Night Weaning

[chriskoo]

Hey sorry I've been MIA lately, life has been busy! I have a question for you all, sorry if this is long.

A little background. Ever since she was about 4-5 months old, DD has been a TERRIBLE sleeper. A typical night would be wake ups every 1-3 hours where she would wake up crying and I'd nurse her back down. We moved her from the basinet in our room to her crib in her own room, no change in her sleep. I ended up spending most nights in the daybed in her room.

Over the last few nights we tried like a modified sleep training plan and it has worked amazing. 2 nights in a row she's slept 7:30PM-7:00AM with maybe one quick wake up and no nursing needed -- it's a miracle! Fingers crossed it hasn't been a fluke.

Only problem is that this sudden change is messing with my supply. The last few nights I woke up at 4ish super engorged (a new feeling after months of round the clock nursing!), so I've pumped a decent amount (8oz ish) and gone back to bed. If I stop doing this and just pump or hand express a little bit, will it affect with my supply during the day? I'd love to get to a point where I can STTN too!

[chriskoo]

Not sure if it makes a difference, but DD eats 2 meals of solids during the day and nurses about 6-7 times. I don't pump much because she comes to work with me. We'll gradually increase solids and drop some nursing sessions over the next few months.

[greysonsmom]

Your body will adjust after a few days. She will get more during the day to make up from what she was getting overnight.

[txmommy14]

I always pump right before I go to bed at 10/11ish since she goes to bed at like 6:30. On a good night, she'll then eat at 5ish. It works for us!

[manybellsdown]

You will totally adjust and should be fine during the day. I've only gotten up to pump in the past when the discomfort is too high to keep sleeping. Your STTN could be soon! Awesome to hear about the training.

[chriskoo]

Thanks greysonsmom and txmommy14, I like the idea of pumping at night before bed! I hope she keeps going with these long sleeps.

[chriskoo]

Thanks manybellsdown! Crazy how actually sleeping is like such new territory!

[frecklesnbrains]

We managed like this for many months with me doing a pumping session at bedtime. Yes, I was super-engorged for a few days but it evened out pretty quickly.

[chriskoo]

Thanks frecklesnbrains and @cheeze ! We had another good night last night, so I'm feeling optimistic that her sleep has turned in the right direction.

We did like a modified cry it out. We made up a little bedtime routine (PJs, nurse, get in the grobag, story, say goodnight to things in the room), then into crib while still awake. Then we leave the room. If she started fussing we would leave her for max 10 mins, then go back in to comfort her but not nurse or take her out of the crib. Same with night wakings, we left her 10 mins max then went in to comfort. The first night was awful, lots of wake ups and took several tries to get back to sleep. We had a horrible cranky tired day the next day, I felt terrible about the whole thing and wanted to give up but hubs convinced me to try one more night. So glad we did because the second night she went to sleep on her own without any tears and slept for 11 hours!!

[manybellsdown]

chriskoo, now that's a successful cry it out! Wow.

[Stringy]

chriskoo, we are up for doing this shortly do. We did it around xmas and it worked (not for 11 hours, though!) - and I'm just waiting for her chest congestion to clear so we can do it again.