Night fullness and how to deal with it
Baby sleeping longer stretches… what about the boobies?
This -often welcome- transition often happens around 4-6 months. (Sadly not for everyone, in which case, please just feel free to scroll past and know your baby IS normal. They come with all different sleep temperaments. This phase will probably come a little later for you.)
You’re ‘supposed to’ get more rest, but you can’t as your fullness wakes you up!
- Fullness=message to the brain to reduce production. This can take a few days, before your breasts can down-regulate your production, thanks to the perfect supply-demand hormonal balance in your system. Your new supply will match your baby’s new demand perfectly!
- If you notice ‘lumpiness’, more discomfort then just fullness, red areas and swelling, please consider gently expressing at least once during the longest stretch of no feeding, to avoid engorgement and mastitis.
- Gentle hand expressing/pumping session to replace the ‘missed feed’ can also help maintain your milk production for those days and nights when your little one will, inevitably, up their intake again.
- Some mothers and parents find it helpful to do a ‘dream feed’ before going to bed themselves. This means offering the breast to the baby in their sleep to maximise the parent’s sleep by keeping the baby full for longer.
- Hopefully once your body adjusts, you can both enjoy some longer stretches of sleep for a while.
Would any of these strategies work for you do you think?
Please share with someone who might find it helpful.