Especially in the early days of motherhood, it's very common for breasts to get engorged with milk leaking during the night.
So, how do you avoid getting your pyjamas or bedding uncomfortably wet? Let's talk about how to stay dry all night when breastfeeding baby.
Why is my milk leaking at night?
First, just know that it's totally logical why this happens in the early days of your breastfeeding journey. Your body basically needs to figure out how much milk to produce for your baby so milk production can be a bit too high in the weeks after the milk has come in before then adjusting to your baby's demand.
At night is also when the most milk gets produced thanks to our levels of prolactine (the hormone responsible for lactation) being at the highest during the night with peaks between 2am and 5am, sometimes earlier as this depends on each woman.
If you're lucky to have a newborn who already sleeps several hours, this can also mean that milk isn't removed from your breasts for already quite long periods of time, which can lead to more leaks. But as long as your baby feeds frequently enough, that sounds like a rather a nice problem to have!
Nursing bra or top with breast pads?
During the day, many breastfeeding moms choose to wear a nursing bra with breast pads to catch any leaks. That's of course a great solution for the day. And for the night, many women also go to bed wearing this as there isn't any other option available (until now!)
But really, who wants to be wearing something as tight or inconvenient to breastfeed all night? I know I most definitely don't!
Nursing tops are a more comfortable option and what I've been wearing for a long time, both when my baby and I were co-sleeping or when I'd join her room for her night feeds.
But I always found that this wasn't really a solution as I'd either be feeling cold bedsharing or leaving my bed to breastfeed. When co-sleeping, I also felt like that nursing tops were not convenient enough and that I needed a different kind of opening system to let baby nurse easily anytime.
Ok, so how do I dress to go to bed?
What I'd often wear to bed while breastfeeding at night was standard pyjamas that I'd lift up to breastfeed since in the end, this was the least complicated option and at least kept me warm. I know that's how many moms nurse at night and the advantage that you're just sleeping in the usual pyjamas that you like. But an issue that many of us experience is having to keep the PJ top's fabric up with one hand so that it doesn't bother baby, which is extremely annoying especially when you're half asleep in the middle of a dark room.
For lack of a better solution, I'd often just end up sleeping semi-naked to bedshare and breastfeed easily and safely. Which was by no means a solution as I'd be either freezing or just feeling very uncomfortable.
In both cases, I'd end up soaked, especially in the first months when milk leaks are often more important. Either my PJs would be wet or my bedsheets would become stained with milk. Sure, you can sleep on bath towels that you can replace when needed, but honestly... Don't new moms deserve a better option?
I've decided to create my nursing sleepwear line with warm, comfortable, and convenient pyjamas that hold nursing pads. Seems obvious, no? Well, I couldn't find anything good. Until the Pyjamam...
Check out my very first nursing sleepwear collection.
With love, the Pyjamam 💕
Creating the nursing PJs of my dreams & soon of your nights too!