If you breast feed: Do you have to wake up at least once a night to pump as your baby gets older?

Question

My breast fed ten week old sleeps through the night, a solid 10 hour block most of the time. I still have to wake up once a night at around 4 am to pump so that my b*****s don't burst! Is that standard for you other breast feeding moms as your baby gets older and sleeps through the night?

Answer 1

Yes, it's standard for that to happen.  I know it is very uncomfortable to have extremely full b*****s, but the more you pump, the more your body thinks your baby needs and produces more.  

So it may be better (more uncomfortable the first few nights) to not pump anymore and your body will slowly stop producing as much milk during the night.  That's (one) of the amazing things about breastfeeding.   If your baby suddenly starts waking up a couple times during the night and you have stopped producing as much milk at night, the suckling will get your milk in again during the night. It's a supply and demand sort of thing.  It just knows when and when not to make milk.  

So long story short, I didn't pump when my baby was sleeping longer through the night.  It was uncomfortable at first, but your body will adjust in the next few days.  Good luck :)

Answer 2

every body is different, but my sister has nursed 3 and she said she leaked sometimes but she never pumped during the might once her kids sleep through it. she says nurse on both sides and pump before bed and that shouldn't happen.

she also said if it only haooens at night then you don't have overactive letdown, if it happens during the day too, then you may have overactive letdown.

hope this helps!

Answer 3

Well for your comfort I would say yes right now. I sometimes didn't and I felt like I had 2 water balloons in the morning. The likelihood is that your baby will not continue to sleep through the night. Breastfed babies process their mother's milk faster and so need fed more often. My baby didn't sleep through the night for a solid 12 months, which is when I stopped breastfeeding him and he turned to a sippy cup of whole milk. The more often your baby nurses or you pump, the more you will produce. It's good that you have such an arsenal. I did as well and for those rare nights out they sure came in handy!

Answer 4

I had oversupply issues, so at first, I too had to wake up in the night to pump.  If your baby consistently sleeps through the night and you don't want to pump at night you might try slowly reducing the amount you pump.  Some people can quit cold-turkey but I reduced the amount by 1-2 ounces at a time until I didn't need to get up to pump anymore.  If you want to wean from the night feeding sooner, just pump off what you need to in order to be comfortable each night.  Either way you will signal your body that you no longer need to produce milk for night time feedings.  Now my daughter is 9 months old, sleeps 10-12 hours and I don't wake up engorged.  It might take a few nights though, especially, if you tend to have an ample supply like myself.  Good luck!

Looking at the other responses, I want to add: sleeping through the night very much varies from baby to baby- my eclusively breastfed baby slept 10-12 hour stretches starting at 3.5 months and did 6-8 hours stretches for weeks before that.  Also, not pumping at night should not negatively effect your daytime supply.  At least, in my experience, there were no issues with dropping the nighttime pump session.  I also didn't need to store the milk as I had over 600oz saved in the freezer which I later had to donate because my daughter refuses a bottle.  Sure, it's liquid gold, but you can have too much!

Answer 5

Yes.. my wife did the same. She breastfed our kids till each one hit 1 year of age. You should keep on pumping to keep on producing the milk. Your baby will be healthier from the breast milk!

And yes, we too had a deep freezer filled with milk. We lost power during the NYC blackout of 2003... I went running to Home Depot to buy a generator so we don't lose the milk! More precious than anything else!!!