Eamon has been sleeping as much as eleven or twelve hours a night, which I know is incredible, and believe me, I'm loving it. But it would be nice if I didn't have to get up several times (well, two) a night to pump. I wonder how long this will last. I was talking to a mama who's a few years out from breastfeeding, and she never had to pump at night. She seemed to think it's strange that I do, and she says that my body should adjust after a few nights if I stop pumping. But I feel like I can't. I get so engorged! I can't sleep when that happens. The most I've gone is six hours, I think, but it's usually more like four. Typically I'll feed Eamon around 7:00 for the last time, go to bed myself between 10:00 and 11:00, and then get up and pump around 12:30 and again around 4:30. Or sometimes I'll pump before bed (which I really should do every night) and then around 4:00. Honestly, it's not *so* bad, and I really shouldn't complain at all with a six month old sleeping twelve hours at a time. It just keeps me from taking full advantage of all that sleep time. Last night the engorgement was extreme for some reason. I woke up at 7 a.m. today and immediately pumped yet again (I usually do an ounce from each side) even though I knew E would wake up shortly.
On a somewhat related note, I think I've discovered that I need to nurse E five times during the day (between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.). When we only get four nursings in, I start feeling inexplicably anxious, and he seems more likely to wake up at night (I assume because he's hungry). Five just feels like the right number for where we are right now. It's hard to believe, after so many months of 8+ feedings a day.
BO-RING. But that's all I got today.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Pump a little less milk each night, and your body should slowly adapt.
Thanks, I'll try it!
I had the same problem when my little girl started sleeping 8+ hours per night. She's gone back to sleeping 4 - 5 hours at a stretch so it's not currently an issue anymore.
I also had a friend who never experienced this and I can only guess that it's different for each person. I did wonder if the fact that I have much smaller breasts than her had anything to do with it. I'm not sure though.
Post a Comment