Tricks to have a happy night-time Nursing experience

Breastfed infants awaken to nurse often, because breast milk is so rapidly digested. 

Hence your sleep will be disrupted many times during the night. Even though you know it’s going to happen, the reality of being on-call 24 hours a day for your hungry infant can be a bit of a shock. Night nursings in the early months are essential to provide your baby with adequate nutrition and to maintain a generous milk supply. Be happy that there is atleast no formula to mix and no equipment to get ready!
Here are a few Tricks to have a happy night-time Nursing experience

1. Night time nursing is really important : This is so vital , since your body produces more prolactin (the hormone that promotes milk production) when you breastfeed at night, so night feedings help to keep up milk production. Also, different women can store different amount of milk in their breasts, so for many women night feedings are essential to meeting their babies’ needs.

2. Discover a comfortable position : Learn to breastfeed lying down as soon as you can ! If you can’t sleep, at least you can get some rest if you’re lying down. Here’s how:
Lie on your side, with a pillow to support your head. Place a pillow between your knees which you feel comfortable. Position the baby, lying on his side, so his nose is level with your nipple. To change sides, you can either hold the baby firmly against your chest, and roll over, or, depending on the size of your breasts, you can leave the baby where he is and reposition yourself so that you are rolled slightly towards the baby and he can now nurse on the “top” breast.

3. Get organized : Keep diapers, a bottle of water, even a snack or two near your bed so that you don’t have to go anywhere to get what you need.


4. Keep your baby close to you night : Night feedings is easier if you don’t have to get up and get the baby to you from across the room. Also researched show that it reduces the risk of SIDS to have your baby share your room.
For maximum ease of breastfeeding, you may want to consider bedsharing. Breastfeeding mothers who bedshare get the most sleep and are the most likely to continue breastfeeding.


5. Lights shall be off : When your baby wakes to nurse, keep the room as dark and quiet as possible, to encourage him to go right back to sleep. Have a nightlight or flashlight ready if you need to see what you’re doing to get a good latch,rather than turning on the bedside or room light.

6. Hide the clock : Try not looking at the time. It somehow makes it worse to know that you’ve only slept two hours since the last time the baby woke you up.

7. Easy access clothing : Wear something that would be comfortable for you while you are feeding your little muffin , while also keeping you warm during cool nights. Some women like to wear a nursing bra at night, but be careful as this can increase your risk of plugged ducts and mastitis.

8. Easy cleanup : Do you leak milk? Does your baby spit up? Keep a towel underneath you and your baby to help you stay dry and comfortable. Fold up a few more towels near the bed so you can easily switch to a dry one as needed.

9. A helping hand : If your baby wakes up quite frequently at night, use breast compression to increase the amount of high-fat milk he gets at each feeding. While the baby is sucking, squeeze your breast between your thumb and fingers just like hand-expressing but right into his mouth.

10. Nap when possible : Get maximum rest as you can during the day. This can be lot harder to do if you have more than one child, but if you can nap when the baby naps it will make a huge difference (maybe your toddler can play with toys while you are napping or watch a favourite cartoon show ). Or perhaps your partner can take the baby for a while on weekend mornings while you get a bit more sleep.
As your baby grows, his night time needs will change and those 2 a.m. feedings will be less crucial. Soon the day will come when you’ll wake up with breasts overflowing,  and realize he hasn’t nursed all night. Until then, keep working on strategies that will help you get enough rest.

Please do share with me your views on the post and also if it helps you in any way!!!

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