Breastfeeding Mommies

[Jill]

My son has been sleeping longer each night which is great but...I wake up extremely engourged! I end up waking him to feed him because I am in pain. Any suggestions? Maybe this will change since he just started sleeping so long at night. I guess I could pump???

[Cheeseburger]

If i wake up engorged because katherine decides not to wake up... i just pump and put in the freezer. Then I hope it becomes a trend, but usually, that is not the case and the next night she wants like 3 feedings LOL

[EvaS]

My dd slept thru the night from very young and I went through months of engorgement. I guess I just got used to the pain. But when she woke up I couldn't get her on fast enough.....LOL. I would say express and freeze like CB suggested. Hope it eases up soon!

[Jill]

thanks, I think I will plan to pump tomorrow morning. Although because I am saying this, my ds will probably wake up 4 times tonight to eat:) It always seems to happen that way!

[JRBL]

My twins have a 10 o'clock pm feeding that helps with my engorgment incredibly! When they sleep through that feeding I wake up feeling like I'm sleeping with two softballs on my chest, it's really painful. I also find that a supportive bra makes a WORLD of difference!! Good luck with the pumping! :) Let us know how it helps, I'm interested!

[Jill]

Do you sleep with the bra on? Maybe that would help. Breastfeeding twins...that's awesome. My brother and sister are twins and my mom said she always had on each side:)

[myjoyoverflows]

I always slept with my bra on because if I didn't wear nursing pads I woke up in a puddle of breast milk! I never really got engorged, even when she started sleeping through the night...I'm not sure if the bra works or not, but that's what I did.

[Jill]

Last night I wore the bra and it made a huge difference! Thanks for your help.

[Lisha71106]

When Lexi was really little she would sometimes sleep for 6 hours straight, I always woke up with huge painful breasts. But I just fed her as soon as she woke up, and it helped a ton, she would eat until they didn't feel full anymore. That's also when I started wearing sports bras to bed, and it helps a lot. It also makes my husband feel better, because then I don't leak all over our bed :lol: .

[danou]

I do a "dream feed" with 5m ds when I go to bed and it helps for the morning engorgement... but I he wakes me in the morning to be fed around 7am so I no longer bother pumping. There were days when I slept with a receiving blanket in my pjs' to cope with leaking! I was too tired to wake up and pump. :oops:

[JRBL]

Also... I don't know if you use nursing pads but they really help with leaking; I use Lansinoh nursing pads and MAN they really hold up to a LOT of leaking! This being number three and four for me in nursing I don't really leak too much anymore, especially at this stage (almost a year old) but, in the beginning, it was horrible and these pads never ever leak!

I have used them with all four kids and love them... also their lanolin ointment for sore/cracked nipples is amazing! I even used it on my hands and such when I was finished nursing. I don't mean to be such a Lansinoh pusher but, when something works, it WORKS! :)

[danou]

Are the Lansinoh pads re-usable? I used disposable pads and ended up with thrush... but then I was wearing pads all day long too! I had to let the girls air out...

[Jill]

the nursing pads work well but sometimes in the night they shift and we have found them in very interesting places in the morning :D Actually, in the past week it has gotten a little bit better. Maybe my body is adjusting. DS goes to sleep around 9 and wakes up at 5 which is great. I would love to do a feeding around 11pm but every time I have done that, he wants to stay awake. I don't turn the lights on or talk to him but he still cries and has a hard time falling back asleep. Any suggestions? Also...I am so excited that he is now in his own room sleeping but when he wakes up for his 5am feeding, I bring him in with me and he goes back to sleep until about 7:30. I would like to put him back in his crib but again...he won't go back to sleep. If you have any insight...

[JRBL]

The Lansinoh pads actually have a little sticky on the back to stick to your bra (or I wear a shelf bra tank) and they stay put for quite a while; they are disposable. I have pretty sensitive skin so I just change them when they are damp and can avoid getting any kind of rash.

About the baby not sleeping on his own... have you tried room darkening shades? I notice our kids sleep horribly now, we have moved to a new place and they don't have their room darkening shades... it made such a huge difference for us...

The babies go back to sleep great as long as I give them a little half filled (probably 2 to 3 ounces) sippy cup of water, they sip on it for a couple of minutes then go back to sleep... also... a crib musical toy... I pull it every time I lay them down, so now it is one of those "things" that helps them sleep better...

Also, white noise! We have a fan in their room that goes during the day and when they were newborns, I had it going at night too... to block out the big girl's noise and my DH snoring! HA! It worked wonders... I just put it on the far side of the room and pointing out a door or something... that way they didn't have this big breeze in their room... Just some thoughts... good luck, gal!

[Jill]

Thanks, Jen!!!