Bottle at Midnight

I breastfed a 32 week preterm baby girl till nine months old when she stopped taking it from me. I had my husband do the same thing and was told it was a good idea becuz it fosters bonding between dad and baby that can sometimes be lost when breastfeeding. I hope it works for you.

My second baby slept thru the night when he was only 2 weeks old and thereafter. Wasn't I blessed!! I breastfed him and had plenty of milk. AF

I was working part-time when my son was born and my mom looked after him for me so I HAD to pump for them to feed him and I had no problems. I breast fed when I was home with him and he had a bottle with my mom.

Go for it... if you plan on being consistant with that schedule I can't see it being an issue. Hopefully soon your baby will go 4-5 hours anyway between at least one feeding in the night. Sometimes those consultants are a bit drastic...

Congratulations on being a new mom! My first child is now 5 months old. You are not the only one who would like to get some sleep! My husband and I decided to to give our son a bottle of breast milk at his midnight feeding so that I could get some sleep. We started this when our son was two weeks old. It worked out great. It will affect your milk supply in that your body will adjust to not having to produce milk for that midnight feeding. But it should not affect your overall supply and ability to nurse for the other feedings. If you are currently nursing at the midnight feeding then you might wake up the first few nights engorged and will have to pump to relieve the pressure. But you should just pump enough to relieve the pressure, not empty. This way your body will adjust to not having to produce milk at midnight and you will be able to sleep. This is what I did and it worked. I produced milk for all the other feedings and I pumped in the morning to have milk for the midnight bottle feeding. My son did not have any trouble nursing and bottle feeding. I am a firm believer in daddy helping with the feedings. Do not feel guilty about needing sleep! You need to take care of yourself and be happy and healthy to be a good mother. Good luck!

I think the doctor advised against this at this time because your body is still adjusting to your babies demands. It would be good to begin pumping earlier in the day to help your body establish the routine of producing the extra milk. In a couple of weeks you should be able to transition to your husband giving the 3am feeding. I was able to do this with both of my children and my husband enjoyed the benefit of the alone time with the baby and being able to fulfill their needs without my help.

I myself have done the same thing i pumped so that my husband and baby could bond also, he wanted to feed him. My doctor said it was fine and a great idea so that he dosnt get use to just me. If there was ever a case where i had to leave he would not reject the bottle nipple. If i where you i would get a seconed opinion. But i think your husband wanting to help is great and gives you the needed sleep you will need for the day.

It takes a few months to completely lay down the prolactin receptors in your breasts and mature your milk-making system. So, if you supplement, you definitely want to do so with breastmilk so you continue to make that much milk. Some women (me for example) don't have an overabundance of milk, and had I chosen to do what you propose, I would probably have had problems. If you are one of those lucky ones who can nurse and still have milk left over to pump, perhaps it won't be an issue for you. Only you can decide if it's worth the risk. You would be safer to wait until your baby is 3 months old to try to introduce this change, though you should introduce the bottle between 4-6 weeks and then offer it regularly so baby won't object to it.

Catherine your husband is doing just fine by that. Most doctors are going to say this or that. But if that baby needs milk give it to her. Your milk supply will not diminish as long as your drinking alot of liquids and breastfeeding as much as possible. Girl, get that sleep, cause you'll need it. Plus, every baby is different and making a schedule is not irrevelant.

There's a book called "Babywise". It's great - since I've started reading it my baby's been sleeping great, at least for 3 1/2 hours at night. It could be pure coincidence but following it's suggested feeding/nap schedule throughout the day has helped me keep my baby happy and me from waking up every 2 hours :) My baby will be hitting his 4 week mark next week - try it out!

That should not diminish your milk supply. You produce the most milk at night when you are sleeping and rested. When you nurse your baby the next time most likely you will have too much milk so when the baby is done nursing pump the rest of the milk and freeze it. You will have plenty for the baby the next time and milk for the next night. As long as you aren't substituting with formula then your baby is still drinking all of the milk you produce. My son nursed every two hours and three at night and refused the bottle, it's exhausting, sleep if you can!!

For you to be the BEST MOM you can be you need to think of yourself too. Remember having a child shouldn't mean that you have to alter your entire life to fit hers. A baby is supposed to compliment your life and enrich it. Also remember you are still a wife, daughter etc. And not to mention that your husband needs bonding time with his little girl. And everyone will admit that feeding is a MAJOR bonding time. Try to pump before you go to sleep to get that midnight bottle. That way your ready when she needs her next feeding. Personally, I've met some Lactation consultants that are NUTS! I am all for breastfeeding and do think it is the best thing BUT you do what is best for you. Remember they're paid to push you to breastfeed and NOTHING else.

Yes, it could. By around 6 weeks your milk should be established. She'll probably sleep a little longer by then. In the meantime try to nap when she does if you can. Also, if you are comfortable with co-sleeping, try that out for a little bit. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing deal. With my two month old I start him off in the bassinet and with his first waking I bring him into bed with me and side-lie nurse. I get what feels like a full night's sleep this way.

All babies are different, but she just might be right. Breastfeeding is very much a supply and demand operation - in order for you to have enough supply, you have to "demand" or in this case, feed the baby. I so understand the desire to get some sleep, I breastfed four children, and am still nursing my baby at 17 months. I had very different experiences with all my babies, and my first one weaned herself at 8.5 months, in part, I believe, to me not really knowing what I was doing and introducing a bottle too early and not nursing enough in the beginning to build up a good supply.

I think you need to think hard about what you want your breastfeeding relationship to be like. How long do you want to nurse? Do you want to exclusively breastfeed, or supplement some with formula? Do you feel strongly that you don't want your daughter to get any formula at all? I can't answer these things for you, but if you want to have a long exclusive relationship, then I think you need to wait a little while before trying to give the baby a bottle and skip a feeding/pumping for yourself, say until around 8 weeks or so.

Also, you may want to try co-sleeping. I did that with my younger two babies, and it helped a whole lot in getting us through the early stages when the baby wakes up all the time. Just make sure you do it safely - remove the pillows, remove all thick blankets, make sure there's no way she could fall off or get squished under your husband - obviously, this works best if you have a king or queen size bed, we have a queen, but it can work with a full, too.

Good luck, and if you have any questions about this or any other breastfeeding thing, feel free to email me, or check out my blog, there is a little bit of stuff there. I promise that it will get better soon, 6-8 weeks is the hard part, but then the baby should start sleeping longer stretches, so you can too. :-)

F., mom to 4 age 8 and under
____@____.com
http://F..typepad.com

Please listen to the lactation consultant. It will effect supply especially this early. Hang in there sleep during the day when the baby sleeps and forget about schedules. The baby will fall into her own pattern and it will change as she grows. She will start to sleep for longer periods of time as she gets a little bit older. You might consider having the baby sleep with you. You will get more sleep. When she wakes in the night you can lay down and nurse her. You will notice when she is hungry before she is crying so you don't have to mess with settling her down and then putting her in her bed hoping she doesn't wake. You might call La Leche League as well. They have regular meetings and a great website.

OH MY WORD!! NO! You are NOT hurting your milk supply! PLEASE!! I breast-fed my boys excusively for the first six months - yes, unusal, but I was lucky. Having your husband do the midnight feeding is both good for him and your baby! If you pump regularly during the day and have the supply do it. You can increase your suuply by pumping after nursing (some people do NOT agree with this but it worked for me).

Remember to drink water, tea, etc. Cut back on caffiene. Notice what you eat will affect your child - found out the hard way that broccoli and cauliflower gave my son gas that was NASTY! :)

YOU GO!! Follow your heart and guy on this one. Your husband deserves that quiet one-on-one time with your child, it's his nurturing time (my husband did the 2AM feeding) and bonding time with your child).

Take care!

Hi, Catherine!

Nutz on what the consultant says; let your husband do the midnite feed...I don't feel that one time a day will stop your milk! Daddy needs to "bond" and this is an excellent way and you NEED hours of unbroken sleep!

Think about it: there are working moms who pump breastmilk and leave the bottles with their baby's care provider, right? As long as you pump your breastmilk regularly, I don't see a problem at all!

Sweet dreams!
Pam H.
Westminster, MD

Your body will adjust to not nursing at night by not making as much though the night cause it's a supply & demand cycle. What your lactation consultant is not mentioning is how important the first 4 - 6 weeks of breast feeding are for your supply in the long term. I can't remember it all, but one consultant stressed that to me when I first nursed.

Honestly, I'd try cosleeping with your daughter for the midnight nursing session before stopping the session. You'd be able to doze while she's nursing plus working on your supply.

If you're like most mothers you probably won't sleep well through your daughter waking in the middle of the night even if your husband does feed her. Even now if my 13 month old cries at night I wake regardless of me or my husband seeing to her. I usually have to poke my husband awake t o get her when it's "his turn." He just doesn't hear her as quickly.

R. R

Obviously from the responses, everyone is different. I gave my baby a bottle at night from the first day (not by choice) and he was fine. If it's breast milk you're giving him, then clearly you aren't damaging your supply. Even if you gave him formula, it would probably be OK. In 3 weeks, that extra feeding at night might be a thing of the past anyway - as babies start sleeping more when they're around 6 weeks old. I did face a nursing strike between 6 and 8 weeks and cursed the bottle. But, with some work it all works out. If you're concerned about supply, try fenugreek and mother's milk tea, or, what really worked for me, oatmeal! One of the major things that can hurt milk supply is fatigue and stress...

I was told that sleep deprivation can lead to a reduced milk supply as well. I think getting a solid five hours of sleep will be good for you. If you keep up a schedule with no sleep then you will be more likely to want to quite breastfeeding anyways. The only concern I would have would be that the baby might develop nipple confusion.

Another option for you would be to bring the baby into the bed with you when you feed and that way you can lay down and breast feed. Thats what I use to do and I would even fall asleep sometimes. But then that brings up a whole other lists of concerns.... but oh well it worked for me and my baby. Do what works for you! A happy mom equals a happy family, which is much more beneficial then breast feeding alone.

You have already received a lot of advice but I still feel like saying a few words. It is important to take care of yourself and get enough rest for you to be a good mother. It's best if you can sleep while your daughter sleeps. IT does get better but your sleep will be interrupted for quite awhile, it is a sacrifice of motherhood. You will learn to adjust to sleeping only a few hours at a time. It is very important for your daughter to feed when she needs it for the first few weeks. The advise you received from the lactation consultant is sound. She is trying to give you the best chance possible for a successful nursing relationship. While some mothers have found it okay to pump this early without nipple confusion or disturbing their milk supply it quite often happens that the child gets used to the bottle and won't go back to the breast (which means your milk supply will decrease rather rapidly) or just from not getting stimulated enough you can jeopardize your milk supply and have to rely on herbs or other (more expensive) things to increase your milk supply.
I have also found this having the father give the baby a bottle at night is a nice idea but in reality doesn't work well. If your husband is like mine, he will sleep through the baby crying while you wake immediately. Even if you are able to wake him right away and he starts warming up the milk and trying to calm the baby back down, you will likely be awake through this whole process. Thus you end up just prolonging the crying period of your baby, your husband's sleep is disturbed and you still don't get to sleep through it. Not to mention your breasts will likely become painfully full and may wake you up on their own and/or you will leak and that can be unpleasant and disturb your sleep as well.
I'm on my second baby and I'm lucky that she only nurses about 10-15 minutes at a time and then I can get her back to sleep in another 10 minutes or so. Since I have her right next to my bed in a co-sleeper, I never have to get out of bed and can relax quite a bit while I am nursing. Many mothers are able to sleep while they are nursing.
I know it's hard when you are not getting enough sleep but if you try to sleep with their baby and ignore housework or cooking you'll get through it. Then maybe you can enjoy this precious time with your child because it passes all too quickly.

IT's tough and I know you're tired, but in these early days you really should make a regular routine of the baby nursing when s/he wants to. This is the time you really establish a good supply of milk for the months to come! You should try sleeping when the baby sleeps during the day and night so you can sleep as much as possible. If that means limiting other daily duties (new moms need major help with househould stuff--you really should not be doing all that!) so you can sleep when baby sleeps. ALso, try lying on your side while nursing which allows you to at least to relax a little while breastfeeding in the middle of the night. And this, of course is easiest if you're co-sleeping or baby is in the room. HOpe this helps....Wow, after reading all the responses, its a bit of hodge-podge, but I think most would agree to at least wait a few more weeks before stopping the midnight feeding from the breast. Baby IS top priority in the first two months, really and the milk hasn't really stabilized until that point. Good luck and it DOES get better. Hang in there and get some help with the daily stuff so you can sleep when baby sleeps (or nap, rather).

Give the baby a bottle, your milk will be fine. If it's not start nursing at midnight again. Give yourself a break and don't over think this!

do it if it works for you. my husband and i did it and it was great

Until your milk is well-established, it is best to feed exclusively at the breast. Your lactation hormones are highest at night and I believe your milk is also especially fatty and nutritious. The baby's feeding stimulates more milk production and is essential to establishing your suppy.

While I would have loved a 5 hour clip of sleep, giving baby a bottle so that you can sleep through the feeding is not the best approach at 3 weeks. However, you need to take naps. When baby sleeps, you should sleep. You will adjust to having sleep interrupted, but I remember being too tired to move.

At 6 weeks, my baby started sleeping for 6 hours at a clip.

Unless you have an amazingly sensitive milk supply, I'd say this isn't going to affect much other than that you might wake up so full you're dying to feed your child. I always let my hubby take the midnight feedings on the weekends - and my supply is always fine. But milk supply is pretty personal business.

While I can understand wanting to get a break (I breast fed all 3 of my girls), the lactation consultant is right. Have you tried bringing your baby to bed w/you? I got way more sleep this way b/c you can sleep while the baby nurses if you feed the baby while you lay on your side. All my kids sleep in their own beds now (they're 9, almost 5 & 2) w/o any problems. Good luck!

Hello, I disagree with that lactation consultant. I am a nursing mom of a 6 mo. old. My experience is that we can train our bodies to produce at the times we nurse. As long as you nurse &/or pump throughout the day and night, you'll produce enough milk for your baby. In a couple of months your baby will be sleeping through the night and you will want to produce less during that time. In the beginning, my baby couldn't latch on and I had to pump and bottle feed. My husband and I traded off during the night so we could both rest and my milk supply did not decrease. Just don't bottle feed exclusively at night. But if you want a 2nd opinion, contact that lactation warmline at GBMC Hospital in Baltimore ###-###-####). They are a great resource for breastfeeding.

I have 3 children that I nursed. I found that if I gave up a feeding (like midnight) that it was hard to get back if I wanted to do it again. So, if you have no intent on breastfeeding at midnight, by all means, let your hubby give the baby a bottle. I did not find that going 5 hours (or 10 - 3) without nursing diminished my supply. That said, I don't think I did this or started pumping until 4 weeks with each baby. Good luck!

I know it's tough, but if you can hang in there for another month, then you can start pumping and having your husband give a bottle. It really does take a couple of months to get your milk supply regulated. Right now you really need to nurse your baby as much as possible to get your supply up. Once it's regulated, you can work pumping into your schedule. Good for you for breast feeding! It gets easier...I promise!

Please do not do this. You will catch up on sleep soon enough. I know it is very difficult right now and all you want to do is get some solid sleep but now is not the time. Your baby is not ready to sleep through the night until 6-7 weeks...our baby started sleeping 8 hours at 5 weeks so can't you hold on another 3-5 weeks??
Your lactation consultant is correct. I had to meet with my lactation specialist frequently b/c I had inverted nipples, low supply, recurrent mastitis but finally pulled through and am breastfeeding exclusively, successfully. Trust me - they know what they are talking about. You don't want to do anything to diminish your supply. Your body will get used to not needing to release milk at that time therefore your supply will go down. You do not want to skip any meals until your child is ready to eat food...another 6-7 months. In addition to this - 3 weeks is too soon to introduce a bottle, in my opinion. We introduced a bottle at 6 weeks and struggled with it. Our baby is now four months and has a bottle once a day...no problems.

Hi Catherine,

As a mother of 3, all breastfed, I agree with your consultant, at least for now. It is so important to nurse, nurse and nurse some more when breastfeeding and especially in the beginning. Later on when your milk supply is strong then go for it!

No you are not the only mom that would like to get on this sort of schedule, let alone any schedule. But unfortunately this information is correct but also could you really go more than 3 or 4hrs w/out pumping or bf'ing w/out either leaking or exploding?
Yes your supply will diminish if you start skipping feedings now. So in turn you may not have enough milk to supply that midnight bottle for dh to feed the baby anyway.
Unfortunatley you will have to wake to feed when the baby needs it. But take heart that hopefully in a month or two perhaps the baby will be able to go longer between feedings.
With my son I always joked that I got 3-3hr naps at night. Sometimes they were 2hr naps all night long.
If it becomes too difficult w/ this sort of "sleeping/feeding" schedule you can always quit breast feeding. Breast feeding is a big sacrifice. Not only of your breasts and your body but of your sleep and time and energy.... I am a big advocate of it, but not everyone feels they can commit. There is always formula. Formula is just fine and might help your baby feel a little fuller longer allowing a longer sleeping spell at night. Just throwing that option out there for you.
Hang in there, it does get better. Good luck w/ what you decide to do.

Hi - My opinion is you should wait a couple more weeks to make sure your supply is stable, but then it is fine and it would certainly be fine to do occasionally now - like 1-2 times per week. As long as you are pumping that bottle's volume during the day, then your supply should be fine.

But I would wait a little. Week 3 is early and the baby hasn't really established a feeding schedule yet - Keep in mind that in a couple of weeks your baby will probably have spread out the feedings at night by 1-2 hours more. So there is hope.

hi catherine,
wow, the responses go all the way across the spectrum! i hope it doesn't make the issue even more difficult for you.
i'm with the 'trust your breasts and get some sleep' crowd. obviously your tiny one needs to be fed at midnight, but i'm betting you're pretty exhausted, and what a lovely opportunity for your husband to get some quiet bonding time with your baby. some breastfed babies want nothing to do with bottles, but if you can persuade yours to take one occasionally, i say get the extra couple of hours of unbroken sleep. your mental health will pay off. breasts tend to be extraordinarily accomodating. yours may not and then you'll have to rethink it, but my two cents is to go for it and let your husband enjoy those quiet magical midnight moments.
khairete
S.

Hey Catherine!

You are not alone! lol I breastfed my son for about 10 1/2 months. I understand you wanting to get the extra sleep (we all do when they are that young) but To be quite honest doing that wont diminish your supply as long as you pump after you nurse her at 3am ( I Know sounds a bit much but it can be done I did it and I had to be up at 5 lol) or just pump 1-2x extra during the day. Your supply will be just fine! as long as you keep the demand up, and remember short (frequent) pumping seasons are better than longer ones. Ie. pump for 10-13 min for 1-2x extra you will be fine. Let me know if this helps!!!

If you need anymore advise you can always message me I will be glad to help you out!

Y.
Proud Motivated Mom!

Hi Catherine,

From my own experience breastfeeding my two boys I would say wait until your baby is at least 6 weeks old. It takes at least that long to lay a solid foundation for your breastfeeding relationship. Introducing the bottle too early could sabotage your attempt at nursing. The bottle is so much easier to get milk out of than mom so sometimes babies decide they want that instead, and recovering from a glitch like that is time-consuming and frustrating for baby and mom.

I don't know if you ever considered co-sleeping, but it really makes the night time feedings soooo much easier. At least for the first few months. I used this method when both of my boys were newborns and I managed to nurse and doze at the same time. It wasn't deep sleep, but it did help me to feel more rested. Plus nursing baby as they're just starting to wake up makes it more likely that they'll fall back asleep in a timely fashion, if they get too upset it takes a while to get them back down. It's a great way to stay in bed and only spend a few minutes actually awake for each feeding.

Hope this helps! Good luck!!

I know it sucks but yes- it will diminish your supply. If you are not feeding at this time your body with not produce at this time. Therefore if your husband is giving breastmilk the supply your have built up will soon diminish. Now- there is nothing wrong with him giving a bottle at this time so you can sleep. But you may want to consider using formula for this feeding or a mixture of breastmilk and formula. Hope this helps!

Hi Catherine,
You should be fine as long as you pump before you go to bed at 10. When you wake up at 3 am your breasts may be full and perhaps uncomfortable, but once you feed the baby you should be fine. My friend did this with her baby and it worked out well. It's really a supply and demand system and your body will produce what you need when you need it. (Exception: if you have any milk supply problems, you may not want to go for a 5-hour stretch without nursing.)

Five hours does seem like a long time to go without nursing a 3week old. I remember taking 2-3 hour snoozes up until my daughter's 8th week. Then I got about 4-5 hours straight, but my milk was already well established.

I think it would slow down your milk production this early in the game. Hang in there... it does get easier.

I nursed my daughter until she was six months old and am planning on nursing my second daughter due in May for as long as I can. Unfortunately at such an early age you do need to get up and nurse/pump with your three week old because your milk supply is really fragile at this stage and if you go five hours or so without nursing you will stop producing as much milk. I can relate the the desire to sleep... try napping when your baby does (this only works if you don't have older children) and hang in there because if you look at the big picture this stage in your child's life is soooo short!

Hi, Catherine.

Breastfeeding moms ARE on a schedule--the baby's schedule. If you supplement b-milk with a bottle or pacificer or your finger, you risk a decrease in your milk. It stinks, but that's the way it goes.

I know how desperate you are to sleep, but your baby is only three weeks old. Please give her the comfort and sustenance of the breast that she needs to get through the night!

When ds2 was a newborn, she nursed ALL the time. I ended up tying her in a wrap close to my breast so my arms could get a break while I went to the bathroom or walked the house. We were in bed together for nearly two weeks after her birth, and most of that time was nursing. When she wasn't sleeping in our bed with us, she was in a bassinet right next to me, so we didn't have to trek down the hall for late- and mid-night feedings.

Sleep as much as you can throughout the day when baby sleeps. I know you're getting nothing done around the house, not showering, but these are the days and weeks that are so important for her bonding and emotional development. This is just one of those chunks of time that you slog through (and many, many of us have done it, so it CAN be done! :-) and get to the other side.

Ds2 is still nursing, which I love, and I wouldn't trade those sleepless nights at the beginning for anything. It's just so worth it to develop an excellent nursing relationship with your baby so it can continue as long as baby needs it.

Good luck.

it could if you were giving formula but if you areexpressing it you are still making the same amount she is consumming. either way you do what you need to. if you think supply is going low you can try fenugreek. but i dont think it will if you stay with that schedual.

Hi, K..

I weaned my son when he was 15 months... I would consider myself very supportive of breastfeeding.

My son was exclusively breastfed and went straight to the cup... for better or for worse, he never accepted the bottle happily. My husband and I both tried when he was 4 weeks... my weekly babysitter could get him to eat only because he was super hungry and really had no choice... but he just kind of gnawed on the bottle rather than sucking and cried the whole time while consuming his bottled breast milk. If we have a second, I would introduce one bottle once per day/evening much earlier... maybe in the second week. If you are having problems with nursing or if your child is not latching on properly, etc... then I would follow the advice of the lactation consultant and wait... but if a good pattern has already been established and your baby is gaining weight, then I would go for it.

One tip on milk supply management... always try to pump at the same time of day (most women have more milk in the morning when they first wake up), and give the bottle at the same time of day/night like you are planning to do.

Also, I had friends that opted to give one bottle of formula during the night time feeding... as they gradually stopped the night-time feedings as part of establishing a healthy sleep routine... they just breastfed during the day. My son never had formula, but I don't think that formula a horrible thing. In fact, we had an emergency once where I was traveling out of town... my friend who was babysitting spilled my last pack of breastmilk as she was filling the bottle... I was stuck on the highway for about 5 hours in a bad accident that shut down everything. Her husband ran to the drug store to buy formula... my son would not touch it... just spat it out... as it was very stressful for me as I sat still in my car listening to my hungry child scream on the cell phone... of course, he would have eventunally gave in and ate/drank it... but it was the one time where I wish I had given him a nighttime bottle of formula early on so that he was used to taste of it in a time of need.

- E.T.

Dear Catherine K,
First I would like to applaude your choice to breastfeed your child. I have two boys,13 and 5. I breastfeed both and I have several friends that breastfeed their kids. All have had different styles, length of time, basically different experiences. You are not alone in your quest for sleep at the midnight hour but it will take forethought. Your lactation consultant is correct. If you stop a feeding you are telling your body to stop producing at that hour. You will be swollen and sore with milk (two feedings worth) as you adjust. With that said, I would think out your need and devise a long term goal to determine how best to go about your short term - sleep at midnight. If you are to have "Dad's time" be a formula bottle STOP THERE. The night feedings are the ones you want to get off first. The baby will sleep through the night in time so try to keep those feedings breast milk until the child has adjusted to daddy. How??!! OK Work as a team. Dad will have two times to experiance to bonding time. First, the feeding before midnight Dad feeds you pump. This keeps your milk up, then at the midnight feeding Dad warms up your milk. Next feeding your'll have more than enough for Jr., pump off the rest and save it for the midnight bottle. You can combine it with what you pump at the premidnight pumping. Eventually your body will reset. You may have trouble getting your child to accept a certain formula or nipple ("This is not mom-scream-are you poisoning me!!!")Don't lose it you will find an answer. If you are going to provide all breastmilk, you need to pump when you are full, a little off of both breasts to collect enough milk for the missing feeding. You will be huge at three o'clock. You will be fuller at the other feedings, however, as the night feedings slow baby gets bigger, daytime feedings are larger,you are already on that scheadule. Baby starts solids (cereal) nursings begin to be illiminated. So, here are two different paths. I hope I was helpfull. Remember it is your experience don't compare your struggle with the frustations of others. Keep a cool head and a warm heart. Besides just when you have it figured out it changes. Good luck!
J. P

Sadly, I would say try to wait just a little longer so you don't "mess" with your milk supply.
Depending on how quickly your body reacts to feedings or not feeding, your milk supply could drop a little... mine is very finicky. It can change in one day if my 4 month old decides to nap longer than usual. By the next day at that same time, my milk is not fully there. With that said, when he nurses when my milk is not completely there, it will return the next day... does that make any sense?
Ultimately you have to do what is best for you. And if sleeping is what you need, than do what you need to do!
Sleep is very essential, as I'm sure you know!
Best of luck!

Hi Catherine!

I know so many people who not only had their hubby give the baby a bottle at midnight but a bottle of formula. And it worked for them perfectly! My mother-in-law did this with all 8 of her children and my SIL did it with her child from day one. It never messed with her supply nor did the babies get nipple confusion. Your body will get used to not feeding at that time but you will have milk for all the other scheduled feedings. All of them took the breast, the bottle and the formula with ease. Do what does best for you. The majority of my friends did this also. It gets daddy to bond and you get some sleep!

I think if you are producing enough milk to express this early on, i don't think you would have a problem with milk supply!I think it sounds like a good plan.Expressing milk is a good way to increase your supply from my experience... good luck... anything for that extra bit of sleep!

S.

While I am certainly not a medical professional, based on my experience as a new mom of a 9 month old, I would hesitate to agree with the lactation consultant. Although before you try the bottle at night, be sure you are not currently having any production problems and that your milk supply is established. My husband and I decided to introduce one bottle a day or every other day of breast milk around 3 weeks because we knew I would be going back to work and didn't want it to be a shock for the baby to suddenly be stuck with just a bottle all day. My husband would sometimes give him the bottle at night and we had no problems, no nipple confusion, and my production did not go down. There were two issues with this: 1)the time it took for the bottle to warm up...the baby would tend to cry until he got the bottle and 2) I would leak in my sleep or be woken by the pressure of milk building up. But anyway, at some point, your baby will begin sleeping longer stretches at night, maybe 4 to 6 hours, and your milk production will most likely be fine. If you notice your production going down, you can just give more frequent feedings or pump a little to get it back up. Your sleep and sanity are so important for you to function as a mom!! Take care of yourself in any way you can!

By all means feel free to give your newborn a bottle at midnight so that you can get rest. I am a mother-baby nurse and I want you to feel comfortable with your plan. You have to sleep in order to function. You and your baby will both benefit. It also gives dad a chance to bond, which is very important. I know plenty of moms who have done this...my sister-in-law (a nutritionist) did this!! If you are concerned about your milk supply, you can pump one extra time during the day if you desire. Please please follow your heart and instincts. You are on the right track!!

The lac. consultant is correct. Much better for you and baby if you co sleep so you can nurse at night with minimal intrusion to your sleep. Also, try following the 'golden baby rule' of sleeping when the baby sleeps, even during the day. Those first several weeks are tough but it does get better, promise! :) Hang in there!! Breast feeding is SOOOOO good for you and baby!!!!

I had my daughter's father and grandparents give her a bottle when I needed a few extra hours of sleep (she nursed every two hours so I had to for sanity). It never posed a problem with my milk supply by having someone else feed her once or twice in 24 hours. I have found with my own milk and in talking with other mothers that the supply is pretty resillient - I would say especially so as you are only three weeks into it and that is usually prime time for leaks and soaked breast pads as your supply is not yet regulated to your daughters feeding schedule. All in all - in my own experience I would say it would be no problem and personally I would encourage it to get a nice solid chunk of rest.

Hi Catherine!
At 2 weeks I started having my husband give my little boy a bottle around 10ish. At that time I would pump and then go to bed. Now, he is almost 6 months, he gets a bottle (and I pump) before going to bed. He doesn't wake up until 5ish (YES it will happen!). I find that I have a lot of milk in the morning for that feeding and actually pump after feeding him. As long as you are not having any problems with your milk supply right now, I would say do anything you can to get some sleep! Also, sleeping helps produce milk. YAY! Good luck!!!

ABSOLUTELY, she is correct, yes it happened to me and i didn't like it! I had to nurse for hours after I tried it to build my milk back up! Drink pleny yourself! Give warm bath and get her some fresh air before bed, maybe a body rub of baby oil and see if that helps her sleep longer.
This won't last long, even if it months that she wakes up, my children are mostly grown and I can hardly beleive it. You are doing good to nurse and if she only wants to nurse once in the night, wow, you are blessed!!!!
God Bless!

I think your lactation consultant is right. At three weeks your milk supply hasn't regulated yet. And at three weeks your daughter hasn't settled into a schedule that will stay the same for any period of time. These first few months are challenging when it comes to schedules and sleep and while you are in them, it seems they will last forever. In reality, they pass very quickly. I would wait it out until about three months and then, if there is still a night time feeding you'd rather sleep through, let Daddy take over then. Best of luck.

Hi Catherine,

Have you talked to anyone at the La Leche League for guidance.

There is also a support group for parenting.

http://attachmentparenting.meetup.com

Good luck. D.

I would agree with the lactation consultant. Breastfeeding is a full time job and with your child being only 3 weeks old, your supply probably isn't up to its full potential. It is tiring and very time consuming, but if you want to do it the right way, your body still needs to provide the midnight feeding at midnight.

Good luck!! Oh, and take naps during the day when your baby does.