Did sleep training cause milk supply to dwindle?

[Firsttimemummmm]

I'm currently researching sleep training for DS who is 9 months and breastfed. He currently feeds during the night, more for comfort really than calories and we co sleep but I want to move to him sleeping in his cot for both his health and mine. I read somewhere that sleep training a co sleeping baby who nurses during the night will cause your milk supply to essentially stop and result in you having to wean baby. I don't yet want to wean him off BF completely, he feeds around 3 times a day. He won't take the bottle and tbh formula isn't great for his eczema. Pumping gives me next to no output so also not an option.

What has been the experience of other mums with milk supply when sleep training your BF babies? Along with any other golden nuggets you have about generally sleep training a co sleeping BF baby would also be appreciated!

As long as he is feeding during the day you'll be fine. Your milk supply will decrease so you won't have milk overnight when you no longer need it but you'll be fine to carry on feeding during the day.

At 9 months he isn't feeding just for comfort at night. Milk is the main source of nutrition before 1 so actively night weaning before 12 months isn't advisable as baby can miss out on much needed nutrients and calories, as well as hydration.

But in answer to your question it won't impact your supply in the day, your body will just adapt.

Thanks for the reassurance @Whentwobecomesthree

@maryberryslayers that was my other concern about the supply dropping and him not getting enough nutrition. Maybe I need to rethink the timing and wait closer to 12 months

Sorry, name change fail there🤦‍♀️

I sleep trained at 6 months but my ebf baby continued to wake at night for a feed until 10 months- he just went back to sleep independently. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive

Mine have all been night weaned before 12 months. Two were night weaned before 6 months. Never had any supply issues and one fed until she was almost three.

It's also not true that the majority of their nutrition comes from milk before 1. By 8/9 months they should be getting more calories from food than milk.

This is not true, they are getting the majority of their calories from milk until at least 12 months.

@Sawa75 that gives me hope! I'm happy to keep BF but also need him to sleep independently

I've heard both bits of information as well. That they need milk as the main source till 12 months and also that around 9 months they should begin to transition to getting most nutrition from food. Need to do some more digging for some clarity around this

It might be true with a younger baby but at 9 months your supply will be very well established. Do agree though that it's not recommended to night wean before 12 months and what you're experiencing may be the 9 month sleep regression in which case, it might get better without night weaning

Not according to the WHO. There is a long report on weaning where they advise how many calories should come from food and how many from milk and by 8/9 an infant should be getting g more from food. I'll try and find it and post the picture.

“Breast-milk is also an important source of energy and nutrients in children aged 6–23 months. It can provide half or more of a child’s energy needs between the ages of 6 and 12 months, and one third of energy needs between 12 and 24 months”

This is from the WHO, doesn’t seem to say they should be getting the majority of their calories from their food by 8/9 months at all.

It's from a document we use from the WHO at work. When I go into work I will take a photo and post it. There is a table on the document specifying how many caloroes are required from food and how many from milk. It is around 8/9 months that more calories should come from food.

By 9 months you should be fine. In the earlier days while feeding is establishing it definitely has an impact - night feeds then are really important for supply.

Yes would be interested to see this thankyou!

At about 9/10 months of age baby's only need 400ml ish of milk per day. If they are having more they will be impacting the food they intake. The idea is to reduce the milk feeds as they reach certain ages to ensure they get the essential nutrients they need from food.

In any case, whether they have all their milk feeds during the day or over both the day or night is moot. The baby will adjust and take what they need when it is offered. It's the same principle as if you are away from the baby during the day (ie they go to nursery) they often have no feeds during day and they reverse cycle and start feeding more at night or at the weekend. Baby's are clever, they will take what they need when it's available to them and at 9 months it's completely reasonable for you to control this and not them. Only offer during the day and get the calories in during the day so your nights are free.