Breastfeeding Through The Night Survival Guide

Feeling exhausted from the multiple wake ups when breastfeeding through the night?

This hit me hard around the 4 month mark with my first baby. He’d actually been sleeping pretty well for a newborn (1-2 wake ups overnight) and then his pattern changed. Suddenly he was waking 3 or 4 times a night. The adrenaline of having a newborn had worn off and my ability to power on through had started to drop off. Can you relate? Since baby sleep and breastfeeding through the night are some of the most common struggles the mums I work with have questions about, I thought I’d throw together this breastfeeding through the night survival guide that can help you get more rest and make the nighttime feeds less disruptive to your much needed sleep.

In this post you’ll learn:

• How many times should your baby be breastfeeding overnight
• Does your baby really need breastfeeds overnight?
• How to make night time breastfeeds more restful and less disruptive to your own sleep 

How many times should my baby breastfeed overnight?

Just like many things to do with breastfeeding, this varies so much from baby to baby. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on many things like your baby’s age, mum’s breast capacity, baby’s temperament and baby’s individual physical needs and need for closeness, comfort and connection. Babies breastfeed for many reasons other than hunger, and all of those reasons are valid.

Babies develop the ability to sleep through the night at different rates and all will get there when they’re developmentally ready for it. Some will start sleeping through earlier than others, but the research tells us that the majority of babies still wake through the night after their first birthday.

Are night time breastfeeds really needed?

While society would have you believe your baby’s broken if they’re waking for breastfeeds during the night and that you need to fix them ASAP, science and research tells us waking to breastfeed through the night is completely normal and necessary for baby’s growth and development as well as maintaining your breastmilk supply. Babies can get up to 20% of their daily milk intake during night feeds, so cutting out those feeds can affect their growth and decrease your milk supply (supply = demand – if there’s less demand, there’s less supply). So, the answer is, yes! They are needed!

Even though waking and breastfeeding through the night is normal, that doesn’t mean it’s easy! So, what can you do to make it easier?

Rest while you’re breastfeeding with the side lying breastfeeding position

The side lying breastfeeding position is an absolute game changer! The earlier you can master it, the better! Lying down while feeding, even if you’re not asleep, lets your body rest at the same time as meeting your baby’s needs. This can feel a bit awkward at first, but it is worth practicing.

The main things you need to know:

• Lay baby directly on the bed rather than cradling their head with your arm.
• Lay baby on their side, facing you, so that they’re not having to turn their head to the side to latch. This will help them get a good, deep latch.
• Make sure bub is pulled in close to you so that their chin is digging into your breast and their cheeks are touching your breast
• It can help to pull bub’s bum in close so that your bodies together make a “V” shape. This will help bub to be nice and close to get a good latch and help keep their nose away from the breast so they can breathe easily.

Global Health Media has a great video on breastfeeding positions. The whole video is great, but you can see the side lying position in action at 7:16 mins in if you want to get straight to it. Watch the video here.

Have supplies ready before bed

Doing a little prep before you go to bed can make your night a lot easier. Get everything together you’re likely to need so it’s all in one place and you don’t have to go wandering all over the house to find things. Keep everything close to the bed or where ever you’re going to be breastfeeding.

Things to have close by:

• Nappy change supplies – I used a nappy caddy from Kmart that had nappies, wipes, a change mat and burp cloths all inside

• Waterproof change mat – Have a few of these so you can easily swap them out if there are any leaks or poo-splosions. Resist the urge to go without and definitely make sure they’re waterproof if you’re changing bub on your bed. The last thing you need is to be stripping the bed and remaking in the middle of the night because bub peed or pooed all over your blankets or sheets (trust me on this one!).

• Spare change of baby’s clothes – Again, just in case of nappy accidents or spit ups. This will save you having to wander the house and wake yourself right up.

• Easy snack – It’s super common for breastfeeding mums to feel hungry a lot. You’re burning a lot of calories to make all that milk for your baby (about 500 calories per day!), so be prepared and add an easy access snack (e.g., A muesli bar) to your overnight supplies.

• Water – Have a water bottle close by, because you can guarantee you’ll be thirsty as soon as you start feeding and can’t go get something to refresh you.

Get help with other baby cares if possible

It can be helpful to share the other night time cares your baby needs apart from breastfeeding. Can your partner change bub’s nappy and bring them to you for a feed? You will probably be awake when your baby is, but at least you get a few minutes more rest.

Cosleeping

When I say “cosleep with your baby” you might think “but that’s not safe!”. It really comes down to how you do it. Firstly, cosleeping is an umbrella term that covers all kinds of situations where a parent and baby sleep in close proximity (some of which are safer than others). That includes bedsharing, baby sleeping in a bassinet within arm’s reach of the bed, sleeping with baby on a couch and many other situations. Some people use the terms cosleeping and bedsharing interchangeably which can be misleading.

The current recommendations to lower the risks of SUDI (Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy) or SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) are to share a room with your baby for the first 6 months of life.

What does the research say?

We know that baby having their own sleep space is the lowest risk of SUDI/SIDS, but we also know from research that many parents do end up cosleeping, whether it’s planned (having baby close at night often makes breastfeeding easier), or it happens by accident because everyone’s just so damn tired.

Studies have shown that 50% of all UK babies have bedshared by the time they’re 3 months old, and that 70-80% of breastfed babies sleep with their parents some of the time in the early months. Many studies also found that mums and babies who bedshare tend to breastfeed much longer than those that sleep separately. So that tells us that many parents do cosleep or bedshare, but no one talks about it! My guess is it’s probably because they’re scared of the comments and judgement they might get from other people or health professionals.

Sleeping close to your baby, especially when you’re breastfeeding can help you to feel more rested. You don’t need to fully get out of bed and wake right up and that can make it easier to get back to sleep when you’re caring for your baby through the night. At the same time, some parents feel that they (and sometimes their baby) get less sleep when bedsharing, or it makes them uncomfortable, and that’s ok too! As with just about everything related to parenting and breastfeeding, there is no one right way to do things.

There are some situations where it’s best to avoid cosleeping or bedsharing:

• If you or your partner have had alcohol (makes you sleepy and less aware)
• If you or your partner smoke (even if you don’t smoke near baby) or if you smoked during pregnancy
• You or your partner have taken any medication or drugs that make you sleepy or drowsy
• If your baby was born premature or small for their gestational age.
• Sleeping with your baby on a sofa or armchair

The above situations are the most dangerous and dramatically increase the risk of SUDI.

But there are things you can do to make bedsharing safer for your baby:

• Always position baby on their back to sleep
• Make sure there are no pillows or blankets that can cover baby’s face
• Use a baby sleeping bag with arms out instead of swaddling or wrapping baby
• Use a mattress that’s firm and flat (no soft underlays or waterbeds)
• Tie your hair up so baby can’t get tangled in it
• Remove jewellery, teething necklaces or dummy chains
• Move the bed away from the wall so baby can’t get trapped in the gap
• Make sure baby can’t fall out of bed (you could put your mattress on the floor if you’re worried)
• Sleep baby between a parent and the edge of the bed, not between you and your partner
• Make sure other children or pets don’t sleep next to your baby

Want to learn more about the safety of cosleeping? 

Dr James McKenna (anthropologist and world’s leading authority on mother-infant cosleeping in relationship to breastfeeding and SIDS) talks about the research and facts about cosleeping and the fact that it’s a biologically normal thing for mums and babies to do HERE. It’s a long video, but it’s worth it. He also has some cosleeping guidelines you might find helpful.

Red Nose also has some cosleeping info including a pdf guide HERE.

Lack of sleep and broken sleep is one of the hardest things about becoming a parent, but your baby waking and breastfeeding through the night and very normal and important for their growth and development. There are things you can do to make life easier for yourself. It’s important to look after you too!

Help another mumma out and comment below about what strategies have helped you with night time wake ups and night time feeds?

References

BASIS (Baby Sleep Info Source) – Parent’s Bed: https://www.basisonline.org.uk/parents-bed/ 

Red Nose Australia – Co-sleeping with your baby: https://rednose.org.au/article/Co-sleeping_with_your_baby 

Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory, University of Notre Dame – Safe Cosleeping Guidelines: https://cosleeping.nd.edu/safe-co-sleeping-guidelines/