Should I Nurse Baby to Sleep?

While nursing to sleep seems like a healthy, enjoyable night-time routine, it can lead to poor sleep habits that interfere with your baby's ability to get a good night's sleep. All babies wake up a number of times throughout the night. If you regularly nurse your baby to sleep, however, he'll need that same cue to help him fall back to sleep during the night. This is true whether your baby sleeps in a crib or shares your bed. Although it may be much easier to nurse during the night if you and your baby sleep share, it will result in more middle of the night wakings for both of you.

Several studies support what most nursing mothers already know: Breastfed babies take longer than formula-fed babies to develop a pattern of sleeping through the night. Why? First, because breast milk is easier to digest than formula, babies get hungry quicker and wake more often during the night. Second, because breastfeeding is comforting and calming as well as nourishing, it doesn't take long for a baby to make a connection between nursing and sleep. After a few weeks of nursing your baby to sleep, he won't know — or want — another way of falling asleep. Does this mean that you should never nurse your baby to sleep? Of course not. Breastfeeding your baby to sleep can be a wonderful bonding experience, especially in the first month or two when you're trying to establish a good breastfeeding relationship. But after that, be careful about nursing to sleep every night. Make it a once-in-a-while occasion. Another option: Make nursing a part of your bedtime routine, but do it early enough that your baby doesn't learn to directly associate that part of his bedtime routine with sleep. After your baby has finished eating, read him a story, sing him a song, or change his diaper one last time. If you separate breastfeeding from the act of falling asleep, even by a few minutes, your baby won't need to nurse to fall asleep.If he already has formed this sleep association, don't despair: It's never too late to start teaching healthy sleep habits. Here are a few ways to get your baby on the road to falling asleep on his own * Nurse earlier in his bedtime routine, or cut down on the amount of time you nurse at bedtime.* Breastfeed your baby earlier in the evening instead of making it part of your bedtime routine.* Keep in mind that you need to make these changes only at bedtime. Once your baby starts falling asleep on his own at bedtime, he'll quickly start putting himself back to sleep during the night.Here's something else for a nursing mother to consider: Are you getting enough sleep yourself? To help you get the rest you need, ask your partner to help out during the nighttime feedings or wakings. Breastfeeding doesn't have to — and shouldn't — make you the only middle-of-the-night parent.Instead, consider these alternatives: Pump before you go to bed and have your partner get up with the baby to give him a bottle of pumped milk or formula. Or, when your baby wakes during the night, let your partner do the feeding while you pump in a separate room and then go back to sleep. After all, pumping may take only ten minutes, while feeding, changing a diaper, and lulling your baby back to sleep can take 45 minutes or longer. Find the system that works best for you and allows everyone to get as much sleep as they can.

Woops, baby bit me!!

Breastfeeding does not have to be discontinued because of your baby biting. If your baby is biting, you need to find out why, and you can eliminate the biting, and resume a happy nursing relationship!

One of the major causes of biting is teething. Is your baby constantly gumming items, drooling, and showing other evidence of teething? That could be a major factor in your baby's biting.

Some babies bite after they've started solids, as an experiment. It may be only a single bite, or baby may be excited by your reaction, and want to repeat it.

No matter what the cause, biting can become a habit, and it is much easier to eliminate biting right after it begins, than when several weeks of the behavior has gone on.

How to Handle the Bite
Try not to scream. While it will get baby's attention, it may also be a "reward" for that high need baby who likes lots of action. Of course, sometimes, screaming can't be controlled!
Pull baby in close to your breasts. Very close. When baby's nose is all the way covered, baby will need to breathe, and will open up her mouth. This sounds like a punitive measure, but it is not designed to be. When you try to unlatch baby with your fingers, mothers often find that baby wants to continue to bite, and further nipple damage occurs as mom "fights" baby's jaws for possession of her nipple. Cutting off the airway works quickly and easily. Baby's are usually so surprised they don't cry. Tell baby "no biting", and give baby a teether or other toy or food (depending on baby's age) to occupy it.

After the biting incident, do not offer to nurse baby again until she is hungry. If baby was still hungry, your baby would not have bitten. While occasionally a baby is still hungry, most of the time, a bite has signaled that baby is bored with nursing or in discomfort. The next time baby nurses, be sure to praise her at the end of the session for not biting. You can't lay it on too thick at this point! Let baby know how special and smart she is for not biting, and how proud you are of that behavior.
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Eating Solids

If your baby is eating solids does that mean you should give her less breast milk? No. Her servings of solids are not hefty enough to replace her regular liquid feedings. At this early age solids are just extra foods The provide some nutrition, but really are intended ot help baby master the oral skills she needs to chew and swallow.

Breastfeeding When Mother is Sick

Very few maternal illnesses require the mother to stop breastfeeding. This is particularly true for infections the mother might have. Most infections are caused by viruses, and most infections due to viruses are most infectious before the mother even has an idea she is sick. By the time the mother has fever (or runny nose, or diarrhea, or cough, or rash, or vomiting etc), she has probably already passed on the infection to the baby. However, breastfeeding protects the baby against infection, and the mother should continue breastfeeding, in order to protect the baby. If the baby does get sick, which is possible, he is likely to get less sick than if breastfeeding had stopped. Often, however, mothers are pleasantly surprised that their babies do not get sick at all. The baby was protected by the mother’s continuing breastfeeding. Bacterial infections (such as "strep throat") are also not of concern for the very same reasons. HIV, on the other hand, is one illness that should cause the mother to discontinue nursing immediately as it can be transmited to the child.

How Long Can I Store Breastmilk?

When you are away from your little one you can express breastmilk manually, with a hand pump, or with an electric pump. Expressed milk can be stored for future use in the following ways:
At Room Temperature (66-72 degrees F, 19-22 degrees C) for up to 10 hours
In a Refrigerator (32-39 degrees F, 0-4 degrees C) for up to 8 days
Freezer Compartment in a Refrigerator for up to 2 weeks
Freezer Compartment w/ Separate Door for up to 5 months
Separate Deep Freeze for 6 months or longer

Breastfeeding and Your Menstrual Cycle

When do I get my period when I am breastfeeding? Really, this can happen at almost any time and anytime is considered normal. All women have some postpartum bleeding following birth which is not considered a menstrual period. If you are bottle-feeding, you have your first real period not long after this. If you are Breastfeeding, however, there may be an absence of menstruation for weeks, months, and even years while still breastfeeding. Some mothers will even need to completely wean before they see their first period. Others, once their babies begin taking supplemental foods or sleeping longer periods at night, will see the first period. Once menstruation returns it may continue to be irregular during lactation. It's not uncommon to have a shorter or longer than normal period while breastfeeding. It's also not abnormal to skip a period or see the first period return and then find that months pass before the next one.

When you get your first period returns depends upon several factors: how frequently the baby is nursing, how often the baby is supplemented with bottles, whether or not the baby takes a pacifier, how long the baby is sleeping at night, whether or not solids have been introduced, and the mother's own individual body chemistry and the way it responds to hormonal influences associated with breastfeeding. Any time the stimulation to the breast is decreased, especially at night, menstruation is likely to return soon after.

When menstruation does return, you should consider yourself fertile and take precautions against pregnancy if desired. Some women consider their first period as their "warning period" that they are now capable of becoming pregnant. However, it IS possible to become pregnant before the first period returns, although quite rare.

The return of menstruation does not mean the end of breastfeeding. The milk is no less nutritious when you are menstruating than when you are not. Some women do notice a temporary drop in milk supply in the days just prior to a period and for a few days into one. This is due to hormonal fluctuations. Once the period begins and hormone levels begin to return to normal, the milk supply will boost back up again. Most babies can compensate well for this temporary drop in supply with more frequent nursing.

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Starting Solid Foods When Breastfeeding

The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends starting solids between 4-6 months. Each baby is different and many need to wait the full 6 months to show signs of readiness. What are the signs of readiness?: 1. Baby can hold head up, 2. Baby watches you eat or eyes your food from spoon to mouth, 3. Baby has lost "tongue thrust" reflex (she/he does not puch spoon fed food out of mouth). Another thing to look for is if your baby is satisfied with the amount of breast milk she/he is getting (signs your baby may be ready for solids- night waking after they have been sleeping through night and earlier waking). If baby is showing signs of wanting more breast milk (and you are not in a growth spurt, e.g. 4 months) he may be ready to snack on solids. Remember that solids are extras and you should not reduce amount of breastmilk unless baby reduces consumption.