Help! I need advice.

[acwolfram]

Breastfeeding has gone great up til now. My daughter is 3 months old and sleeps for about 8 to 10 hours a night which is so awesome. I would wake up with engorged breasts and would quickly be relieved by my daughter. However, I don't wake up with engorged breasts anymore. They are full, but not painful. I guess my body got used to not nursing during the night?? My concern is that I am hurting my milk supply. Am I since I am not nursing or pumping for about 10 hours a night. Then I nurse about 5 to 6 times from morning to night. Often the baby only nurses from one breast at each of those nursing sessions. Is my body used to this and will maintain my milk supply to meet these needs or am I hurting my supply? Do I need to do something differently to ensure my milk supply stays satisfying to my baby? Any advice would be appreciated.

[gilmour_loving]

As far as I have read online & heard at LLL meetings, as long as your baby is thriving (gaining adequate weight, meeting developmental milestones, etc.) & happy, chances are that your baby is eating just what she needs. Also (I learned this from Kellymom), breast fullness isn't an indicator of milk supply; it's an indicator of milk oversupply. Apparently after your body & baby have caught up with one another, your breasts will not feel as full as they had been feeling.
Hope I could help!
p.s. it's really amazing & incredible that your DD is sleeping 8-10 hrs a night- my 11 month old DS still eats a few times a night! lol

[jodyvo]

My DD starting sleeping throu the night at the same time and my breasts did get used to it. I never had a problem with my supply (untill now different reasons).
Enjoy the sleep and as long as the baby is thriving enjoy you shouldn't worry
Jody

[Brianna]

Wow, sounds like your little one is a great sleeper. I'm jealous. It is recommended that an exclusively breastfed baby should nurse a minimum of 8 times in a 24 hour period. Is there any way you could increase the number of times she eats during the day. Every woman is different and you may be able to maintain an adequate supply with your current nursing schedule but alot of women (including myself) wouldn't be able to. I encourage you add a few more feedings. I used to give my ds a dream feed. I put baby to bed, then when I was ready for bed a few hours later I would gently pick him up and nurse him again. It never fully woke him up and it gave me a little extra sleep.

[acwolfram]

Thanks everyone for your advice! It is very helpful to hear all of your replies. I'm sure most of you know what it's like...just when you think you've got something down pat - it changes and throws you for a loop. Then I worry (probably too much). My daughter has had great weight gain and seems happy. I don't go back to the pedia until Oct. for her 4 month check up. I haven't been since her 2 month check up and I really wish there was a 3 month check up, just to reassure me and put me to ease. I like that reassurance because this is all obviously new to me! I guess my main concern is if baby is suddenly not "thriving" will it be too late to fix my milk supply if that is the problem???

[Nipple_nectar]

I know my PED let's me pop in for a weigh in, I just call ahead and assure them it is for my own record keeping and I do not wish to see the DR, just use their scale. I'm sure you could probably do that if your worried.

Chances are, everything is fine. I agree that just following baby's cues will be sufficient. To be on the safe side, you can count wet diapers for an accurate measure of input, you measure output. You need to see a minimum of six wet diapers in a 24 hour period, if you're getting at least that, you can stop worrying:)

Your milk supply, once established, will adjust according to demand. I am only nursing twice a day now but there is plenty of milk for when she does nurse. Last night, for the first time in six months, she wanted to nurse at 4am and it was waiting for her:)

This is a good link to explain how much you should be nursing baby: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enoughmilk-older.html

This one talks about established lactation: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/milkproduction.html#autocrinecontrol

[ima062002]

I wrote a long post that got lost...

Here's the gist - if your baby is happy and meeting milestones then most likely all is well. Yes 6 times a day sounds on the lower end in terms of frequency but if one factors in that baby sleep up to 10 hours I don't see how you could feed her more often :).

If you wonder what is normal for bf babies in terms of weight gain see here: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain.html. Most docs use the CDC charts which are comprised of mostly formula fed babies, especially for the numbers after the first couple of months.

I second counting wet diapers. If it comes out it went in :).

[SingingMom]

Try not to worry about your supply. I know, it's tempting to worry about how much your baby is getting.

But look at her. Is she happy? Is she active? (when awake) Her sleeping would indicate to me that she probably is getting PLENTY of milk during the day. And if she's nursing from one breast at a session, you can be pretty sure that she's getting plenty of nice rich hindmilk.

Watch her grow. You'll see that she fits into her clothes differently form week to week. Watch her develop. Give her milk when she wants it. Offer it more frequently if you're concerned. Count her wet diapers if you're worrying. And then try to relax. You are doing a great job.

The reason your breasts don't have indicators telling you how much milk is in there is that you simply don't have to worry about it. As long as you nurse your baby when she's asking for it, she will get enough. Yes, people occasionally have supply problems. But you've been nursing well for months! You're doing great!

[bfmomworries]

I feel exactly like you do acwolfram. My baby also sleeps through the night like 8-10 hours, and only nurses like 6-7 times a day. I worried about everything too, but when i took her for her appt, the doc said everything is fine. Weight gain and milestones are all spot on. She has plenty of diapers, he just told me I was lucky to have a good sleeper and not to worry just enjoy the sleep she has blessed me with LOL. This was at 2 months, and now at almost 4 months, things are exactly the same. I took her for a wieght check at 3 months (just to be sure, because you can tell a mom til your blue in the face not to worry, but she will anyhow, LOL), and the nurses said everything was perfect and to keep doing what I am doing. Her next appt is in 2 weeks, so I am anxious yet again to see that all is still good:)

Enjoy the sleep!

[acwolfram]

Wow...thanks everyone for your reassurance and tips. I'm very confident that my daughter has at least 6 wet diapers (probably more) each day. But, just to be sure I am going to count tomorrow for my own peace of mind. Thanks for the links from kellymom. They are very helpful!