While most won't sleep through the night for 8 hours or longer until after about 6 months, longer stretches of sleep can be both a blessing and a challenge! If you're like many moms, you may want to jump for joy at one less overnight feeding and a little more uninterrupted sleep.
By this time, many breastfed babies start to sleep longer, such as 6-8 hours over night. This is the point at which parents gain the expectation that the baby will sleep all night, and they start comparing notes with other families about infant sleep.
Ultimately, if your baby has reached its birth weight and you're pumping enough milk during the day, it's okay to sleep eight hours without pumping at night. Keep in mind there is an adjustment period for your body as it begins to acclimate to the decrease in overnight milk removal.
Young breastfed babies need to feed regularly around the clock. It's not until they're closer to three months of age that many start sleeping for longer periods overnight. However, the general timeframe between overnight feeds is still around 5-6 hours.
Letting your baby sleep for longer periods (usually at around 3 months of age) isn't going to hurt your breastfeeding efforts. Your body readjusts your milk supply based on when you nurse and how much your baby needs.
Letting your baby sleep through the night (usually at around 3 months of age) isn't going to hurt your breastfeeding efforts. Your body readjusts your milk supply based on when you nurse and how much your baby needs.
Young babies get a lot of the food and fluids they need from night feeds . Many will wake up to three times each night (or more) until they're around six months old, so it's a good idea to do what you can to make night feeds safe, easy and comfortable for both of you .
A few moms might be able to go 10 to 12 hours between their longest stretch, while others can only go 3 to 4 hours. Full breasts make milk more slowly.
Most doctors will agree that you can stop intentionally waking your baby for night feedings around 3-4 months as long as they're showing stable weight gain and staying on their growth curve.
Waiting too long to nurse or pump can slowly reduce your milk supply. The more you delay nursing or pumping, the less milk your body will make. That's because overfilled (engorged) breasts send a signal to your brain that you need to make less milk.
If the room is 77 degrees F or below, breast milk is best used within four hours but may be safe for up to eight hours if it is expressed in a sanitary manner. If your baby doesn't finish the full amount in one feeding, you can use it again within two hours without refrigerating it.
Newborns who sleep for longer stretches should be awakened to feed. Wake your baby every 3–4 hours to eat until he or she shows good weight gain, which usually happens within the first couple of weeks. After that, it's OK to let your baby sleep for longer periods of time at night.
Although rare, it is ok for a 2 month old to sleep 8 hours straight. Most pediatricians will want you to follow feed windows during the first few months to keep your baby's weight on track. Discuss with your pediatrician whether they would prefer for you to feed your baby or if it's ok to let them sleep.
The percentage of mothers experiencing insufficient sleep postpartum was significantly higher than before pregnancy. Similar results were found in a study, which concluded that exclusive breastfeeding is associated with reduced maternal sleep duration (average 7.08 h daily) (2).
Between the age of 2 to 3 months old, healthy babies are often able to sleep for six hours without feeding. Research suggests that about half of babies are able to sleep at least six hours without a nighttime feed by 3 months of age.
Newborns should not go more than about 4–5 hours without feeding. Signs that babies are hungry include: moving their heads from side to side. opening their mouths.
What to expect. Infants sleep between 9 and 12 hours during the night and nap between 2 and 5 hours during the day. At 2 months, infants take between two and four naps each day, and at 12 months, they take either one or two naps. Expect factors such as illness or a change in routine to disrupt your baby's sleep.
But many children's health experts, as well as parents, consider a baby sleeping roughly six to eight hours at a time to be “sleeping through the night.” What's more important to remember is that both daytime and nighttime sleep are essential for your baby's development.
Taking milk out of breasts signals the body to make more milk." But this can mean different things for different moms, she continues. "Some people can skip a feeding here or there with no long lasting effects, however, other people can skip one feeding and it can wreak havoc on their milk supply."
Although your body produces milk on a supply-and-demand basis, the fact is that skipping a single feeding on rare occasions won't have much of an impact on your overall supply (though it may make your breasts ache).
Even parents who decide to nurse just once or twice a day can typically maintain their milk supply. All experts agree that, however you decide to wean, it should happen gradually. Try not to quit cold turkey unless it's necessary (see below).
Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep more than 1 to 2 hours at a time. Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds.
Take heart that when sleepy babies feed, they're usually so relaxed that they're less likely to intake extra air. If you find that he isn't fussy, wiggly, or restless at wake-up time, he may not need to burp each time. In short, it's okay to put him to sleep without burping.
Maternal care experts have urged new mums to try to get enough sleep after delivery, noting that not getting enough sleep daily can affect the ability of the mother to adequately function and also interfere with breast milk production.
Your body is always making milk. That means there's no need to wait for the supply to “replenish” between feedings. In fact, waiting a long time between feeding your baby can actually reduce your milk supply. That's because your body does an amazing job of producing the right amount of milk to keep your baby happy.