DS sleeping through the night - should I worry about my supply?

[lissy]

DS has recently started sleeping longer at night usually about a 8-9hr stretch. Last night he slept through from 7pm-5am this morning. Do I need to be concerned about my supply dropping at all?

[Barb Glare]

Eventually they DO sleep through the night (for some mums this is just about impossible to believe - LOL.) Your body adapts to accommodate this and your milk supply will be fine. Your baby is still quite young, yet. I wonder, how do you think feeding is going? Have you had supply problems? How is your baby growing (ie what have his weightgains been like) If all is well - go ahead and enjoy (though if you wake up because your breasts are full you might have to wake the baby anyway or express for comfort

[lissy]

Thanks Barb. My supply has been plentiful lol untill recently. I feel like its dropped a little but it could just be evening out or it could be that DS is feeding SO frequently during the day that it keeps my supply fairly low? Im not sure. We've had trouble with reflux & I was quite ill with bronchitis recently so Im probably just being a little paranoid about it.

I had wondered about waking him to feed, do you think as a rule its ok to do this?

[onthefly]

Feeding more often will mean you make more milk Your boobs are wonderous, intelligent things, which will adjust suppy to match demand. Just feed when he asks and enjoy your sleep

[Barb Glare]

it's OK to wake him for feeds - and if your breasts are full it might be a good idea. It is normal for babies to cluster feed - especially in the evening. It doesn't mean you don't have enough milk; it just means that they want to hang out with mum- breastfeeding is about more than just the milk, it's a way to relax and unwind after a big day, and chance for a cuddle with mum and more.
It's a good thing that your milk supply has settled down - once again normal.
The great thing about milk supply is that it's just about rock solid - you feed, you make more milk. It doesn't dry up and it's not hugely affected by illness. Your fabulous payoff for the daytime feeds is he sleeps so well over night. He has a lot of growing to do, so he still needs to feed a lot, but he's letting you sleep at night - very nice!

[little_mrs]

I rekon if he's consistanly sleeping thru then yes your supply will drop off at night, which is good coz there's nothing worse than bub sleeping and instead of sleeping your awake with leaky boobs!! It won't affect your day supply tho

[Taurean]

My DD slept through from 9 weeks - amazing, I know! She was doing 12 hours consistently from 11ish weeks. When she was sleeping through, she only fed 4 times a day so initially I'd try to squeeze in an extra feed during the day but she really wasn't interested, 4 suited her fine and her weight gain (and output) showed she was getting enough too.

DD would always throw in an extra feed when she was having a growth spurt, was teething or unwell and my supply seemed to adjust to her needs fine - even with random overnight feeds.

Like the others have said, your breasts are amazing things and so is supply and demand with breastfeeding. Your breasts and DS will sort it out - just be wary of mastitis though (I never had it though)

[deletedit]

First time my first baby slept through the night (bout 4 months or so) I woke up the next morning with boobs the size of pumpkins and snatched her to feed her the instant she stirred

[lissy]

Thanks again Barb, you have an amazing perspective on things & the 'time hanging with mum' has changed my view a little as I was finding myself getting frustrated not being able to 'do' anything due to the constant feeds. DF is just going to have to adjust to the fact that there is a period of approx. 2hrs in the arvo when DS feeds that I can't do much....& so am I lol.

Taurean DS has be consistently sleeping through now 10-12hrs, it's great DF & I are revelling in the sleep

RumpledElf - LMAO I usually wake about 3am & have to dash to the bathroom to change my breastpads. Then DS wakes at 5am for a feed.

Thanks for the reassurance ladies, Id started to worry myself thinking with the amount DS was feeding something must be up. I just have a fantastic little boy who seems to like his sleep as much as his mummy :P