So, when you are breastfeeding, having your baby sleep through the night is a double edged sword . . .
James fell asleep last night around 9:30, after eating at maybe 9 or so . . .
I woke up at 5:15 am to a dark, quiet, room and a silent, deeply asleep baby.
"Wow," I thought, "this is some serious sleeping through the night!"
And about two minutes later my boob exploded all over the sheets. :-/
So I got up to pump--I usually do about one or two pumping sessions a day, and one of them is usually after James' long stretch of sleep. He eats one boob and I pump the other one. Since he had slept so long, I figured I would pump before he ate, instead of after.
And I pumped SIX ounces out of ONE breast!! The normal amount to be able to pump is about .5-2 ounces out of BOTH breasts, so six out of one is pretty ridiculous.
We knew that I had oversupply issues, which I spent several weeks trying to correct by block feeding (one side only for several hours before switching to the next side). It worked and my supply regulated about six weeks post-partum, and James started to want both sides at each feeding. However, it was only about 5 days or a week of this, and my supply went right back up.
Ah well.
After I had pumped these six ounces out of one breast, James-the-husband came downstairs with a screaming James-the-baby, who promptly emptied the other breast for me.
Anyway, it's funny when you are breastfeeding because even if the baby sleeps through the night, you can't really because you get seriously engorged! I suppose as he gets older, I might be less likely to get engorged--maybe?--I hope. But it makes sense--to go eight hours without feeding him when normally he eats every two is a big change-up for the breasts. ;-)
But still? Woohoo for sleeping through the night!!
6 comments:
Yup - totally a double edge sword! This happened to me yesterday. I woke up with a wet tshirt at about 5:30am and Evan was fast asleep. So, I had to pump. I usually get a MUCH larger volume when I've gone longer than normal, so maybe that's why you got so much more? Nice to put that in the freezer though!
That is just so cool that he is sleeping such long stretches!!! I never really get engorged so I can't relate to that but at least you got a nice amount to give to him later:)
Alyssa--That is definitely a way larger amount than normal. I try to pump when I feel pretty "full" already, and I usually get between 2-4 ounces out of the left breast (it is more productive by far), and 1-2 ounces out of the right breast. Six was really off the charts but I think that's because it was the longest he'd EVER gone without eating--and it was out of good ole lefty, too.
I had this issue pretty much until B was 10 months or so? Normally she would wake up around 5 for a morning nurse and then go back down for a couple hours, but on those nights she slept through... OH MAN! Milk central lol
In answer to your comment- we have been *trying* to make the switch to vegan for a couple years now... vegetarian was relatively easy (although once in a while we eat meat when we are out) but giving up cheese has been really tough! Any advice on how to make the transition a little easier?
Tiff--I don't know how far along on the vegan trail you are, but if you want, look at my blog posts with the label "veganism"--I've typed up quite a few things that might be helpful for you. Congrats on how far you've come in changing your diet, though, it's hard to do!
Awesome for sleeping through the night and that has so happened to me! I still remember the first time waking up with swollen breasts and all wet...leaked through the pads, my bra and two shirts :)
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