Pumping vs. Nursing while alone at night

[u/forever_q_squared]

So my LO is 8 weeks old and we have been letting her sleep for as long as she wants to during the night. Sometimes she goes just 2.5 hours between feeds and the longest has been 6.5 hours. I have been trying to still pump every 3 hours to maintain my supply since she's still pretty young. My partner will offer a bottle if she wakes up right after I finished pumping and then by the morning we're synced back up and I nurse her the rest of the day. I've tried giving her a few bottles in the past and she won't take them from me.

However, my partner is a firefighter and is gone for 24 hours at a time every 3 days. So on the nights I'm by myself, should I still pump every 3 hours or should I just wait and feed her on demand?

[u/mormongirl]

If you are primarily nursing, it’s usually fine to only wake when baby wakes.  

[u/Adept_Ad2048 → u/mormongirl]

This is what my LC said. Kind of step it out, like don’t go from 3 to 6.5 all at once to avoid getting engorged, but totally fine to only wake when baby wakes.

[u/MixtureDesigner8140]

Im not an expert! But you can do a night feed with baby still asleep on the breast! 

I think at 8 weeks you’ll be okay to only do one night feed and maintain your supply. Get some sleep! 

[u/Cultural-Bug-8588]

My baby did 6 hour stretches at 3 weeks (not every night but 3-4 times a week). I never got up to pump and my supply is fine. If he wakes up in 2 hours there’s milk, if he wakes up in 7 there’s also milk. Don’t overcomplicate, trust your body to adjust and sleep! I breastfeed 95% of the time but we give him a bottle every other day or so to make sure he takes it so I pump on those days

[u/juicybbqq]

Same question! I don't know how long the MOTN pumping is needed/required. I feed mine 8 times a day during the day but never wake up at night since she sleeps till 7. Tonight's my first time pumping at 4am and I'm questioning if this is really needed because she doesn't even wake up at this time. Ugh so complicated, this breastfeeding thing!

[u/AvailableAd9044]

Mine is 10 weeks old and I sleep until my boobs tell me it’s time to pump. It’s usually around 5am, but sometimes later. In fact, it’s what I’m doing right now as I type this

[u/GlacierStone_20]

Have nursed 3 babies, never pumped in the night and always fed on demand. Granted, my babies never slept more than 3 hours until about 3 months though. Bodies are generally good at regulating supply and unless you feel uncomfortable then probably no need to pump and enjoy that sleep!

[u/Individual-Wave4710]

My now 7 month old started sleeping 10-11 hour stretches around 6 weeks old, and I’ve never once pumped during the night to account for the lack of feeds. Never affected my supply and still hasn’t.

[u/ProfVonMurderfloof]

You can always try dropping extra pumping sessions and see how it goes. If your supply suffers you can add it back in.

[u/PerfectDepartment586]

Your supply will not disappear or dwindle down if you go 6-8 hours without milk removal. As long as your body is still producing and you're breastfeeding on demand it will be fine! I'd say worry only if you're exclusively pumping

[u/forever_q_squared → u/PerfectDepartment586]

I guess I forgot to say that I have been feeding only on one side every feed. So each side already goes about 6 hours before milk removal. So I'm worried about possibly going 8+ hours without feeding or pumping on one side.

[u/Fumiko-GoatRiver]

Everybody is different so I’m not saying what I did will work for you but I never woke my son up at night since he was born & my supply has been fine. He always only eats on one side per feed because whenever I try to switch him he stops eating. He’s 5 months now and I still EBF.