Breastfeeding baby to sleep

[hiss42]

I didn't realise this was such a terrible sin until I just looked at a few threads on here. DS is three weeks old and me and DP are planning a night out on saturday since I was in labour on my 21st birthday and am overdue a party!

I've been expressing milk and freezing it so he has a clean supply for the night we're out and the next day as I will have been drinking. Even though we'll be back around 3am, we obviously won't be 100% safe to look after him so my mums coming to stay over and so will be looking after him for us overnight and sunday so we can have a break.

The only problem is that the only was DS will go to sleep is by me feeding him. DP has tried giving him expressed milk from a bottle at around 11pm before we go to sleep, but no matter how much he has, even if he's not hungry, he likes being on my lap and will fall asleep within minutes if he's got a boob in his mouth. I'm really worried about how my mum will manage and since I will have been drinking so even when Icome home I won't be able to feed him to sleep! Any ideas?

[thisisyesterday]

i don't think it's a terrible sin! i think it's normal

but there is no way i would leave a tiny baby for a night out personally, so i never had this particular problem
i would also say that you are going to want to express while you are out, you will get really engorged and uncomfortable otherwise and you don't really want to be going long periods without feeding at that age

i think at the end of the day if you go out your mum will just deal with it. and if he is inconsolable then you just need to accept that you will have to come home.
if that doesn't work then I would think about re-arranging it for when baby is a bit older

[Cosmosis]

Congratulations on your DS and your birthday! I?m well impressed you?re up for a night out so soon after having the baby, but maybe that?s the difference between being a mum at 21 and a mum at 36

It is only a sin to the ?rod? brigade

Your mum could try rocking or singing or even walking or slinging to sleep? Have you tried swaddling or white noise as well? Or she could offer her upturned little finger for him to suck on if he wants to suck to sleep.

How much are you planning to drink? You can drink while bf, but obviously it?s not a good idea to feed if you are properly drunk - milk is made from blood, so leaves your milk at the same rate it leaves you blood (which iirc is a unit an hour??) Unless you?re planning on going on a huuuuuge bender I would have thought you?re alright to feed the next day.

[Cosmosis]

meant to add that you?ll undoubtably need to express as well.

[mamsnet]

I think it sounds very early to mess up your supply and confuse baby, tbh..

Could you not wait a bit longer to go drinking??

[lilham]

It's not a sin at all! Most newborns need help to go to sleep, whether it's rocking, the boob, swaddling. And each carer can adopt a different method. For example, my DH helped DD to sleep from the very early days, and she can easily fall asleep with the daddy walk, but need feeding from me. The only thing I think your DS might struggle with is that he might not have bonded with your mum?

If you want to know about alcohol and bf, have a look at this page. I think basically once you feel sober, you can feed your DS again.

Enjoy your party.

[hiss42]

thanks everyone! :) think the rest of this week i'll try and get DP to try rocking/singing/walking...!

my mum stayed with us for the first two weeks and he's only three weeks now so he'll be fine in terms of being comfortable with her!
I know most people wouldn't want to leave their babies to go drinking, but as a young(ish) mum, I think it's important to have time for myself or i'd feel isolated. He's been with me 24-7 for the past three weeks, so I think a few hours apart will be fine! Especially as no other friends I have who had a baby the same age or younger even considered breast feeding. It's just personal choice that it happens to be a night rather than during the day, and I know he's in safe hands!

i didnt even think about needing to express during the night for comfort reasons! hmmm.....

[MoonFaceMamaaaaargh]

Sin!

God no! It is a wonderful, usefull thing!
But tbh i would not have enjoyed a night out at this stage. Engorgement, supply worries, worries about baby (even if you know they are in safe hands you may worry). It's crap that you were labouring on your birthday, but a night out now might not feel much better than the day itself!

If you go i hope you have a great time. But i would rearrange if it were me.

And congratulations.

[lilham]

For expressing, you can just trying doing it by hand over the sink. You should be able to squeeze enough to help relieve the engorgement. (Practice a bit at home first ofc).

[Cosmosis]

I would go, but be prepared to want to come home, or need to come home. While you may think now that you?ll be fine, you may well find that when it actually comes to it, you feel a bit funny about it. On the other hand, you may not :)

[greeneone12]

I used to think it was a sin - fast forward 10 months and my cheeky little scamp can't be fed to sleep unless we are in a really quiet room! I say make the most of it while little one is so small!

I am nearer 30 than 20 and enjoyed a lovely night out for my friends 30th a few weeks after DD was born. We were both fine and I enjoyed the time out as like you needed a tiny bit of space. I was very tired the next day but my supply was fine and I am glad I made the effort.

Enjoy :)