Just a Question

[Funmommy]

Hi there :)
My 4 month old daughter is now sleeping through the night and due to the fact I need my sleep too (due to FM) I let her.
The problem is this ... I'm waking up in PAIN !!!!!!
My breasts are as hard as rocks and I even had to have my DH pass my DD to me one morning because I couldn't move it hurt soooo bad. She slept longer that day and didn't wake me up ... I had DH wake her up that morning.
I normally ... STILL ... leak a LOT even throughout the day and wanted to know what I can so to help alleviate these problems. I'm really concerned about getting mastitis.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

Tell me about your feeding schedule.

[Funmommy]

she eats on demand through out the day so there really isn't any schedule other than she usually eats around 8-8:30 p.m. just before passing out for the night and then again around 5:30-6 a.m. when she wakes up in the morning.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

What about waking her at about 10 or 11 and letting her feed just before you go to sleep?

[Funmommy]

I go to sleep just after she does though :(

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

Most moms can not go more than about 6 hours without either breastfeeding or pumping or their breasts get just like yours. How many hours of sleep do you need?

[Funmommy]

8 hours straight otherwise I hurt. Pregnancy really messed me up. :(
I guess I'll just have to be aware of the problems and keep an eye on the possibilities.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

Usually the body down regulates quickly when you increase the length of time you are sleeping. Is your baby sleeping more than 8 hours? If so how about waking her when you wake up?

[Funmommy]

Sometimes ... but usually I do wake her up ... weekends can be different though.
On the weekends I usually get up around 5am and bring her in bed with me and DH.
Usually I don't let her sleep longer than 8-8.5 hours.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

How many days/nights have you had this problem?

[Funmommy]

It's been going on for about a month but seems to be getting slightly worse every night.
I usually have more problems with my right breast more than my left one ... probably because I leak more and produce less out of the left one probably due to having a lump removed.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

Do you sleep on your side? The other thing to try is to nurse off one breast for every feeding in a 4 hour block to try and down regulate your supply.

[Funmommy]

Yeah I do sleep on my side but turn over frequently throughout the night.
At this point I do one breast per feeding. I am however concerned about loosing too
much of my supply as I had problems with supply in the beginning and that one breast
produces less than the other because of the surgery.

I have her 4 month check up on Thursday and I'll find out then where she falls on the growth chart. So far she's followed the 25% rate I hope it's continued.

Funmommy

[debbie_page]

Please keep me posted. debbie@thenewbornbaby.com