Practical question re night feeds

[Babbaganoush]

I'm 32 weeks and hoping to BF my baby. Just pondering night feeds and wondering about logistics. What did people do for light in the middle of the night?? I can't imagine I will want to put the bedside light on as it will wake my DH and also possibly make it more difficult for me/baby to get back to sleep. But I obviously want a bit of light so I can see what I'm doing, especially if I need to change the baby. Was considering getting a small night light or would that be a pointless purchase?

Torch on phone is usually enough light.

I didn't ever manage to find a nightlight that gave enough light to be useful... so had one of those lamps where you tap the base to change the brightness. That on the dumbest setting on the floor was perfect for me (and DP).

I got a small plug in light, it's light sensitive so only comes on when it's dark. Bright enough to see what I'm doing but not too bright that it keeps us awake. It looks like a plug, it's not a lamp as such.

I also had a lamp where you can tap the base and it has 3 different brightness. And used the lowest.
Also know someone who used a salt lamp which was quite dim

We have fairy lights over our bed that we left on overnight when our babies were little. You don’t need much light once you get the hang of it,

I used the bedside light on dimmest setting to start with. Now a small red nightlight gives enough light. Baby basically learns to seek out the nipple themselves soon enough.

We had a little nightlight (was owl shaped) that was battery powered and lasted ten minutes then went off automatically. It wasn’t expensive but was great as we used it for night feeds but it’s also useful for travelling with a toddler now.

Initially I used my phone or kindle, and then we started using a low level bedside light that stays on all night.

I have a clip on reading light attached to the headboard. It's just enough light to see without waking baby too much.

We use a grolight that we leave on all night. It attaches to your main light and gives of a faint blue light. You click the light switch once for blue and then on and off again for full light.

I use a Gro nightlight. It just attaches to your existing light, bedside or ceiling. It's adjustable too so you can get it just how you like it.

Thanks everyone...we already have the lamps you tap with different settings and use them on the dimmest one anyway which will be too bright.

Will look into the GroLight.

Also hadn't thought of just using my phone torch...good idea!

I have a string of fairy lights that hang on the curtain rod. I keep them on all night as we cosleep anyway so I like to be able to see where he is. We did that with our first until she was 1 and she wasn’t feeding during the night (and was big enough that I knew where she was).

Currently using a plug in nightlight for my 3 week old. Plugged at floor level at end of our bed n works well, gives enough light to see by but not disturb. Comes on automatically at night and off in morning. Not very expensive from Amazon.

I turn my phone screen on initially then have no light once she's feeding. She's 3 weeks now and is much better at latching on easily. My curtains are fairly thin so my room isn't particularly dark however.

Phone torch will probably be too bright, but if you set your phone settings so the screen timeout is 10 minutes and just take it to a mostly white screen, like MN or FB, that should be enough.

I didn't really need light after the first few weeks. It does depend if you're co-sleeping and don't mind falling asleep again or sitting up and staying awake, though. If you're staying awake then light might be important.

@Babbaganoush I am the same as @Rabbitykins55 we have a
small plug in light, it only comes on when it's dark. I was so impressed I got one for the landing for late night loo trips it's great and I can see it being useful for the baby when he is older.

I have one of these

www.argos.co.uk/product/4618553

And the different colours each have a different brightness.

You can buy led bulbs that have variable colour and brightness and fit into a normal lamp. Dim red is ideal as bluish lights tend to inhibit melatonin and thus sleep.

@mommybear1 thanks...can you remember where you got yours from??

Touch lamp was good. I co-slept and often just fed in the dark.

suggest discussing with DH now how you will manage the night parenting, and review this if you become exhausted or unwell. Don’t go down the road of doing everything in all the nights/early mornings.

In the early days DH did nappy and clothes changes in the night and early mornings as necessary as I recovered from the birth (C section). Later I did almost all the night parenting but with DC1 became exhausted and unwell due to sleep deprivation. DC1 was a dreadful sleeper. So he had to step up and do a fair share of night parenting (feeding is just a small part of it with a bad sleeper, eg DC1 would be wide awake for ages and seeking cuddles! My DNs had reflux and needed to be upright after feeds so nights for my in laws were very hard)

DC2 was a better sleeper, DH would take the 9pm to midnight or 1am shift, and bring her to me for a feed if needed. I went to bed at 9pm and knew I could at least a three or four hour stretch of sleep.

I bought a Lumie Bodyclock, it was fantastic as the light is more natural than normal bulbs and it could be dimmed really low or could be really bright. And it’s still in use now.

Thanks @Dozer ...I kind of just assumed if I was BF I would do the majority of the care at night time as DH will be working in the day. But you make a good point so I will definitely discuss with him

We bought the new groegg it has the room temp on and is colour coded to that. However the light is bright enough to see what you’re doing but duller than my bedside light

We've got a hue light strip over the bed so that's on the dimmest setting - low enough to be able to see but not too bright to disturb all of us.

I agree with @dozer, it's definitely worth discussing other aspects. DD is 4 days old and we're using the same routine as with DS at the moment - I feed, he changes, burps, resettles. BF and recovering from birth are both exhausting, and if you're going to be dealing with everything during the day it's useful to have help overnight.