What to Do When She Sleeps Through the Night?

Isn't it funny how babies sleeping through is such a blessing and a curse at the same time? My daughter slept through at 11 weeks. She did it 2 nights in a row and then didn't repeat until she was 6 months old. A few lessons to be learned here...
1. Just because your baby sleeps through now, doesn't mean that she will next week.
2. If she does it for 3-4 nights in a row, your body will adjust and you will not wake up so engorged again.

I will admit that there have been a couple nights where I've actually woken up my daughter around 4 AM by sticking my breast into her mouth to get some relief. But if you just stick to nursing and never even look at that pump, everything will work out just fine. This is kid #2 for me - I nursed my son for 20 months and my daughter's 7 months now. It always amazes me how well equipped our bodies are to feed our babies. All we have to do is feed them when they're hungry! Hang in there and good luck with your baby!

I have an 8 mo old and when he started sleeping thru the night so did I. I didn't get up to pump which now I wish I would have. My body stopped producing milk and he stopped breastfeeding at 4 months. That's just my experience, I'm sure everyone is different.

M., yep, get up and pump, but just pump until you are comfortable. Save that milk for her for when you go out on a date (I recommend one date night per week.) Your body will realize that you no longer need so much production at that time and will adjust itself. You'll be sleeping through the night in no time - your daughter willing!

E. Richter CPD, CD, LE

p.s. If she decides she's hungry at night, don't worry, your body will produce enough again.

If your baby is sleeping through the night-you should too! I wore breast pads (my leaked horribly) and sometimes I had to change them in the middle of the night. That first feeding in the AM sure was a relief. After a while though, your body does adjust and I also think pumping through the night would increase your suppply to do so. Good Luck!

This is more what I did rather than advice...I asked a similar question and I never got a straight answer. I got up at night to pump because I got a TON of milk when I did. I was working and needed every drop I could get because it was important to me to give my baby as much breast milk (vs. formula) as possible. However, I continued doing that for almost ten months until I discovered I was pregnant again and then scrapped the nighttime pumping...I figured if she was sleeping through the night, then I deserved to also! I will say that as breastfeeding progressed, I rarely became engorged. Somewhere around 6-8 months, I could go a long time between pumping and not be uncomfortable so I would say that the nighttime discomfort will pass. All this to say, if you need the pumped milk, get up to pump. If you don't need it, I might get up when you need relief but don't empty yourself and eventually your body will turn off the nighttime feeding altogether. Good luck!! I can really relate to your story...keep up the good work!!

Your breasts work by supply and demand. What my doc told me is if I did not need to feed, then don't pump either. It might be painful for a few days but it will go away. If it is getting really painful you can pump just enough to relieve that pain. Your body will adjust to her new feeding schedule and produce more when it needs to and less when it doesn't.

I used to get up and pump. Your body will adjust.

You probably shouldn't pump b/c it will signal your body to make more milk. If you can get through a few nights of discomfort, your body will eventually adjust. My daughter sleeps up to 12 hours straight now, and I'm not uncomfortable anymore. If the pain is too unbearable, maybe just express a tiny amount to give you some relief... Good luck. It will get better.

If she's really going to sleep through from now on, you want to start lowering the amt you're pumping so your body will adjust to the new schedule. If you want to do it slowly so you don't have too much pain, you can get up at the times she used to wake and pump, but gradually, pump for less time and fewer oz. Soon, you won't need to pump then at all. You'll still be full in the morning, but you shouldn't be in pain. Or, if you're like me and refuse to get up more than you have to now that she's sleeping, do the quicker way. Wait till you wake up because of the pain (not too much fun for a few nights) and then express by hand, not pump, into the sink or a bottle. You won't get rid of much but enough so you won't hurt. Because you're not "using" as much, your body will realize it sooner and change to fit this schedule. Good luck!

Be happy your child sleeps and don't worry about pumping. The engorgement will go away in a bit. I would watch her weight gain though. I have a friend whose daughter began losing weight when she stopped night nursing. Remember, an infant should be nursing 8 -10 times a day. So if she is not nursing at night, make sure she is nursing really good while she is awake.

pump just enough to relieve the engorgement. After a few nights of her sleeping through you will not have to pump anymore. Just a few nights of your body expecting her to wake.

Your body will adjust to the amount of milk your baby needs. If you wake up and pump it will just encourage your body to produce more milk at that time and prolong the discomfort. So if you don't nurse at night your body won't make much at night. That being said, it may be awhile before your daughter sleeps through the night if you are sleeping with her in your room. Co-sleeping, breastfed babies tend to wake more, even though they sleep better. I am nursing my third son, he is three months as well. Just hang in there as long as you can, the benefits are worth the breastfeeding. Also- once babies start solids they'll usually only wake once or twice to nurse at night.

Be thankful! That is great that she sleeps through the night. Your breasts will adjust after a few days. Do not pump because that will make MORE milk. I wore pads at night and squeezed them a little to lessen the pain. It just takes a little time for your body to realize that she will not eat at night anymore. Good luck.

My body took a while to adjust and I still wake up pretty ready to feed (3 month olds have been sleeping through he night for a few weeks). I have been too tired to get up and pump, but if you're up for it, it will relieve the pain. I sometimes pump after I nurse to get excess out, I'm adjusting, but it's taking a while. (with previous two children my supply did adjust and I nursed for over a year, no, I was not engorged each night).

What would you do it baby woke up in the night? I use a pacifier and rocking, I will not feed because I don't want them up at night again, so I want my supply to adjust to not being needed at night, just during the day.

The book "On Becoming Babywise" talks about making sure you are feeding enough during the day that your supply keeps up. As long as there are 6-8 feedings during the day you should be fine.

I hope this helps. Good luck!