Middle of the night pumping pals

[TinyLynne]

Since DS sleeps through the night now, I pump between 1-2 am. It gets lonely... I find myself bored. So I guess here I will make a post to distract myself from this late night nipple ripping! Feel free to join in with your late night thoughts or just follow along!

 

[TinyLynne]

I'm Tiny. My baby boy was born Thanksgiving of 2016.

I was really lucky that by the 4th time he ate, he latched on without any help from the lactation consultants.

Other than excruciating pain from raw nipples and cluster feeding, things went really well until DS decided to start sleeping 6 hour stretches at night. At first, that 6 hours was amazing!!! Until I could tell a difference in supply as he just wasn't seeming satisfied anymore. Weigh ins and LC appointments confirmed that he wasn't getting enough per feed anymore. So I had to start getting up during that window and pumping. Unfortunately, supply drops quickly and takes a while to build back up, so between 10-12 weeks I had to supplement with a small amount of formula. With hands on pumping I am now able to mak what DS needs, and usually a little bit more (unless he is mega hungry). I am really happy this lonely night waking has paid off, because sleep sounds glorious too!

 

[TinyLynne]

I read an article a week ago written by a woman who exclusively pumps. She was giving tips and one of them was "Don't get up in the night to pump" and said it's okay to sleep through the night if your baby does. "You wouldn't nurse, so why would you pump?" Was her justification. I'm really glad that works out for her, but when I started going just 6 hours because DS was sleeping that long at night, my supply plummeted. I just thought that was really bad advice for someone who is looking for tips. Is anyone else able to keep up and sleep through the night? It sounds like a dream come true. But not reality for this momma.

 

[TinyLynne]

Sometimes I have no problem getting up and pumping. I'm so happy to actually be making enough for DS that I think "this isn't bad at all!" And I feel like I can go more than a year, I can go 2 years or maybe even more!

But then there are nights like tonight, which have been getting way more frequent, where I just keep thinking "How can I keep doing this?" I'm so tired. This is so hard!

I wish I was like that girl that didn't have to wake up to pump. How glorious would that be?

 

[noon_child]

I used to pump at night because at first my LO couldn't extract milk from me very well, so after she fed I'd pump. Oddly although it was exhausting I found it quite nice to be on my own for once, not tied to my baby, able to watch some TV without worrying it would harm LO!

Re the advice from other people - each woman is slightly different and has to do what her baby and body need. I would say that now baby is older and your supply has regulated it might be possible for you to stop, or cut down on the night pumps, but it depends whether you want to risk trying or if you are happy with the status quo.

It's quite possible that over the next few months/years your LO will go through developmental leaps that will mess with his current sleep pattern. I would hate you to look back and think "Why didn't I sleep when I had the chance?". However maybe it means if he does start waking you'll be used to being up and the milk will be there ready! It's all about weighing up what is most important to you and bf might trump sleep for you.

 

[TinyLynne]

Thanks noon-child!

I'm too scared to lose this supply after working so hard, but I have been contemplating trying to cut back on he might pump at 6 months depending on how much he needs then.

Or waiting until after summer if we decide we want to 'try' again then and my cycle hasn't returned.

It just gets lonely. I don't want to turn the TV on because I don't want to wake DH up. Or get caught up in something when I need to go to sleep so I'm not a zombie at work!

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[kajastarlight]

I pump in the middle of the night every other night. I think it is working well but should probably do every night. Sometimes I just want to sleep!

 

[TinyLynne]

Completely understand kaja! Do you get a lot of clogs when you sleep though the night?

 

[TinyLynne]

OMG! Last night I had a 5 hour stretch at one point. Worst clog I've ever had!! And I've had some stubborn ones!! I was up late because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep with that giant thing. I couldn't move my arm without it hurting! Finally.... it went. 2oz backed up just in the clog. There has never been that much in one of my clogs. Soooo glad it is out! But now makes me really nervous to even junk about dropping this lovely night pump!

 

[noon_child]

There has never been that much in one of my clogs. Soooo glad it is out! But now makes me really nervous to even junk about dropping this lovely night pump!

Maybe you could just reduce the amount of time you pump for slowly over a few weeks? Like maybe If you pump for 30minutes now, you could aim to be only doing 15minutes after two weeks...something like that?

 

[TinyLynne]

I think when I'm ready to drop it, I will have to do it that way. I get clogs too easily.

 

[TinyLynne]

Tired. Sleeping through the night sounds amazing right about now.

 

[lenorajoy]

Just now joining the night pumping club! I had some supply issues from the start once my milk came in because DD wasn't emptying me out very well and I got SERIOUSLY backed up! I was probably a few days away from mastitis when a family friend helped me get DD more comfortable while nursing so she latched better and ate more efficiently. After many weeks of supply issues and supplementing to get her weight back up where it needed to be and many other things coming up and going back to work, I started staying up to pump after night feeds two nights ago. The first night went great! DD slept well and I was able to pump and sleep in between! Different story last night... DD had some gas issues, so she wasn't sleeping well. I did get to pump after the first feeding, she slept for maybe 15 mins and was up again, but I was able to pump on the side she wasn't eating on while I waited for her to be asleep enough to put her back in the bassinet. 3 hours later she was up again and fussy and gassy, so I ended up holding her in the chair the rest of the night. I would nod off here and there only to wake to her squirming and I didn't get to pump the rest of the night. My left boob was in bad shape this morning! I'm working on pumping session #2 since getting to work and some little clogs that are being really stubborn.

 

[lenorajoy]

I also recently bought a manual pump and discovered I respond so much better to it than my electric! I just pumped for 25-30 mins with the electric and then got out the manual pump and got almost anther ounce!

 

[TinyLynne]

Yes! I find the manual pump works well when I have a clog for sure because I can control it better. Man those clogs really suck!! My supply really improved with night pumping though, it took a while, but it has improved drastically!

 

[lenorajoy]

I'm hoping it won't take too long before I see an increase. I seem to get much better letdowns now that I'm taking fennel and drinking RRL tea. Now if I could just get a larger quantity when I get those letdowns!

I was wondering what others feel when they feel their letdowns since I haven't felt very many and read the funniest thing! One person compared it to that pressure and discomfort you feel when you really have to pee. She said it's like your boobs really have to pee! I laughed out loud! That's about the best, most accurate way I've heard it described, at least for me. Like I don't care what, my boobs just need to feed something!

 

[TinyLynne]

I didn't start feeling it until about 4 months in or so. I'm not sure how I would describe it... that may be an accurate way though!

I took all kinds of stuff and it never helped me. My supply started increasing when I started using a "hands on" technique. Basically I treat my boobs like they are the last tube of tooth paste! Lol and if I gets to 20 minutes and it's been 5mins or so since I've had a let down, I wait for one more. I usually end up pumping more like 25 minutes. And I play with the pump settings to find what works the best. I've never turned it higher than half way.

This has helped me by far more than anything.

 

[TinyLynne]

If I only started pumping when my alarm went off instead of hitting snooze, I'd be done and back to sleep by now. I get so much less sleep this way. I'll learn I guess!

 

[lenorajoy]

Fenugreek definitely boosted my supply, but gave DD horrible gas, so I had to quit! Then came reflux and weight gain issues and me going back to work... I've increased my supply a little bit since going back to work, but not enough yet. How much do you get in your night pumping session and how long does it take?

 

[TinyLynne]

Fenugreek made DS horrible gassy too. I stopped.

When I first started my night pump after my supply dropped, I only got around 2oz or so. Now I get 7-8oz! And my other pumps during the day have increased too. I pump 20-25 minutes. I just make sure to end after a let down. If I watch and I know it has been a while, I wait for one more.