A Good Night's Breast: Does Breast-Feeding Mean Less Sleep?

I did it both ways. I tried to breastfeed my oldest son 41 years ago but only did so for about 6 weeks since my breast felt they had rocks in them and were very sore because I had too much milk. I found out years later on why my milk flow didn't adjust to my baby's needs. The biggest reason was I was in the hospital for almost a week and had terrible headaches from saddle block anesthesia that lasted over 2 months. No one had told me not to get up for 24 hours nor was I monitored. Back then bottlefeeding was the norm and they didn't bring your baby to you to nurse. Then, because of the severe headaches and equilibrium problems they caused, my mom came down to help me for a month. Instead of waking me if my son was hungry, I didn't realize she was feeding him bottles. The whole experience was a disaster.
When my late in life child came 26 years ago, I was bound and determined to nurse him. I refused to use anesthetic again because of my horrible experience and it was a breeze to have my 2nd child through natural childbirth. A friend introduced me to LaLeche and they were great on educating me on what went wrong the 1st time. The hospital had changed it's policy so if they knew you were nursing, your baby was brought to you when hungry. I was out of the hospital in a day and a half and had no trouble with my child nursing until he weaned himself. For me breastfeeding was so much easier than bottle feeding. I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night, go to the kitchen, fix the bottle, etc. that made it hard to get back to sleep. All I had to do was go to the crib, get my baby and let him spend the rest of the night in our bed as nursing was very relaxing and I'd fall back asleep easily. Going out was so much easier, too. I didn't have to pack a diaper bag with bottles every time I went out. If he got hungry, there was usually a restroom stall where I could nurse and if not I would just go to my car and nurse. I have no tolerance for those who make a public spectacle of nursing. It's not that difficult to find a discreet place to nurse. The benefits of nursing I found as opposed to bottlefeeding: Less hassle, easier to fall back asleep, calmer & more easy going baby, and better immune system. My oldest son was never sickly but always caught everything that was going around. My 2nd was rarely ill and recovered quickly. From birth through high school, he had maybe 4 or 5 colds and a couple of bouts of the flu and that was it. As far as intelligence, they both have high IQ's and each thinks they're the smartest (lol). Some women for a variety of reasons can't breastfeed and there's no reason to feel guilty about choosing to bottlefeed. But from my experience, having done it both ways, breastfeeding worked best for me.

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I don't know about this "research" but IMO, it seems like if you breast feed, you might be up more times because the baby digests it and tolerates it so well, and gets hungry sooner. However, if you use formula, it takes longer to burp the baby and ease abdominal discomfort causing a cranky little one that takes longer to get back to sleep. Long story short? Breastfeeding is best for baby, and mommy is going to lose sleep either way.

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Breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural thing! This was created by God Himself when He created women; enough said - but however, I highly recommend it to anyone that can. I breastfeed four children: 14 year old for about 14 to 15 mths, 6 year old for about 11 mths(couldn't get him to stop bitting), 3 year old about 14 mths and my 21 month old I am still breastfeeding and don't plan to wean until she's 2. Though i never experience bottle feeding personally I feel that one would get more sleep breast feeding. Why? Cause with me, i would give them the breast and go back to sleep. I imagine with bottle feeding you would have to get up in the night (sometime cold) and fix bottles and warm and feed. With breatfeeding i would just pull it out, make sure he/she positioned good and go back to sleep. I absolutely love(d) it and wouldn't change a thing! God bless.

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I will add my opinion to this over-rated argument. Nature provides exactly what babies need for every single mammalian animal on earth, including humans. It is only humans who consistantly attempt to improve upon nature, usually with disastrous results. Having said that: Some women cannot breast feed for various reasons and for them formula works fine. However, if a woman is able to breast feed by all means she should do so. All the scientific studies about it will say what pros and cons that support the research of the scientists who conducted the study. Very few studies actually work to change the minds of those who carry out the research. What it comes down to is two simple facts: it is the mother's choice and nature always provides what is needed, in exact amounts, for the babies of mammals.

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I breast fed my first child and it was the worst experience of my life , hands down! I was so sleep deprived I was hallucinating and called the child abuse hotline because I was afraid I was going to kill her. I actually hated her at that point. After one particularly bad night I switched her to formula and I got the first night of sleep in months. When my twins rolled around several years later I just used formula, they were healthier, happier, and thrived and so did I. My daughter and I never had that bonding when she was a baby because I was so tired from lack of sleep and she was so hungry she couldn't sleep either. All 3 of my kids did great in school, but the ones that weren't breast fed were had far less health issues than the breast fed baby.

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God gave me Breast to feed my child/children end of story ....

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If your nipples bled, you weren't doing it right. I'm sorry, but bleeding nipples is a classic sign of a bad latch--you needed a good IBCLC to help you fix latch problems.

It breaks my heart when an easily fixed problem leads to the idea that 3 months of breastfeeding is somehow medal-worthy. It's nine months less than the APA recommends, and years less than the WHO recommends.

I think that when women stop viewing nursing as some unnatural thing done to "earn cred," our babies (and our health care system) will be in much better shape. Better trained pediatricians is a great place to start. Any pediatrician who throws out the "oh, formula won't hurt" line is one who either doesn't know squat about infant nutrition or, worse, one who's getting perks from the formula companies.

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This study is not accurate. More propaganda for breastfeeding. When I breastfed both of my babies I got 2-3 hours of sleep b/t feedings- sleep deprived and irritable I eventually (after many months) switched to formula and magically they slept longer and longer until they were sleeping through the night!!

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I bottle fed my oldest son, breast fed his 2 brothers....still never got 7 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period until they were well over 1 yr old!! No difference in their intelligence either, all 3 are educated, employed, and great dads, supportive of their wives whether they breast-fed or not. And the grands are healthy, smart children! In fact, the brightest of the older ones was bottle fed only! Her cousins are not far behind her, they were breast-fed.
Point is, I don't think it makes a big yahoo in any one direction! Do what is best and most comfortable for you! Because if you aren't comfortable breast feeding, it just won't work, and it is nothing to fret over It doesn't make you a bad mother or any less of a woman. If your child is healthy and happy,that is all that should matter

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I have found how much sleep I and my babies had was derived from a combination of the kids appetite, temperment & the environment it is in. My first woke every couple hours til he was 9 months old but each time he was up for 10 min. max including diaper change and he was always an awesome napper so I caught up during the day. My second slept 6 hours at night from the day he came home. My third ate every 3 hrs during the day(but slowly) and started off @ 4 hour nights and gradually worked up to 7 hours by the time she was 3 months. It is very simple, use only a night light, change them first, Do Not Talk To them @ Night! My kids Never had sleep issues because there was no stimulation.
Creds? I am sorry but I breast fed 3 children for a minimum of their first year, my daughter to almost 2 because of her extreme dietary allergies. Never had clogged ducts, cracked bleeding nipples or thrush. What exactly did the author of this article do that she had these issues from breastfeeding for 3 months?

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Do what works for you. Breastfeeding is the most natural thing to do, but it may be hard for working moms. I have 4 kids, nursed my first one until she was 15 months old and I returned to work, my twins only got 3 weeks of nursing because it simply was too stressful and I was so sleep-deprived that I nearly dropped one of them, and my youngest nursed until he was 3 1/2. I myself was bottle-fed because my mom didn't produce any milk. Stuff happens; I still turned out fine as did my marathon-nurser. Again, do what works for you in your specific situation. And to all the women on here: stop bragging or putting each other down; if anything, we need to support each other.

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Who cares? Seriously, who the hell cares anymore? It's no one's bloody business whether or not someone breast feeds or bottle feeds, so long as the baby eats and is raised in a loving, safe environment. Studies show breastfeeding is marginally better, but anecdotally, it doesn't make a rat's ass of a difference. I was formula fed, I'm a straight A student, attending college, applying for graduate programs, rarely sick, well socialized and very close to my mother. Obviously, how I was fed was not nearly as important as how I was raised. This friggin' argument is as old, tired and useless as the one between working and SAHMs. None of it matters as long as the parent(s) love and discipline their children and create a stable, caring environment for them to grow up in and that encourages self expression and expansion. I am so tired of women bashing one another for choices that, frankly, are no one else's business. Stop being stupid and judgmental, do what's best for your kid and support every other mother on the assumption that she's doing the best she can for hers. Formula/daycare kids are just as healthy, happy, intelligent and well-adjusted as breastfed/SAH kids, so obviously neither decision matters in the end.

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