The No-cry Sleep Solution (76 page)

Authors: Elizabeth Pantley

Baby’s Sleeping (Finally!) but Mommy’s Not

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Mother-Speak

“Last night we had our best sleep night ever—my little guy slept seven whole hours. The problem is that I woke up in the middle of the night with rocks on my chest! My breasts were leak-ing, and they hurt. After working so hard to get him to sleep, I didn’t dare wake him up. I’ve so longed for the time my baby would sleep through the night—I never dreamed I would wish he would wake up to nurse!”

Elisa, mother of nine-month-old Jahwill

Adjustment Period Solutions

Here are a few tips for getting through the adjustment period.

• Give your baby a complete, both-sides feeding before bed and in the morning.

• Sleep in your roomiest bra with nursing pads or washcloths tucked inside.

• If you wake engorged, apply warm compresses and pump a small amount (either by hand or with a breast pump). Don’t pump a full feeding because you’ll trick your body into thinking baby is still needing that nighttime feeding. Just release enough to get comfortable.

• Try taking a warm shower and massaging your breasts under the spray of water. You might want to lean forward so that gravity helps you to express some milk. This may help you release enough milk to get comfortable until your baby wakes up to nurse.

• Apply a cold compress to your breasts, or use ibuprofen to minimize any pain or discomfort.

• If you are in pain and cannot pump, go ahead—pick up your sleeping baby and put him to your breast. Most babies

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can nurse in their sleep, and yours may suck just enough to help you get back to sleep. Even if your baby wakes during this feeding, he’ll fall right back to sleep easily during the nursing session.

• Be prepared for additional daytime feedings for a bit. Some babies who suddenly begin sleeping longer at night will make up for the lost feedings by nursing more during the day.

• If you have experienced plugged ducts or breast infections in the past, avoid any repeats by pumping or nursing your baby enough to soften your breasts. Just try to minimize this so that you can work the nighttime feeding out of your schedule. Remember that your body will adjust production to match your baby’s new sleep schedule.

• Don’t stop breastfeeding! Your breasts still need to be emptied, and frequent daytime feeding will help you move past this uncomfortable condition.

Pay Attention to Your Own Health

If you have chronic insomnia or other unusual sleep problems, or other health problems, be smart. See a doctor.

Final Thoughts: Mom-to-Mom

As I finish up this book, I am thinking about how far I’ve come with Coleton’s sleep habits. When my journey first began, he was twelve months old and waking every hour to nurse.

The desperate longing for sleep filled my nights; a frantic and relentless search through books and on the Internet for something—anything—that would help Coleton sleep consumed my days. Through it all, though, one criterion guided me. Whatever ideas I tried, I would not allow my baby to cry himself to sleep.

After all, we were in the same boat: We both needed sleep and couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.

That’s not to say that my tears didn’t threaten occasionally. I remember nights when he woke me for the sixth time and I prayed, “Please, God, just let him sleep.” Like you, my readers and friends, I learned that when one is deprived of sleep, sleep becomes the absolute priority in life.

Now that I’m standing on the other side of the bridge (or shall I say, bed?), sleep is no longer a major issue in my life. Coleton routinely takes a two-hour nap and sleeps all night with few disruptions. On the occasion when he does wake to nurse, I’m well rested and able to handle his midnight call without distress. Sleep has once again become a simple matter of maintenance in our home.

My test moms followed the same path. They began the trip with bags under their eyes and anguished pleas for help: 239