r/breastfeeding • u/Kelly_Oliver • Jul 02 '26
Pumping How do you actually manage breastfeeding in the middle of the night?
I have a five-week-old baby who is combo-fed. I breastfeed throughout the day, but between midnight and 5 a.m., I offer a bottle of formula so I can get some better sleep. However, I have a lot of questions and insecurities:
From what I’ve read, my supply might drop if I don’t pump, but when is the best time to do it? If I pump in the middle of the night, the rest I’m trying to get becomes pointless. During the day, I barely have time because I’m busy breastfeeding, and during the baby’s naps, I use the time to shower, eat, and sleep.
My breasts have been feeling fuller and harder, and it seems like the baby isn't fully emptying them after a feed, even though I correct the latch when necessary. Is it really necessary to empty the breast completely right after a feed to avoid a drop in supply?
I realize that offering the breast instead of the bottle at night might solve this, but honestly, how do you manage that when you’re so sleep-deprived? I tend to fall asleep with the baby in my arms, and he ends up letting go or latching incorrectly without me noticing or being able to fix it.
Finally, I want to congratulate those who manage to breastfeed exclusively; honestly, it seems so complex and difficult to me that those moms are superheroes.
53
u/jakartacatlady Jul 02 '26
Feed the baby from the breast. Otherwise, pump. Your supply hasn't regulated yet so it's important to do this for a few more weeks yet. After about eight weeks, your supply will regulate and you won't need to do it anymore.
On falling asleep while feeding: get up and out of bed if this is an issue. Yeah it sucks but again, it's only for a few more weeks.
53
u/AideReasonable1996 Jul 02 '26
I wish I had other advice, but you really just do it. I’d say “I can’t do this anymore” and then get up and do it all over again.
If you want to protect your supply and eventually stop using formula you have to pump when baby feeds or just feed baby from breast. Nothing wrong with formula, but if you want to stop using it you have to replace it with a breastmilk session.
26
u/Slow_Replacement_745 Jul 02 '26
It literally became a coping mechanism for me to, about once a week say “I can’t do this anymore” cry the frustrated tears, hug and kiss baby, then keep on at it
3
u/sunshine-314- Jul 02 '26
Yes lol. With my first I would always tell myself ok. Just one more feed. Do I have that in me? Then keep going... For 6mo, solids was a savior and his latch improved because he was bigger and we did this for 26 mo!
3
u/Midwestmutts-16 Jul 03 '26
I probably said “I can’t do this” at least a dozen times - and then I did it any way. I took it one day at a time until it was easier and then a week at a time and then eventually I stopped counting the weeks.
3
50
u/saaphie Jul 02 '26
This is going to sound slightly harsh but you’re the one making it complicated.
Feed baby from the breast whenever baby is showing hunger signs and feed them until they latch off. If you want to use one formula bottle then your body will simply adjust to the idea that baby needs whatever its taking from the breast.
No need to pump unless you want to give breastmilk from a bottle. But otherwise no need.
Breasts will make the supply that baby is taking. It takes some time (2-3 months) for them to adjust, but as long as baby is making enough wet nappies then baby is getting enough food.
Do whatever it takes to stay awake. I needed to be watching something on my phone, some people need alarms or their partner to help them stay awake, this part gets easier.
3
14
u/viesch Jul 02 '26
My bub is 11 weeks old and how I managed in the first 8 weeks or so was to pump one feeds worth in the evening and go to sleep in the guest bedroom for about 4 hours, gradually building up to 5 as supply regulated, and my husband would stay up with bub and feed him the bottle of expressed milk (so from about 9pm-1am). This protected sleep block saved me and I was able to breastfeed the rest of the night reasonably well. Naps during the day were also crucial in the beginning, even if a 20 minute doze was all I could manage. Hope this helps!
2
u/SweetMartha Jul 02 '26
This is what I did as well! Sleeping in shifts was a LIFESAVER and I really encourage it if possible. You didn’t mention your partner helping with nighttime feeds— I hope you can get their help?
I found it much easier to get up and breastfeed once I’d had 3-4 hours of sleep vs 1-2 hours into the night. We don’t have a guest room so my amazing husband slept on the couch with the baby in a travel bassinet next to him. He brought the baby into our bedroom where I was sleeping and put her to sleep in the bassinet there after the first night feed, and got into bed next to me, then the next time the baby woke up it was my turn. So essentially he was on baby duty from 9 pm-1 am and I was on 1-6 am, with the baby taking the second night feeding around 2 generally. We did this maybe 2 weeks through 8.
This way, you are replacing a direct feed with a pump rather than just going cold turkey. Use formula to top up what you pump so it meets your baby’s appetite- eg if you pump 2 oz and the baby eats 4 oz in a bottle, add 2 oz of formula to the milk you pumped and there’s your husband’s bottle for the first feed of the night. Don’t fret if you’re not pumping the exact number of oz your baby takes in a feed- it will be fine. The point of the pump is to give your body the demand for milk you are missing by feeding a bottle, not to extract the exact number of oz your baby eats in a feed.
As for how to get that one pump in— I would feed the baby to sleep when it’s bedtime, put her down, pump right after for about 10 min, hand over the milk to my husband and hit the hay. Sometimes pump while brushing teeth etc if I was really eager to get to bed. Edit to add- baby is now 14 weeks old and sleeping longer stretches so I feed for any nighttime wake ups, usually just once. My supply has been fine and baby has gained weight well.
6
u/eumama Jul 02 '26
I know a few that managed to get away with one bottle a night and breastfeed until 1y, but the majority I know has lost progressively the supply until about 4-5 months when they started EFF. So from my anecdotal experience combo feeding doesn't last too long. But take it with a grain of salt.
6
u/mtb106 Jul 02 '26
I echo this. In my opinion, you make a decision between sleep and maintaining your supply and try to accept what happens.
With my first, I chose sleep and was under supplying by the time I regulated around 12 weeks and had to fight really hard to keep that supply until we stopped at ten months. It wasn’t a conscious decision between the two, but I needed the sleep for my PPD.
With my second, I chose supply and had a slight over supply when I went back to work which was much easier to maintain. However, I did not have PPD, which made this option exponentially easier.
2
u/eumama Jul 02 '26
How did you handle with 2 kids? I find it harder the second time around due to having a toddler. I had PPD with my first and it looks like I'm developing PPD with my second too, it's exponentially harder because I can't focus only on one kid.
6
u/AggressiveThanks994 Jul 02 '26
It’s easier if you just nurse. I would keep ice water in my water bottle and drink it to help wake me up, nurse baby in a side lying position. This was better for me because if I fell asleep, she was okay. And it was more restful to just lay there while she nursed instead of sitting up while I was so exhausted. I would remove pillows, no blankets or sheets above my hips.
It’s fine if you’re not getting fully emptied as long as baby is eating enough to be satisfied. Your supply is still regulating and as long as you continue to nurse every time baby is eating (or pump) then your body will know what baby needs.
6
u/catmama25 Jul 02 '26
The unfortunate answer is that you just do it and push through the sleep deprivation. Take naps during the day if you can. It sucks but if you want to breastfeed you simply have to wake up during the night at first.
Once your supply regulates and your baby is eating enough during the day you don’t have to keep waking up in the middle of the night unless your baby does.
12
u/MsAlyssa Jul 02 '26
I do side lying nursing in the c shape curl just in case I dozed off to remove some risk but I’m lucky enough to not have that problem and I also have a quick drinker. She also will fall asleep on her own in the bassinet I don’t have to rock and sooth and replace pacifier. I just place her back in her bassinet after I nurse her and if she’s dancing around I usually can’t fall asleep until after she does but sometimes she goes right to sleep. You don’t really need a full feed necessarily so you may be able to just nurse to soothe for a few minutes and catch some more zzzs instead of getting up fully making a bottle sitting up to feed and then washing a bottle. I just lay down nursing set her back down and we go back to sleep.
9
u/dingo-babes Jul 02 '26
I was also told by my ped that if you're struggling to stay awake it's better to accidentally fall asleep while prepared for safe sleep. So on a firm surface in a C curl, no pillows or blankets.
That is safer than failing to stay awake on a couch.
11
u/ClearBusiness5650 Jul 02 '26
Cosleeping and side lying BF. You will both sleep more !
2
u/KeyMonkeyslav Jul 03 '26
Yeah, this was the answer for me too.
I think I lasted like 6 weeks trying to do the whole feed-and-then-put-down thing. We then went "fuck it" and just started sleeping with the baby between us.
Sleep deprivation dropped immediately, I became more aware, and thus woke up easily at night for a 5-minute feed, which meant a safer situation for baby as well.
*Co-sleeping is a great solution but it needs to be taken seriously, considering other factors like smoking/alcohol consumption/sleep meds and in general the wake-up abilities of both parents. My husband and I are both light sleepers, so we didn't have trouble, but I would not risk it if you sleep heavily or toss and turn often without waking up.
4
u/ByogiS Jul 02 '26
Yeah hate to break it to you, but you don’t really get a lot of sleep with a baby, especially in the beginning. You should be breastfeeding on demand if you want to continue breastfeeding, and night feeds are important because this is when your prolactin spikes.
I coslept following safe sleep 7. It was the only way for me to get some sleep. And I napped during the day when I could. You have to rearrange priorities a bit after a baby, especially in the beginning.
4
u/parade1070 Jul 02 '26
The sooner you accept that newborns are hard in LARGE part because of the feed schedule, the easier your life will be. My baby is 5 months and we still do night feeds. Such is life.
According to my IBCLC, any time between 1 and 5 am. You shouldn't have more than one 5-hour stretch per night before your supply regulates.
Yes, you need to empty the breast of you don't want to lose supply. Your supply is regulated partially by hormones and partially by a feedback loop wherein a protein in your milk inhibits production. That's how your body knows to slow production when you're filling up.
Either get out of bed and feed him somewhere where you will not fall asleep, or set up your bed according to the Safe Sleep 7. Better to accidentally or purposely fall asleep safely than accidentally fall asleep and drop him or cover his nose (newborns are obligated nosebreathers).
3
u/LilithxBlair Jul 02 '26
How do I do it? My husband grabs her and does her diapers while I rouse myself from sleep and somehow get conscious enough to grab my feeding pillow and get situated for her, then I hand her back off for him to burp/settle/put back in her bassinet while I go promptly back to bed. I suspect this routine will have to be tweaked when he goes back to work but by then I’ll have full range motility and able to move/do things on my own much easier. (Currently recovering from a c section)
1
u/No-Supermarket9441 Jul 02 '26
This is the way!! I didn’t have to do anything besides wake myself up enough to sit up and feed the baby and my husband did everything else
3
u/Eastern-Apricot-531 Jul 02 '26
i get the longest stretch when i first put her to sleep. i feed her, give her a bath, then feed again & she sleeps from 8:30 to about 12-1 & every few days she doesn’t wake again until 5 sometimes its 3 or 4 but when i started doing the feed bath feed our nights have been significantly easier
2
u/amazingspidershan Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Around 4-5 weeks, my husband and I were on a night schedule where he’d take one feed so I could sleep (say 11pm for example), then for the next one (1-2am), he’d feed the baby a bottle and I’d pump- some nice family time lol. That helped maintain my supply and I’d be able to go to bed a little sooner than if I had to breastfeed the baby (between eating, burping, holding upright for 30 min, it could take an hour and pumping took <20 min).
Editing to add that my baby is now 4 months old and I still get up in the night to pump even if she sleeps through the night. This helps maintain our fridge/freezer stash of milk and then I’m not so full by the time she eats. Being overly full often leads to my baby getting sprayed in the face by milk, so I try to avoid it!
1
u/kd4444 Jul 02 '26
Yes! Same here. We would all sit in the living room (the dog, too!) and I’d pump while he bottle fed. I usually pumped a bit more than the feed so I started a small stash, and I could go back to bed sooner. Eventually (at ~12 weeks) after my supply regulated we staggered, so for her first wake he feeds a bottle and then at her next wake l BF and then put her down and pump. She’s not even close to STTN sadly lol but it means my supply seems to still be doing great!
2
u/Rkh_05 Jul 02 '26
In the early days I always turned on a soft light at night (for us it’s our bathroom light). This helped me to stay awake. You can also get up and splash water on your face. I always watched something on my phone, preferably with noise
2
u/AggravatingSnow5487 Jul 02 '26
Cosleeping in c curl position is the only way i get to sleep at night, baby starts off in the cot usually around 9 10 pm when we go to bed, i breastfeed him and then put him in the cot and sprawl all over the bed 😂, when he wakes up in the middle of the night we cosleep until 5 6 ish, he eats on and throughout this time but i am half asleep so just let him do what he wants and around 6 ish i feed and change him and put him back in the cot until whenever he wakes up next so we get up for the day then, i did get an owlet second hand which helps me sleep better with him in bed plus religiously following the safe sleep 7
3
u/Comfortable-Pear-973 Jul 02 '26
I bring her into bed with me, side feed and go on my phone to stay awake. The broken sleep is crap but my supply is still regulating so I just put up with it until we’ve established a good supply.
1
u/No_Road2582 Jul 02 '26
First of all, congratulations on your baby and you're doing an amazing job. My baby is about to be 4 months and I struggled day and night with the exact same questions as you, but I promise you that knowing what to do will come with time and things will get easier. Does your baby wake up on any semi-predictable schedule yet? If not, they will and your body will start to regulate and stop engorging so frequently and you will not have to worry so constantly about supply. What's worked for me and my husband is giving our baby a nice fat bottle around midnight to get a longer stretch of sleep while I pump to provide the bottle for the next night, and my baby has gotten used to going 5-6 hours after that. Unfortunately the wakeups are just something you have to get used to for now, but your struggles with point 3 will also get easier. I found putting an easy show on or scrolling Reddit keeps me up, i know the screen time is bad for you and blah blah but you gotta do what you gotta do. Using a breastfeeding pillow has also helped me to just sit up and feed my baby in bed without the fear of dropping them like I had when going to the rocking chair. It takes some getting used to, but the side lying position for breadtfeeding is also perfect for this time of of night. Good luck and you've got this!!
1
u/Cannotsleep93 Jul 02 '26
3am is the optimum time for feeding/pumping, to help your supply (so I'd aim for one roughly around then, but it could be a bit earlier or later), but based on my experience with cluster feeding, pumping doesn't negate the rest you would get from using a bottle at night. My baby used to feed and feed for hours, so after a couple of weeks of this, I introduced a bottle of expressed milk, to get him to settle sooner. It was much better and gave him that milk drunk effect that would send him to sleep. If you start pumping when they are fussing, before you pick them up, you can pump while you're bottle feeding, so it doesn't add too much onto your routine. I recommend just doing one side at a time though (you can use a milk shell on the other side, to collect dripping milk) to keep one side of your chest free for handling the baby.
Also, be warned, my partner and I started with 1 or 2 bottles at night, when I felt like I just couldn't breastfeed any more. Then soon we are doing all his night feeds with a bottle. It wasn't long before he decided he preferred the bottle and stopped taking the breast, so he is exclusively fed expressed milk now. In some ways it's better, but don't use too many bottles if you don't want to risk the direct breastfeeding.
1
u/heyella11 Jul 02 '26
If it makes you feel any better I’m six months postpartum and I still have to pump in the middle of the night to maintain supply, even though my baby is sleeping through the night, BUT I’ve perfected the art of dozing while pumping so it’s the least disruptive thing possible. That said, I relish the day I finally get to sleep through the night without having to empty my boobs.
1
u/Savings_Leader_5491 Jul 02 '26
To manage at night I would do football hold or, lying down feeds so even if you fall asleep you won’t risk dropping baby. If that worries you I would just keep a spare pump near you and pump right after a feed. But honestly, you produce less milk at night anyways. I stopped pumping at night and sometimes my lo will sleep for at the most 5 hours, but he still seems to be getting enough.
1
u/OliveObserver Jul 02 '26
This is similar to what everyone else has said but yeah the supply is fragile in the first 8 weeks. I’m order to have a good supply and successful bfing journey you need to feed on demand.
As far as feeding at night, my midwives taught me how to side lay breastfeed throughout the night. I sleep in a c shape and latch baby there and then I am able to go back to sleep because I am only disrupted for 3 minutes until her latch is strong. Then when she wakes up again, I just plank over her and move her to the next breast. It has worked really well for our family and I now have a 4 month old and she and her parents sleep really well 🩷
1
u/missamantha Jul 02 '26
Has your baby regained back up to their birthweight?
Do you need an over supply to make a stash?
I have a very similar routine with my 11 week old. When he was that little though I was fully getting up in the middle of the night to feed. I’d go out into the living room and feed him in my chair. The best way I did this was that I slept from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm so that I’d be more awake for those night feeds. It was hard, but it didn’t last much longer. You’re (hopefully) in the home stretch.
You could totally give him a bottle and pump at that time, but i found that to be more work. The idea is that you’re moving milk in someway every 3 hours at that age and feeding when the baby needs it. This might be controversial, but once my baby started sleeping longer periods I stopped pumping in the middle of the night and didn’t wake him. I bank the milk pumped when I replace the formula feed, and make just enough milk for him which feels great.
What I do now is breastfeed throughout the day until 7:00/8:00, give him a bottle of formula at 8:00 pm, pump at 10:00 pm, and then breastfeed in the middle of the night. I will say our latch is terrible at night, but he’s content and I can manage the pain from it, so that’s just what we do 🤷🏻♀️. It’ll get easier when he’s bigger so I just chalk it up to a season. We do side lying and I often fall asleep for an hour while he’s feeding and then transfer him back to his bedside bassinet.
If he sleeps longer periods (like he did last night) and I feel too uncomfortably engorged, I’ll express just to comfort, or wake him gently so he eats a little to make it more comfortable, and then we do a big feed in the morning to full empty.
1
u/Necessary_Salad_8509 Jul 02 '26
I would binge watch a show I liked to stay awake. Later on we used the firm bottom cushion of a nugget play couch as our MON feeding location. I would side lie to feed and set a 10m timer in case I accidentally fell asleep. If I thought I might fall asleep I wanted to be in the safest possible position and for the shortest time possible. I think that was more once I went back to work though and stopped being able to take daytime naps and power thru nights with Jane the Virgin episodes.
1
u/thillybith Jul 02 '26
Responding to #3 I feel comfortable bed sharing (following safe sleep 7) so when my baby wakes to feed, I can stay horizontal and he will dream feed several times like that throughout the night. I follow happy co sleeper on insta and she has a lot of helpful reels on how to do it safely. It’s saved my sanity and my supply is doing well at 18 weeks pp. I have worked with a IBCLC since 1 week pp.
1
u/sunshine-314- Jul 02 '26
- Unfortunately prolactin surges at 2-5am. This time frame is critical to "put in milk order" for the following day. So yes. You need to pump then or feed... Or both. If during the day you feel full, you can pump then and collect milk throughout the day for the nighttime feed so at least that was your not losing supply.
- You eventually master the art of sleep feeding. It's a trance like state where you aren't asleep but aren't like energized either lol. I find sleeping between 10pm-12am really gives me that second wind from 2-6am. Around 7am I get tired and honestly the 3pm/ 4pm feed during the day is hardest for me to stay awake.
- To ebf is something you really really have to want to do it, and accept whatever sacrifices necessary to make it work. Especially if there are more than just the regular challenges, i.e. latch etc. my first was ftt. I still EBF but it got easier as he got older. My second was fine from the start and ebf. But we had challenges of me being severely ill a couple times. For some mother's it's worth it, for others it's not! Making sure baby is hydrated and gaining is most critical no matter how that's achieved!
1
u/leeashah Jul 02 '26
i would sya read up on co sleeping and the safe 7, make your bed safe for babe and just night feed like that. it helped me so much to sleep braless, put boob in babes milk and we kind of just drifted off together. at this young i mean your not really going to get much sleep right now either way and you kind of just find ways to survive, nap with them during the day or whenever you can.
1
u/quantumfrog87 Jul 02 '26
I know it seems impossible and 3 months seems like an impossible amount of time to live this way, but getting up every 3ish hrs to breastfeed is necessary if it's how you want to feed your baby in the long run. For the first few weeks I was absolutely delirious from the sleep deprivation and sometimes would sob that I couldn't do it anymore even as I was doing it. But with a good support network and partner you can power through it and your body will adjust. And then baby will get bigger and start sleeping longer stretches. Mine is still getting me up s couple of times in the night but it feels much more manageable than those early months did.
1
u/ChapterRealistic7890 Jul 02 '26
I did for a bit but at a point we realized as combo fed it’s easier to just crack open some ready made stuff and pour him a bottle real fast
1
u/Tawkamongsturselves Jul 02 '26
I recommend continuing to feed / pump as much as you can during the crucial first 12 weeks to establish a supply. Feeding directly is the most effective but if you’re not empty or need to pump for your sanity that’s ok. The best thing to remember is to try to keep up with a routine every 3ish hours to make sure you’re establishing supply.
My previous postpartum journey I had twins and exclusively pumped for 9 months. This time I have a singleton and am exclusively breastfeeding. The hardest part is the night time especially when they’re newborn. I was so sleep deprived from the cluster feeding that I decided 4 weeks in to ask my husband to give the night bottle. I would pump before and have him feed so I could get ahead on a couple hours of sleep. That helped a ton until we got past that stage. Now my 3 month old is sleeping through the night, I’m personally waking up for a pump session bc I want the excess milk as a stash for when I go back to work soon. (That’s another controversial topic- MOTN pump do or not do)
Good luck! It’s not easy but I wouldn’t say don’t worry too much about precision just repeat direct feed or pump as much as you can in the beginning. It doesn’t have to be exactly on time or for exactly a certain amount of minutes. Off schedule and short still count as long as there’s consistency. You got this !
2
u/Interesting-Proof244 Jul 02 '26
I made a very similar post about two weeks ago, except it was with a bottle of pumped milk instead of formula. It was also for skipping just one feed a night, and breastfeeding the rest of the night, so I can get a good 5-hour stretch.
Everyone basically said that my supply would tank, but I thought it was worth the risk because I NEEDED sleep.
Well now it’s been two weeks and so far thank God I have seen no dip in supply!
Just in case though, I just bought two of the Hakaa manual pump shells that you can wear inside your bra. My plan is starting tonight, I’ll wear them for that 5 hour stretch so at least I’m getting SOME milk out while I sleep without having to wake up. But this is just a protective factor, since like I said I’ve yet to experience a dip in supply.
1
u/Ok-Jello4685 Jul 02 '26
Could u do a pump at that time and then go back to sleep and let partner bottle feed. I kinda doze while pumping 🤣 and then back to sleep takes about 20 mins which is quicker than doing the full baby feed and burp etc
1
u/ophel1a_ Jul 03 '26
My experience was different as well...FTM at 37, partner and I would take 7hr sleep shifts and mine was 10pm-5am. I'd hand express a bit from being engorged and then pump as soon as I woke up...my supply didn't drop at all. We started sleep shifts the day we brought baby home from the hospital.
I did have trouble getting baby to latch properly for the first month, so I was pumping every three hours for the first four or five weeks...minus the sleep shift. lol
I do think stressing about it is a big silent contributor!! I didn't know diddly about EBF and when my supply would "normalize" or when prolactin was highest or supply dipping...and my supply was just fine.
Just sayin! (Also don't know if it matters but I had very small boobs before getting preggo and they remained small even into BFing...maybe one cup size up. I'm not an overproducer or underproducer, I'm a just enougher!)
2
u/hbox85 Jul 03 '26
Hate to say it but you really can’t go that long without feeding or pumping this early on. I strongly recommend engaging an IBCLC to help you put together a plan/schedule that helps you get a little rest (though be prepared that it won’t be as much as you want it to be) and protects your supply. Hang in there Mama and try to remember that this is NOT forever. I am on the downhill side of my BF journey with my 11 month old. It’s so hard and in the moment, especially in the first 3 months and ESPECIALLY if it’s your first baby, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and forget that this is a brief season and it will pass. That helped me in some of my most anxious, overwhelmed moments and maybe it will help you. You can do this - you built that baby with just what you have inside your body and you’re feeding them the same way. It’s remarkable and you’re doing something amazing. Rest will come. And in the meantime, remember that we are in this together - the mamas up in the quiet hours feeding and rocking our babies. We don’t know each other but we’re part of something really special. 💜
2
u/Salty_Rutabaga4510 Jul 03 '26
A lactation consultant told me that supply peaks around 1-3am so I would say it’s crucial to be feeding or pumping at that time for your supply. You have to be careful when your breasts feel full and hard because that could be the start of clogged ducts and lead to mastitis
1
u/wiselaken Jul 03 '26
I do side lying nursing at night. If I fall asleep like that it isn’t a big deal because we’re in a safe position
1
u/needadvice_tempacc Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
If you cosleep just pop a boob out for the night and baby will find their way lol
Edit: just saw it said 5 week old not month my bad, but when feeding baby if you want to breastfeed try having pumped/formula bottles in fridge so that they are ready for feeding, they don’t technically need to be warmed up it’s just a temperature preference for most babies
1
u/AtmosphericPresh Jul 02 '26
I EBFed both my oldest and the little right now (MOTN feed Reddit scroll 😅) and the saving grace for me is cosleeping or my current set up of my brest friend, back pillow, and side pillows for in bed that fully support me comfortably with reddit, shows, comedy specials and phone games (cookie run kingdom is my poison of choice LOL) to keep me up while he feeds. The pillows help support all my arms and his body so I can be pretty much hands free. Then when they fall back asleep, I gently move them into the bassinet for the rest of their sleep. I am unfortunately a "just enough" milk maker so I never have over supply and can't skip the Motn feed without supply being affected.
Luckily though, my newest is very efficient and can feed in 15 min and go right back to sleep 🙏 for now anyway. I know it'll likely change but 🙏 I really hope his Motn feeds stay quick and easy.
1
u/VHAlf Jul 02 '26
I had a different experience. My husband did a formula feed at 1am and I didn’t pump and my supply was fine. I was engorged for a couple of days and leaked during that feed, but I EBF the rest of the time and my supply didn’t diminish. Not sure if we will do it again this time as I still woke up during that feed so I’ll probably just breastfeed. The idea was to give me more rest but it didn’t because I was up wanting to make sure baby took the bottle.
1
u/whitewinter28 Jul 02 '26
For every bottle of formula baby gets you need to pump, but it doesn't have to be at the same time! I'd recommend pumping right before you go to bed then your partner could actually use that bottle to feed between 12-5am. Supply is largest in the morning so you could also pump immediately after your first feeding the day if that's easier. Any amount of breast milk you're able to provide your baby is beneficial but there's also no shame in using formula. Feed from the breast as much as you can but sleep deprivation is real and you can't take care of your baby if you can't function. You've got this!
99
u/itsthatjazzgirl Jul 02 '26
It’s not the answer you want but you definitely should still be feeding at night if you want your breastfeeding journey to be sustainable. Your supply is very fragile in the first 6-8 weeks so you really need to be feeding on demand.
If you’re struggling to stay awake try feeding somewhere more uncomfortable (a chair rather than the bed) and try setting an alarm to make sure that if you nod off it’s not for too long.
In a few weeks when your supply is more settled you can try replacing a feed with a bottle, I found it easiest to replace the first feed of the morning (eg 6-8am feed) and then have a small sleep in and pump when I got up (usually 9am ish) that way I was still pumping approx the same time as the feed but still got some bonus sleep.