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@illumina: I'm no LC, but I think this depends entirely on your baby and your boobs, which of course are completely different with every mom-baby "dyad" or whatever they call it.

SOME babies are very big eaters, very efficient, and their moms have really good supply. They might be the STTNers who still gain weight well.

LOTS of babies are big eaters and will naturally wake mom up a few times a night to do so for a long, long time.

SOME babies have sleep issues and will wake to eat even if not hungry.

SOME babies will STTN even if they should be waking up to eat.

Really, there's no one answer. But you are not alone in your situation. I posted this on one of your earlier threads (I think), but I have a friend in my mommy group IRL who was in your situation exactly. Her baby was STTN, and like...11-12 hours without eating, from about 3 weeks old. And even her LC was telling her that the baby knew best and would wake to eat if he was hungry,

Then she went to her 1 month appt and he was still at birth weight! And by then, her supply was damaged because he wasn't eating enough and it had signaled her supply to produce less. So there is no "one size fits all" advice for babies, sadly. It would be easier if there were. In short, I think your home visitation nurse is both right and wrong.

My LO was so EBF and starting STTN around 4 month...meaning 10 hours straight with no feeding...and several weeks after she'd sleep 12-14 hours straight with no MOTN feeding up until she was almost a year old. She was always in the 50-85 percentile for weight and height. She started solids at 6 months but still nursed until 14 months.

I think the LC was referring to the fact that the hormone signaling milk production is most activated at night? I didn't think it was a hard and fast rule, though. I did read to manage my expectations with what sttn meant for an ebf baby, which is that solid 5 hour chunk, though.

My LO doesn't sleep through the night at a year and we are just now going to try night weaning. I have to say though, the 4am feed isn't bad. Any earlier than that its hard to get a good chunk of sleep first. Maybe if you are going to wake up in the middle of the night, set your alarm for 4 instead of 3?

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!

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.

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!

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.

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?
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.

@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.

@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

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.

@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!

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).

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?

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)

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.

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.

Good luck!~

I think it really depends on the mom & baby. Some moms just have great supplies from the beginning & 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 & hand that their baby probably needs to eat more often because they are drinking less per feeding.

I have low supply & 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.

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?