https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Jul 2026 22:28:07 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1357221 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:37:57 +0000 Adira 1357221@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hmm... in general, Xander's been STTN since 8 months, but I pump at 9:00 before I go to bed and during the week, I feed Xander at 5:30 a.m. before I go to work, so maybe that's why I've still been able to continue breastfeeding him? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356509 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:37:07 +0000 illumina 1356509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsjyw: @autumnlove: thanks for the info. Most of the regression posts on here seem to refer to the babies who are already waking once or twice a night so it is tough to guess how "better" sleepers will be affected. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356426 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:15:06 +0000 daniellemybelle 1356426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it really depends on the mom &amp; baby. Some moms just have great supplies from the beginning &amp; so the baby can get tons to eat during the day, and their supply will not be affected by STTN. Other moms have more fragile supplies, and it will sort of go hand &amp; hand that their baby probably needs to eat more often because they are drinking less per feeding.</p> <p>I have low supply &amp; my LO started sleeping 6-7 hour stretches at 8 weeks. I would usually pump somewhere in there to maintain my supply - usually right before I went to bed, so it would be more like 4-5 hours without emptying for me. Of course, we are now back to night feedings, but those are more snacks for comfort so I am really not totally emptying for 8+ hours. My supply hasn't dipped but I suspect that at 12 weeks, I'm pretty established. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356240 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 10:27:52 +0000 autumnlove 1356240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: LO 1 has trouble when she is sick. She also had a few rough days when she started to stand in the crib and after we moved.</p> <p>LO 2 was sleeping 11-12 hour stretches from 8 weeks until almost 8 months but now she wakes after 2ish hours before sleeping another 9-10 hour stretch. She is teething right now! :-( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356174 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 10:10:45 +0000 irene 1356174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know a mom she EBF and her baby slept through the night, but "through the night" means 5am. It works out for her because she has to be at work by 7am. So I think STTN was more 6pm-5am?</p> <p>Me on the other hand, I EBF until we start solids at 6 months (well, still exclusive breast milk until 7-8 months). LO didn't STTN until 8.5 months when we add a protein in. So my breasts were "emptied" 1-2 times @ 12-6am pretty consistently for the first 8 months, and I maintained supply (but was stressed out about it)</p> <p>If your baby is sleeping through the night and you are able to, I would think it is a bit silly to wake up to pump if it is not hurting you... but again, my view to breastfeeding has changed (I used to go crazy trying to make breastfeeding work), and now I think it is more important to your well being, sanity, and relationship between you and your baby rather than stressing about maintaining supply and breastfeeding. </p> <p>With that said, I did hear many many different sources saying 12-6 is a crucial period to maintain supply, and our bodies produced the most milk in this period. So people say if you are worried about your supply, get up and pump between that period.</p> <p>Good luck!~ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356111 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:56:24 +0000 Snowdrop 1356111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: I worked with HV in the UK for a while as part of my nurse training and their advice was BF lots and regularly for the first 6 weeks and then after that just increase if and when your supply is getting low. We saw lots of mums who would go to work, not pump and then BF once before bed and once in the morning once their supply was well established. Pumping isn't as big here in the UK. I have no personal experience but thought it might be nice to hear an alternative HV view. I'm sure you are doing brilliantly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356095 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:51:06 +0000 oliviaoblivia 1356095@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD slept 7-7 at 11/12 weeks and is still nursing at one year. I've never had problems with supply, never had to pump, only supplemented with an ounce of formula in the hospital before my milk came in and DD is growing well (almost too well). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356092 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:50:48 +0000 mrsjyw 1356092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: I noticed I was pumping a few oz less, and sure enough, AF showed a few days later. I researched on the boards and started taking more milk plus, fenugreek tablets (from gnc), drinking mother's milk tea, and took calcium and magnesium tablets. I power pumped for a few days too, to make sure that I didn't lose my established supply. And it came back to normal. Every month around AF time I would def notice a 1-3oz difference, but between the frozen stash and nursing when I was at home (I wfh a few days a week) I was able to upkeep with DS' intake.</p> <p>As far as regressions, the only one we've been through is 4 months, which lasted 4-5 days of 1-3 wakeups, we just waited it out and he was back to his normal. </p> <p>He also slept like crap the first few times away from home and during teething as expected. The only time we did more than cuddle him back to sleep was during 4 month regression, when I didn't realize it wasn't our wakeup nursing session and nursed him back to sleep once.</p> <p>He's a great sleeper now both at home and away (13.5). By 8 months, he was doing 12+ in a pnp away from home too. :) Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356071 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:45:32 +0000 illumina 1356071@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsjyw: can I ask what happened when AF returned? Did you do anything extra to help your supply? AF returned between 2-3mths pp just after she started sttn which I guess can't have helped my supply. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356061 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:42:53 +0000 illumina 1356061@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@autumnlove: ahh that's interesting to know! Maybe because of their weight they were able to consume plenty in the daytime get their calories and keep your supply up after you stopped pumping. S was under 9lbs when she sttn, but like your LO's she was using her thumb to settle. On a related note, the fact you have two good sleepers gives me hope for #2! On a slightly less related note--can I ask whether regressions/growth spurts have had much effect on their sleep? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356050 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:40:11 +0000 mrsjyw 1356050@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: yea i had NO issues with supply until AF came back at 4.5 months pp. I was back to work at 3 months too, pumping... we never had any issues in keeping up with DS' needs... and he was a 30+oz drinker for a loooong time! his sleep was sporadic until 11 weeks tho, so I think my supply was well established at that point! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356037 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:36:11 +0000 autumnlove 1356037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I pumped 2-3 times during LO's sleep as a FTM. I also pumped a lot after bedtime for the first 5-6 months for Baby 2 but now I don't and my supply is fine. Both LOs STTN consistently by 8 weeks. Not sure if it is a factor but both of them were around 12lbs and self soothed with their thumbs around that time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356027 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:32:58 +0000 illumina 1356027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsjyw: you were one of the ladies I thought of when I made that comment to the HV! However I figured telling her specifics and that I knew you from an online forum might make me sound a little crazy and cause her to question my judgement further! I think my strategy is to get her weight up by supplementing our 4 day feeds with 2oz formula and keeping the 2 night BFs...then I'll gradually reduce the amount of formula and see if she maintains an average gain before thinking about dropping the night feeds. Then by that point we'll probably be starting solids and that might be supplement enough, ahhh it's complicated! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1356006 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:27:08 +0000 mrsjyw 1356006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DS has been STTN 7-7 since 3 months. I pumped extra in the morning when he first night weaned and added to my supply. But I didn't wake up to pump, etc. He was EBF until just past 1 year! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355988 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 09:22:17 +0000 Thenetexan 1355988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree that everyone is different. My LO slept from 10 to 6 starting around 6 weeks. I was worried about maintaining supply for a potential 4 month sleep regression, so I pumped every night around 3am until 4.5 months. We got to 12 hours at 7 months. He was EBF (plus solids) until 15.5 months. My case may be different because LO was always a big eater and a big baby. At 3 weeks of age, I had a LC come over because he was eating for 1.5 hours each feed and I was losing my sanity. She weighed him before and after and determined he was eating 6 ounces. Perhaps I had an oversupply and he took it all? Anyway, his weight was and still is in the 90+ percentile. I do recall getting a lot of milk from that 3am pump and it helped me build a big freezer stash. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355921 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:44:04 +0000 Revel 1355921@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've never heard anything like that type of set rule for those hours. Like PP said, I have heard that night nursing is good for supply because of hormone cycles, but not that it is mandatory to maintain supply. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355913 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:36:22 +0000 Silva 1355913@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: that is pretty interesting. I sometimes wonder what science will know about babies when I'm becoming a grandparent. Maybe they will figure all of this stuff out by then :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355908 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:32:49 +0000 illumina 1355908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: I've spoken to a few professionals about it and their belief is that she either stopped being hungry because her stomach was shrinking, or that she was so hungry she didn't have the energy to do anything else but sleep. I'm not sure about those, but interestingly I found out that my Sister and I both started sttn between 4-8wks old and I wonder if certain kids are programmed to sttn sooner? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355898 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:27:33 +0000 Silva 1355898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@illumina: that is really interesting. Have you asked your doctor why he/she thinks she started STTN if she was hungry (I mean, she must have been, right?) I have no idea why that would happen. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355897 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:27:28 +0000 T.H.O.U. 1355897@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, this was pretty true for me. My LO needed to eat at some point through the night until she was a year old. </p> <p>After that point, I would go overnight without nursing or pumping (usually about 8 hours) and my supply regulated to be about the same (I would "refresh" about every 6-8 hours). </p> <p>I think its just hard for your body to say that it needs to replenish supply every 2 hours between the hours of 8am and 8 pm but overnight its ok not to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355890 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:25:03 +0000 illumina 1355890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: Possibly. But then S started sttn at 8wks and either my supply dropped or she wasn't consuming enough during the day or she should have been waking up during the night but wasn't (does that even happen?!) and she began to lose weight. She is 0.4th percentile so who knows why she started sttn if she wasn't ready! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355879 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:16:04 +0000 illumina 1355879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@char54: my Doctor said that too, just feed before I go to bed (10-11pm) and it will be fine...but the HV said it MUST be 12-6am though it's not like my boobs have a clock so I'm not sure why. Anyway! I keep thinking about people who extended BF when their toddler is only drinking in the morning and at night and they manage to maintain a supply! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355862 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 08:03:14 +0000 Silva 1355862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm just wondering, but maybe if STTN is led by the baby it's a different matter? I could be totally wrong but that seems like a relevant distinction?<br /> I thought for sure my doctor would give us the go ahead at 9 months to start night weaning, but he said that physiologically my daughter should go no more than 6, maybe 8 hours without nursing. She is on the smaller side, around the 25-30% for height and weight, which I'm aware matters. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355819 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 07:02:18 +0000 Charm54 1355819@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>C sleeps 10pm-9am.. My Dr, who is also a LC, told me I needed to pump once between the hours of 10pm and 6am, since I EP. And there is something with the hormones and milk production. So I pump right before I go to bed which is around 10:30, my next pump isn't until around 8:30 the next morning.</p> <p>I haven't noticed a dip in supply and have been doing this for months. I also only pump 3x a day now and haven't noticed a drop in supply (everyone told me I needed to pump 6-7x to maintain supply).</p> <p>What I've learned : there are no clear cut or hard and fast rules for bfing. What works for one woman will not work for another. I actually make MORE milk on 3 pumps a day than I did on 4. That defies everything every LC has ever told me about how bfing works! But for my body, it does. Play around with things and find what works for you, your body, and your baby :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355805 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 06:17:11 +0000 mjane 1355805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My baby slept through the night at a week or two and i never woke to pump, although I occasionally pumped before going to bed. But my supply was fine, and she has held steady at or above the 50th percentile. THAT SAID, li'l lady spent most of her waking hours on the boob for the first 3-4 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355793 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 05:16:39 +0000 illumina 1355793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: thank you for chiming in. I really appreciate and am grateful for your advice on my posts. You put it really well that everyone and their babies are different and we have to, with a little trial and error, see what works for us :) On another note, at my breastfeeding support group there is a baby the same age as yours, with the same name and they even look alike! Are you sure you don't live in the UK?!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355701 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:23:32 +0000 Ree723 1355701@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, I can only provide anecdotal advice but I EBF my DD for 13 months (plus solids starting at 5.5 months) and she began sleeping a full twelve hours through the night at 10-12 weeks old. She slept from 6 am to 6 pm every single night with no dream feeds and I never pumped during that time. During the day, she would have six or seven feeds and that was it. I never had any issues with supply and my baby was always between the 50th and 75th percentile for weight.</p> <p>So either I am a complete anomaly or your HV is wrong in saying that never happens! Every baby is different and if your little girl is happy and content, and gaining weight appropriately, then it say go with your gut and do what you think is best! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355665 Thu, 16 Jan 2014 23:40:45 +0000 Kemma 1355665@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She might be referring to the fact that Prolactin levels are highest between 12am and 6am and therefore an early morning feed can be really useful if you're struggling to maintain supply.</p> <p>FWIW my LO is fifteen months old today and still wakes for an early morning feed most nights although she can and has STTN on occasion. I credit her night feeds with her extended bf'ing and the fact that AF has only just returned at Christmas (which incidentally closely followed a couple of weeks of better night sleep and therefore less night feeds!). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355647 Thu, 16 Jan 2014 23:25:10 +0000 mamimami 1355647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My supply definitely dropped when my first slept through the night. It was still fine but I would not try that if there is the slightest question in your mind about supply. My second sill doesn't sleep through the night and I can definitely tell my supply with her has been even better! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-me-understand-this-advice-re-sttn-amp-supply#post-1355645 Thu, 16 Jan 2014 23:24:08 +0000 LemonLong 1355645@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My EBF baby started sleeping through the night 8 hours by 8 weeks and 12 hours by 10-12 weeks. I never pumped at night. I nursed and pumped exclusively until my LO was 11.5 months old, when I moved to nursing only twice a day and stopped pumping at work. </p>