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Tips to decrease nighttime nursing?
Breastfeeding is going well. My 5 wk. old daughter is 11 lb. 4 oz.
We've managed to stave off some problems before they started (e.g. thrush and sore nipples). Now that I'm feeling confident with that, I'm ready to start thinking about getting more sleep. However, I of course don't want to compromise my daughter's health or our chances for extended breastfeeding down the road. I go back to school full time in September and will need more sleep at that point. I'm preparing for the transition now. The current pattern is as follows. DD eats most efficiently at night. We "put" her "down" (i.e. swaddle and rock her) at 7 p.m. She's usually in a deep sleep by 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. She rouses lightly (not fully awake) around 9 or 10 p.m., during the 11-12 o'clock hour, during the 3-4 o'clock hour, the 5-6 o'clock hour, and then again around 8 a.m. At this point she's pretty wet so I change her (we use cloth diapers but that's another story) and she awakens. I feed her at each of these intervals. The feedings are quick (15-20 minutes) and very efficient - excellent latch, excellent pump, no slurping, no smacking, just soft happy moans. She actually never really wakes up - just makes enough "hungry" noises to awaken me at which point I pick her up and put her to the breast. Daytime is a different story ... she nurses about every 2 hours but is not nearly as efficient (unless she's tired). She often pops of the breast, looks around, etc. And often, during the day, she just wants to suck (no milk) so drinks a little then protests until she can suck on my finger. So, how do I begin to change this pattern? I LOVE that she sleeps but would love it even more if I could share it. My first inclination is to revamp the daytime nursing environment. Usually we nurse in the living room where people are coming in and out (DH is a student who works at home), the radio is on, and/or I'm chatting with my mother-in-law or on the phone, etc. DH has really started noticing her environment in the last week and I notice that she pops of the breast to "look around". I'm thinking of setting up my nursing station in the bedroom and investing in some sort of blanket or nursing shawl. In addition, I've also thought about introducing the swing (i.e. the Karp method) BUT I'd much prefer if DH led the way on this one ... Any suggestions? Bottom line concern: now that she's gone through her first "growth spurt", DD seems to be weaning her (or me?) off of daytime feedings - they are more social events (relative to nighttime). In light of this, is switching her clock around impossible now? As I said, ironically, she sleeps through the night - because I feed her before she fully awakens. Finally, in part because we've had a grandma here for the past 6 weeks, DH is worn, held, or rocked nearly all day (basically the only time she's out of someone's arms is when she wants to be on the floor or sit in her bouncing chair so that she can get an unobstructed view of the room). We bed share at night and she sleeps in a special co- sleeping sleep positioner. I'm thrilled that my daughter doesn't know a world where she's not held all the time and clearly at night she doesn't feel the need to "comfort nurse", which is great (she makes up for during the day). BUT DH and I are going to get busier in September and she'll be doing more sitting and sleeping alone during the day. (We aren't doing daycare - but rather will be taking turns working at home.) I want to get this nighttime sleeping vs. daytime eating routine established so, in the event that she doesn't feel like she's getting adequate parent time during the day come September, nighttime won't because eating PLUS social time. I hope that makes sense ... Your suggestions are appreciated. |
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