Written in consultation with Cassie Terrillion, IBCLC, RLC, Baby-Led Sleep Specialist

Last week’s article was about the basics of newborn sleep. This is a really big topic and deserves some follow up from Breastfeeding Success. It’s also a really good idea to understand how your infant’s sleep patterns affect breastfeeding and vice versa.

Newborn sleep and breastfeeding are very closely linked. Understanding those links can help new parents feel more confident and at peace with the way things usually go in those early days and weeks.

How does breastfeeding affect sleep?

The act of direct breastfeeding, and especially exclusive breastfeeding, can definitely affect the quantity and quality of sleep that you and your baby get. Exclusive breastfeeding means that you ONLY feed your baby directly from your body. It’s ideal to do this especially in the first few weeks, so that you can establish a very healthy and stable milk supply. Pumping and supplementing during that early period can sometimes interfere with that goal.

Some sleep benefits to breastfeeding include:

• Hormonal changes: If you are exclusively breastfeeding especially, there are a lot of protective hormonal processes that happen. Breastfeeding can release hormones that actually help you sleep better. It’s shown that people who breastfeed get an average of 45 minutes of sleep more per night.
• Breastfeeding is low effort: Ideally, your baby is in your room and within arms reach when you sleep. You don’t have to leave the room to prepare bottles and then clean bottles. When your baby needs to eat, breastfeeding means that you can easily reach your baby and feed them without much disruption. You may not even need to get out of bed or turn on any lights. This can save you some precious minutes of sleep, and usually makes it easier to go back to sleep.

How do baby’s sleep patterns affect breastfeeding?

We know that newborn sleep is different from our own typical sleep habits, and often difficult for adults to contend with. There are actually some very good reasons for that, and some of those have to do with ensuring that breastfeeding goes well.

A newborn’s sleep patterns can benefit breastfeeding in a number of ways:

• Regular and consistent milk removal: A good milk supply is created by regular and consistent stimulation at the nipple. Each time your baby latches on and removes milk, your body gets the message that there is a baby there, and they are asking for more food. Your body’s response is to increase the milk supply. A newborn’s tiny belly means they need to wake often to ask for food, so breastfeeding often and around the clock means you will be building a great milk supply for future success and ease.
• Natural prolactin hormone surges: Your body tends to make more prolactin between the hours of 1-5am. Your baby’s tendency to wake often to feed means you’ll likely breastfeed during this time. When you stimulate the breast during a prolactin surge, you get an extra boost for your milk production.

Frustrations for parents

It’s very normal to feel frustrated at having to wake up so often to feed your newborn. You may see people posting about newborn babies “sleeping through the night”. It seems like this is a badge of honor for new parents, and we desperately want this to be possible for us! It’s just not very realistic or even healthy. The people who are experiencing the normal ups and downs of infant sleep just aren’t posting about it.

Also, we’re usually not accustomed to the newborn’s kind of sleep pattern. It’s normal to feel exhausted and want to try anything to get the baby to sleep just a little longer. Just remember a couple of things when you feel this way:

• This is temporary: Newborns develop SO fast. And babies in the first year especially, continue to make huge developmental leaps. During this time, it’s so normal for things to be different and inconsistent, but it doesn’t last all that long. If you’re patient and watchful, you’ll see that your baby changes, and things will usually start to improve naturally.
• Topping off might work, but should it?: It’s sometimes true that giving a baby a bottle of breastmilk or formula before you go to bed might help them sleep a little longer, but that might not be the best thing to do. First, it’s actually healthy for a baby to wake up often. It can lower their risk for SIDS, especially during the newborn period. And secondly, your milk supply benefits from the baby eating there more often, especially in those first couple of months. Filling a baby’s belly from a bottle means that your body might be receiving the messages it needs to develop a great milk supply.
• Your baby is normal and things are working: It’s hard to remember this when you’re exhausted, but waking up often is part of a baby’s natural safety and development system. It can help to recall that in the difficult moments.
• Forcing it can backfire: Trying to work against your baby’s natural sleep and feeding behaviors can sometimes work against you. It’s a good idea to set up only positive associations with sleep. A good, secure attachment can mean that babies have less stress and pushback later.
• What does “sleeping through the night” really mean?: In regards to infant sleep, the definition of “sleeping through the night” is actually just 4-5 hours. So, if you hear people bragging about that, they don’t usually mean a huge 10-12 hour stretch of sleep. You may be doing even better than you think! And once your baby gets to the point of sleeping that long, you’ll likely start to notice that you feel more rested. 4-5 hours of sleep for adults usually means that you get two full sleep cycles. Getting that second full sleep cycle can make all the difference.

Some things to know

While you’re parenting a new baby, it’s really important to be able to “go with the flow”. Follow your baby’s lead, because it’s best for both of you. Your breast milk supply depends on that to be plentiful, and your baby depends on that so they can grow and be happy and healthy. It also usually means that you can relax and just focus on your baby’s needs without worrying about whether you’re doing everything “right”, or like someone else says you should do it. Here are a few things to do in those early weeks to help you ease through:

• Feed on demand, even at night. Remember that this is a critical time for your baby’s growth and for your milk supply. This is the most powerful thing you can do to ensure success.
• Limit excessive caffeine: A moderate amount shouldn’t have any affect on your baby’s ability to sleep. That means consuming no more than about 2-3 cups of coffee per day. It’s also a good idea to stop drinking caffeine at least a few hours before you’d like your baby to sleep. The caffeine content in your breast milk peaks at about 1.5-2 hours after you consume it. After that, it reduces until it’s undetectable at around 6 hours later. Remember that a lot of things contain caffeine that you might not realize.
• Other than caffeine, what you eat shouldn’t have a big impact on your milk and your baby’s sleep.
• If your baby is waking up every hour or seems uncomfortable, talk to your pediatrician in case of reflux or other health issue.

My sweetest wish for all parents is that they can make peace with their baby’s natural rhythms of sleep and feeding, especially when you have a newborn. When you can surrender and give your trust to your baby and your body, things usually work out in the end. It’s great to turn off the media and turn down the volume on any other voices who are telling you how you “should” parent your baby related to sleep and feeding. So much of the messaging out there is outdated or incorrect. It’s also true that sometimes things don’t go smoothly and it’s best to contact a lactation professional for the most evidence-based and useful advice. This is such a personal journey. Every baby and parent is different. You will figure out what works best for your baby and your family.