedings and these are when you can begin to determine if you can cut feedings/pumps.
If you find that you cut the nighttime feeds/pumps and there is a significant drop in your supply, you can add them back in. It can take a week or two before you see significant changes in your supply increase. The most important thing is stay consistent.
Things that all have an influence on supply:
Caloric and water intake
Nursing/pumping schedule
Babies ability to remove milk
Flange size
Pumping parts (age, installation, etc)
Introduction of solids
And many more!
All of these factors affect mothers in different way. That is why no mothers journey is the same, include a mom with multiple children. A mother may have completely different journeys even from baby to baby. Please remember that!
I know what you are thinking, this is A LOT of work. And you’d be right, it is a lot of work. BUT that is why Taylor and I are here. We are here to guide you through your journey and provide feedback for you. There are so many factors that go into milk supply and I want to help you.