Milk Supply and Sleeping Through the Night

I would not wake the baby. Pumping at night, maybe before you go to sleep at night, is a good option. In my house, the kids are in bed anywhere's from 1 to 2 hours before I go to bed so there is space between the last nursing session. I personally would not want to wake myself up if baby is not up!

I panicked when I went back to work the last time. I found that pumping 3x a day kept the supply well. I just needed to relax when pumping, drink lots of fluids during the day and nurse as soon as I returned from home. we of course kept our nighttime/pre-bed session. Weekends were on demand.

I too felt that I was not making enough milk, but ultimately, she nursed till 14/15 months old. Your supply will adjust to a schedule so try to keep one during the week. You will always have what your baby needs.

Good Luck.
~C.

Is he crying when he is done nursing? If not, I'm sure he is getting enough. Our bodies make as much milk as our babies remove from us, and since your son no longer needs his midnight feeding your body is responding. As long as your son is getting 5-6 good feedings throughout a 24 hour period he is getting enough to eat. Be sure to pump every three hours or so at work to keep your daily supply up and you should be good. Also - drink at least 8 oz of water EVERY time you pump or feed. Dehydration is one of the easiest ways to decrease your milk production. If you are giving your baby a "snack" between feedings then your body is not ever getting full enough to give him a full meal at his regularly scheduled full feedings and that could be why he is not feeling satisfied - all he is doing is snacking off of you and never getting a full meal. Try to get on a scheduled of full feedings (5-6 in a 24 hour period,) and just top him off right before you go to bed yourself at night. As long as he is gaining weight he is doing fine. :)

if you stop nursing at night, your supply will diminish at night. as a general rule, its supply and demand. the times when you keep the same schedule of nursing, your body will continue to produce at those times. if your schedule is a little erratic right now, you might want to throw in an extra nursing or pumping session for a while, only because stopping nursing overnight is a huge change, and things seem to change a lot around the 3-4 month mark anyway, so if it was me, to be safe, i would try to boost my supply right now since both of these things are happening at the same time, you are having a double whammy to your supply right now. i think that if you can get in a pumping overnight (dont wake that baby!) it would help a lot,,, but if you just cant see doing that, try to drink more water and get in another session during the day, or you can pump after he nurses for a while. increase your water, eliminate caffiene, and add some real oatmeal to your diet, it helps. add some maple syrup to it, it helps too, the fake cheap kind, it has fenugreek in it. an extra pumping session in between or after you nurse will help, do it a few times a day, even if you dont get anything at first, it will stimulate your supply.
it seems like you are doing a great job and know what you are doing, but just to be sure, are you finishing the first breast before you switch sides? generally around 20 min, though this time will get shorter as time goes on. if your baby isnt getting the fatty hind milk, he will be left hungry and he also wont get the fats that are essential for brain development. the same goes for pumping, you can see the color change, be sure the fatty hind milk is getting into each bottle.
best of luck, D.

hi M.. i had the same problem. my baby girl (who's name is M., by the way! :) ) is now 5 months but when she was 3-4 months my supply diminished. i think going back to work is stressful and stress causes a low supply. i saw a lactation consultant at the time my supply dipped and she said this happens very often at 3-4 months. i pumped after almost every feeding to increase my supply. i'm now on a medication to increase my supply. i took fenugreek and blessed thistle (both herbs to increase my supply) but i dont' know if they really helped. the med i'm on now really helped my supply. maybe you can give him some pumped milk after you nurse him to make sure he's satisfied. i hope this helps! hang in there! i know EXACTLY what you are going thru. i was so upset when this happened to me..my baby would cry when she was on the breast and then it would make me cry!! i'm sure it will work out! good luck!

Dear M.,
I experienced exactly the same thing with my son at about the same age, or younger. Turned out it was not the amount of breastmilk produced, but the milk was not satisfying his hunger - it was like us drinking a glass of water. I began supplementing with formula, which didn't last long either. Then I put flakes of cereal in his bottle, increasing the size of the hole in the nipple. I introduced him to solid food much earlier than I did with his older sister, and I couldn't introduce new foods fast enough. I broke all the rules, but he was happy and satisfied. I had a wonderful pediatrician who agreed that as long as he could tolerate the foods, do it. By the time he was a year old, he was eating everything the rest of the family ate: pork chops, pickles, pizza - you name it, he ate it.
As he grew up, I was diligent to teach him proper nutrition and good eating habits, as I was afraid that his appetite could lead to weight issues. But I believe that his craving for nutrition led him to do very well in school and become an good athlete. Mark is now 23, 6' tall and 145 lbs. He still loves food, and raids the kitchen whenever he comes home - I love it!
So, M., don't blame yourself. Your son is only trying to tell you something - he needs more to satisfy his hunger.
I hope this helps, W.

milk supply is based on how much and how often baby feeds.
if you are not feeding in the night anymore, then there is no demad for mild, so the supply will decrease. if you are not feeding your baby midday, then the supply will decrease. it's actually simple economics...supply and demand. hope this helps.

Milk production is basic supply-and-demand. You refill when you are empty, so if you don't empty at night you will not refill. Same with mid-day feeings. When I went back to work, I would pump until empty right before going to bed and then would set me alarm to wake-up around 2:00am and pump to make sure there was enough milk for the next day. I also pumped several times a day at work, but it is not the same as nursing.

I will be honest and say that waking up in the middle of the night to pump exhausted me for work and mommy-ing the next day. When my son was 14 weeks old, I started supplementing two bottles a day with formula, which allowed me to build-up a supply of pumped milk (at least three in the freezer each day). He had all of the benefits of nursing, but wasn't ever stuck w/o food when I was away. By getting milk into the freezer, I was able to continue providing my son with breastmilk for a month after my milk dried.

If you have to supplement, do it. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just keep in mind that your milk only refills when you are empty, so skipping feedings send the signal not to produce more milk.

Does your baby seem to get enough breastmilk in bottles during the day? I used to pump right before I went to bed, which was generally 3 or so hours after my baby went to bed. I generally felt safer having a few more ounces for her bottles the next day. Also, I would pump after the first morning nursing session (my husband usually had not left for work yet, so I could pump for 10 minutes while he took the baby). I would often get out several more ounces even after she nursed because I would be so full when I woke up. I wouldn't wake your baby if your baby isn't waking up himself from hunger. Don't worry, as long as you don't start to supplement with formula, and you're are eating and drinking enough, your body will keep up with your baby's demand for milk. Good luck.