Pumping 6-8 times per day - But not at night?

[marigold91]

Hello,

My daughter was born at 36 weeks and had to spend 10 days in the NICU for underdeveloped lungs. We are home now, but they told us that she should only feed at the breast about 3 times a day for now (until she gains the strength to be able to breastfeed every feeding).

I'm pumping like a madwoman so that she is still getting breast milk and haven't had to supplement with formula yet, but for the last two nights I've skipped pumping at night (well, I'm going about 5-6 hours without pumping. I pump around midnight/1am, then again at 6/7am).

I know I really should try to squeeze in a pump during the night, but I am just so exhausted. On top of waking up to feed her from the bottle, I then have to spend another 30-45 minutes awake and pumping. By the time I do all that, it's like she's up and ready to feed again.

Does anyone have any experiences cutting out the overnight pumping this early (DD is 2 weeks old now)? I would still be getting 6-8 pumping sessions a day, just not at night. Or should I really just suck it up, be a zombie, and pump at night? Thoughts?

 

[noon_child]

Night feeds are really important for setting prolactin (hormone that controls milk making) levels for the next day.

Do you have a partner/your mum who could do the night feed (say the 3am one - or whatever time she usually gets fed) while you pump instead? That way you aren't awake as long.

Or maybe put her to the breast for night feeds and save the pumped milk for daytime feeds?

My LO wasn't gaining well and didn't latch for every feed, so I had to either pump or get her to latch every 2hrs round the clock till she started gaining properly so I feel your pain - when can you sleep with a 2hr gap between when you have to fit pumping in! It won't last forever though, the more she takes the quicker she'll get stronger and be able to go to breast more often.

 

[BlingyGal]

I've been in your situation (not underdeveloped lungs but a Nicu stay where I had to pump overnight for weeks) and it was so exhausting. I ended up pumping just once in the night just so I could function a bit better. But I had a huge milk supply and I was able to freeze milk so that she always had a bottle of BM if she needed it. For me, I needed the sleep to help me heal mentally and physically. And I've also noticed when I'm really tired, I don't produce as much milk. So, sleep can help keep your milk supply going in some ways but it kind of depends on what your starting point is. Do you have a lot of milk?

 

[Teri7489]

Hey, I know its really hard work but night pumping is so important. Like someone suggested, can someone else do the night feed to let you pump at the same time then settle down? I found it exhausting but I have used the pump for 5 months now and breastfeed too now (my son really struggled to latch on until he was 5 weeks) I stopped using the pump during the night at about 3 months but find that my supply does go down gradually. A few nights of using it boosts it and then let's me sleep other nights xxx

 

[noon_child]

Or maybe put her to the breast for night feeds and save the pumped milk for daytime feeds?

How is it going now?

I forgot to ask when I posted the above, whether she'd feed well enough at night for this to work. Once you crack night feeding it is SOOOOOOO much nicer than night pumping and night bottle feeding.

 

[marigold91]

Thank you guys for the advice. I'm trying my best to drag my ass out of bed to pump at least once in the middle of the night... even if it's just for 15 minutes.

She is feeding pretty well, but I am meeting with a lactation consultant tomorrow to try to get it all down even smoother. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks again!!