Sleeping through the night (no nursing)

[ArizonaGirl]

So I have been reading many posts and threads on here and talking to ppl IRL and everyone seems to say that their children don't nightween until much older, but my DD is about 3 months old and frequently sleeps from 9 or 10 at night to 2 to 4 in the morning.

Honestly, I am not trying to gloat, but am just concerned (mostly about my milk supply especially since AF just returned, see other post). I don't mind getting up with her to nurse, usually she just comes into our bed and then goes right back down so it is no big deal getting up with her.

It just seems so different than everyone else I hear so I was just a little surprised.

FWIW, DS was a very different baby (preemie, reflux, colicky, probably a MPI) and I was instructed to wake him every 3 hours to feed him to encourage weight gain. The ped said there was no need to wake her because she is doing fine in the weight department.

So I feel like a Newbie all over again.

[Liziz]

Every baby is different. Don't worry that yours is sleeping so well! My DD sounds like yours. At 3 months, she was also only waking up once a night (most of the time), and by ~5-6 months, she pretty much stopped waking up regularly to nurse at night. At 9 months, she still occasionally wakes up, but I think that all kids wake up at night occasionally. Most of the time she sleeps from 7p-5a or 6a. (Now, if only the fact that she's a good sleeper in that way would translate to going down for the night easily and taking good naps, I'd be all set!)

ETA: and in regard to your concern about milk supply -- I'm still BF at 9 months with no supply issues. I WOH and pump, too. Though I will say, if your LO is sleeping that well and you're concerned about supply, I found ~10p (right before I went to bed) to be a great time to fit in an extra pumping session -- it helped build my stash, helped me stay more comfortable at night, and I felt like it helped keep my supply where I needed it. I didn't do it every night, but a few nights a week, as convenient. That being said...if your LO is sleeping through the night, then you don't need as big a supply at night -- your body will adjust to what your LO needs.

[ArizonaGirl]

Do you feel like your supply has suffered for it?

I guess that is really my main concern especially since it seems that AF had reared her ugly head...

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ds slept through the night (12 hrs) at 3 months. i was EBFing him. i don't think my supply was affected at all. i got my period back at 6 weeks where at that point he was only sleeping 3-4 hrs at night. i breastfed ds (no formula) until he was about 10 mos and i started supplementing with toddler formula bc i was pregnant with DD.

dd STTN at 4mos (3 mos adjusted age). didn't affect supply at all. i ebf'ed her. it was easier later bc i wasn't pregnant again.

[pinay]

DD2 is 3 months old and is going down for the night around 9 and typically doesn't wake till 4 or so. I haven't noticed any problems with my supply so far, but my period hasn't returned yet (came back around 9 months with DD1). I try to pump before I go to bed, partially bc I'm returning to work after the holidays, and that seems to be helping my supply stay stable.

[BDKmom]

My DS slept 12 hours at three months. I do think that my supply suffered, so with DD, I got up once at night and pumped if she didn't wake up. Usually on the earlier side, say 1 or 2, so that if she did wake up at 3 or 4, I wouldn't have just pumped. Seemed to help.

[LizLemon]

My daughter slept for 10-12 hours straight, no nursing breaks, starting at 7 weeks old. No supply issues and period returned at about 6-8 months. I was pumping for work, so I would generally pump 1-2x after she went to bed.

[essnce629]

DS2 was sleeping from 9pm till 4am at 3 months old, but sadly, once he hit 4 months old the interval started getting shorter and shorter and he's been a horrible sleeper ever since! At 10 months old he was waking every 1-2 hours and it didn't get at all better till he was 12 months. He's now 3 1/2 years old and still wakes up 1-2 times a night AND has night terrors!!!

[abh5e8]

i think too, it depends on how you define "nightwean" or "STTN." for me, i mean when they go to bed on their own, say by 7 or 8 and sleep until at least 6am with out nursing. but from a medical perspective, i think STTN = 5 hours.

some of my dc did have times at a young age, where they would sleep 6-7 hours straight most nights, but it seems they went back to nursing more, especially with teething or if they were sick.

[roseyloxs]

Sounds just like DS. By 3 months he was sleeping from 7pm to 2am. Would wake for a feeding then go right back to sleep until 7am. By 6 months he dropped that feeding and was sleeping 7 until 7 with absolutely no training of any kind. We coslept the first 3 months and then he moved to his crib until the 2am feeding.

DD on the other hand was like all the stories you read here. Didn't fully nightwean until she was over a year and didn't sleep through the night regularly until almost 18 months. As the PPs said every child is different.

[Melaine]

DS2 was sleeping from 9pm till 4am at 3 months old, but sadly, once he hit 4 months old the interval started getting shorter and shorter and he's been a horrible sleeper ever since! At 10 months old he was waking every 1-2 hours and it didn't get at all better till he was 12 months. He's now 3 1/2 years old and still wakes up 1-2 times a night AND has night terrors!!!

DS is on this path....things were great at 3 months but such a mess now at 7.

[MSWR0319]

Put us in the camp of sleeping from 9-4 ish at 3 months and when the 4 month wakeful hit, it went downhill. He's 7 months now and last night was the first time I only had to get up once with him. He got up at 10 and 2 to eat. That's the longest he's gone in awhile. I've been pumping the last 24 hrs because he's on a nursing strike now and for some reason I think he's getting fuller from the bottle.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds1 slept 11 hour stretches from 2-6 months...then not again till 18m. I thought I was a parenting genius. :). I wasn't...I was just lucky! Nursing was fine. He nursed a lot the rest of the day.

[Liziz]

Do you feel like your supply has suffered for it?

I guess that is really my main concern especially since it seems that AF had reared her ugly head...

Yes, it did drop....but that was right when I went back to work too and I think that was the big kicker. But, with a couple evening pumps a week like I mentioned above, it didn't drop too much.

[roseyloxs]

Do you feel like your supply has suffered for it?

I guess that is really my main concern especially since it seems that AF had reared her ugly head...

Didn't notice your second question. I didn't get AF back when DS night weaned so I can't speak to that. I did not lose any supply though do to night weaning. Like Liziz though I did do a pump session before I went to bed so usually about 3 hours after DS went to bed. I was/am a SAHM so it was just extra milk for my stash and it made sleeping more comfortable for me.

[Simon]

I don't want to be a downer, but I would worry about supply too. I know I take a serious hit when AF returns for the 2 weeks in the middle/end of my cycle. Pumping output decreases by 30-50%. I now have to pump 2x/day to try and equal the same as 1 pumping session before.

I also think that Ds3 is now waking more at night because my supply is lower so he doesn't get filled up at bedtime. He used to wake 1-2 times per night and now he wakes as much as every 2 hours and is seriously drinking, not just comfort nursing. Plus, the one time I had a huge and unexpected supply boost from a glass of ale I drank, he STTN (because he wasn't hungry!). I have had no luck with oatmeal or tea, and I've been avoiding beer, but I think I'm going to have to use it because I'm getting very tired and my freezer stash is dwindling.

In hindsight, I wish I had pumped more when my overall supply was higher (including a session while he slept). I feel like its much harder trying to boost my supply now that he is older; even though he is nursing more often he is too distracted to nurse long enough to help boost my supply, or that's my theory anyway.

[BabbyO]

Stachio went from 10 pm to 4 am pretty regularly from about 3 mo on. He would have nights when he'd wake up...but 90% of the time he didn't. I was always super full in the AM so I would nurse him on one side and pump the other side simultaneously. This kept my supply up. I'd often pump 5-8 oz in that pump session.

I DID noticed a marked drop in my supply when AF arrived. Thereafter everytime AF visited I would have lower supply for the days she was in town...then be fine (supply-wise) afterward. I did my best to keep up with nursing and pumping...just realized I'd get less during pump sessions. Both of my boys would occasionally get cranky (un-latch, bite, etc) when nursing while I had AF. I think it affected both supply and maybe flavor???