Night Nursing

unaveragejane

Okay, I am trying to get a better game plan for BFing this time around. Even though it's a bit early, I'm kind of obsessed. There are a lot of things that went wrong that I couldn't control last time, but one thing I did not plan for well at all was how to nurse comfortably at night. What worked best for you? Feeding in the bed or in a chair? Did your LO sleep in your room or the nursery? If you nursed in the bedroom while YH was asleep, did you use a night light or anything? Also, if you nursed in the bedroom, where did you do nighttime diaper changes? FWIW, we will not bed-share, but I am considering getting an Arm's Reach Co-sleeper b/c it seems like it would be easier to use for BFing and monitoring the baby than the PNP that we used last time.

petitmonstree

In the very beginning since I had a c-section DH slept on the couch and DS slept in the bed with me and I'd just get some pillows and sit up with him, sometimes I'd just flip over and nurse him laying down if I was really tired lol. Now he is sleeping in one of those rocking sleepers next to me and I basically do the same thing. As for diaper changes we change him in his room. Once he's sleeping longer stretches at night and I'm fully healed from my c-section we plan to move him into his crib in his room. Hopefully by then we buy a chair so I can feed him in his room instead of bringing him to the living room or back to our room to sit down.

LatteLady5

What worked best for you? Feeding in the bed or in a chair? Did your LO sleep in your room or the nursery? If you nursed in the bedroom while YH was asleep, did you use a night light or anything? Also, if you nursed in the bedroom, where did you do nighttime diaper changes? FWIW, we will not bed-share, but I am considering getting an Arm's Reach Co-sleeper b/c it seems like it would be easier to use for BFing and monitoring the baby than the PNP that we used last time.

Feeding in the bed or in a chair?: Feeding in bed worked for us with DD. She was a terrible sleeper and I was adamantly against bed sharing until a few months in with practically no sleep and I put her in bed with me and she started sleeping a little better. DS is an awesome sleeper but he has to be held or think he's being held. He sleeps with me and in a bassinet next to my bed depending on the night. I still like side lying but he's little and it takes him awhile to latch so sometimes I have to sit up and get him situated.

For a light I either just use my cell phone or turn on the lamp with a little blue lovie thrown over it so it's not so bright. I sometimes toss the blanket over DH's head if I have to turn on the light because I know it's brighter but he usually just sleeps through it. With DD I had (and lost but should get a new) battery candle. It was perfect. Just the right amount of light.

For diaper changes I just change him with a changing pad on the bed or in the bassinet. I have everything I need in our room and easily organized so I don't have to look for it and that's really the most helpful thing.

I think your best bet is to figure out what nursing hold works best for you and LO and go with that and just make sure you have everything you need close by. (changing gear, nursing pillow, burp cloth, water for you etc.)

CLLDLL

We used a Rock-N-Play right next to my side of the bed for the first 3 months or so.  Then a PNP until 9.5 months.  We looked into an Arms Reach, but decided that the cheaper RNP was fine for us.

We nursed in bed. I turned on the light in our bathroom and then partially closed the door so it would be a dim light. I just used a bunch of pillows propped up on our headboard to get myself comfy.  Then I highly highly recommend a My Brest Friend nursing pillow for the the first month or two.  So much easier to position a tired, NB squish than just your arm or a big Boppy.  I had to use a nipple shield for the first month or so.  So after I finished nursing, I'd pass LO off to DH to change and swaddle while I cleaned up the shield and got myself back together. He used this huge Skip Hop changing pad that we just unfolded and laid on our bed at each change.  We covered it with either a large prefold or an old receiving blanket so LO didn't slide around.  Then we used this little mesh basket that held a few diapers, diaper cream, wipes, wipe solution, a fresh change of pjs etc. that we kept under our bedside table.  Once he started sleeping in the PNP I just used the little storeage bag that hung off it to hold a prefold, a diaper and diaper cream.  By that time he wasn't usually pooping in the MOTN or peeing everytime the diaper came off so we didn't need the big changing pad and extra pjs.

Danie007

The first two weeks A slept in a bassinet in our room. I changed him on a pad on my bed. I have a bucket that I toss the dirty diapers in. Friday (3wks) I moved him to the crib in his room. Right now I'm still nursing/changing him in my bed. May switch to nursing inthe chair in his room when he goes down to nursing once at night.

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Rrrrrachel

I've always preferred to nurse in a chair. Even when she slept in our room early on I would get up and go in her room to change nurse. Not sure what we'll do this time since someone will be sleeping in each bedroom.

jess9802

I never really figured out nursing lying down. We did it once at the hospital, and that was about it. Our bed wasn't a safe co-sleeping environment. In the early days, DS slept in a PNP in our bedroom, and when it was time to feed him I'd get up and go to the recliner in the nursery or out onto the living room couch, depending on how upright I needed to be (in very beginning, very upright - recliner didn't work). I'd nurse him if I could, then supplement with the bottle, then put him back to bed while I pumped. God, I forget sometimes how exhausting it all was.

Once we got past the initial difficulties of latching and I no longer needed to supplement after each feeding and pump, DS transitioned to the crib and I just nursed him in the recliner in his room. BTW, co-sleeping in a recliner is not safe - and I regret to say how often I woke up in the MOTN with DS in my arms, having both fallen asleep in the middle of a nursing session. Once I realized how dangerous co-sleeping in a chair is, I started taking my Kindle in with me to stay awake. Whatever you decide, the only thing I can recommend is be prepared for safe co-sleeping if necessary. My SIL used the co-sleeper with her boys and really liked it. I really liked having DS in his crib. YMMV. Good luck

LaBellaVida

I have a pack n play next to my bed. We sometimes bed share, but i normally just get him, and lay him next to me and nurse him in bed. Once he is done i put him back in his bed.
A night light works great. I don't need one anymore, as he is older and knows what the get and finds my boob with out help from me.

We don't usually do a diaper change at night anymore, unless he leaks which is rare. But in our room i have my diaper station i can use, but don't. I usually changed the diaper in bed now. When he was brand new i used my changing table every night.

iranwithscissors

I feed DS in my bed.  I put a pillow against the headboard and lean my back against it, then usually put a pillow under him.  He sleeps in bed with us.  I keep our TV on (no volume) to use as a night light and it serves as entertainment for me while I am up BF.  For diaper changes, I bring a few diapers and wipes in my room before bed.  I have a wet bag hanging next to my bed and I change him in bed.

Rrrrrachel

I'm reeeaaaallly not looking forward to middle of the night diaper changes. No more night pooping is one of my favorite baby milestones.

YellowLily2013

My ds is soo noisy!! I couldn't sleep with him in our room. I tried for a couple weeks with him in a bassinet and it just kept me up all night. And every little peep is touch him and wake him up.

I absolutely love our video monitor. I can look at his face in the dark from my comfy bed and know if I actually have to get up or not! Wonderful, no waking a baby!

I tried to nurse in bed, but it's just too squishy, memory foam and lots of down. Which is also not conducive to bed sharing.

Also around a couple weeks I tried nursing in the "nursing chair" and amazing bliss ensued! It works like a charm! I felt so silly I hadn't even tried it for a couple weeks.

His room is literally right next to ours so its not a big deal to walk over to it and change diapers there and nurse in his room. ((I imagine its as close as some people who have giant master bedrooms!))

Wherever you decide stash some snacks there for the middle of the night feedings. You'll thank yourself later that you did. Maybe some water bottles too!!

zaraceligon

I feed on bed, and I change him on the changing table. I don't want him to pee all over me and the bed. Now I feed him only once at nigth and I change him once. For light I keep the closet door with the light on.

Aurora_Borealis

DD slept in a RnP next to my side of the bed for about 3 months. I was a huge fan of side-lying nursing, so I would just bring her into the bed when needed. We also set up a changing station in our room and did MOTN changes there.

Once she transitioned to her crib downstairs, she was only waking 2x between 10-4 which was much more manageable than the every 2 hours for the first couple of months. I had a rocking chair in her room and nursed her there.

Into+the+Kitty

We've bed shared from the very beginning, but we used a snuggle nest in our bed for the first couple months. J usually got out of bed to change her in the nursery where the changing pad was, and he brought her back to me to nurse. Sometimes I had to get up to change her mid feeding because she'd poop.

I nursed her in bed, using one of those chair pillow things to prop myself up in a sitting position. Next time I plan on just side sleeping and nursing that way. So much more sleep, it was a god send when I discovered it. We got some automatic light sensitive night lights from Sam's Club that you plug into an outlet, I liked them a lot because they kept the room dark enough to sleep, but I could still see what I was doing.

I will also likely have an extra changing station in the bedroom next time, depending on what our sleep arrangements for the whole family are. Getting out of bed and going all the way across my house was the effing worst, and it woke me up to the point that I frequently couldn't get back to sleep until juuuust in time to wake up for the next session.

Mandmeesh

I am no help at all as we've bed shared…basically from the beginning.  But we nurse laying down. 

When M did sleep in the pnp or rnp (i can't believe he EVER used to sleep on his own, lol) I would change him in his room, then bring him back and nurse him while sitting on the edge of the bed. 

I would get a rocking chair next time, or one of those chair things that ITK speaks of. 

Mandmeesh

Chickypoo2468 said:

then bring him back and nurse him while sitting on the edge of the bed. 

This hurts my back just reading it

Yeah, awful setup. I want a chair. Next baby maybe

joyfultrex

DS has been in his crib in his own room since 3rd day home from the hospital. We tried having him in a cradle in our room, but no one got any sleep. I just get up and walk to his room and nurse him sitting indian style on the floor. When we did MOTN changes that would be on the floor also. I have a rocking chair, but I'm an odd ball and like the floor better. I turn on the hall light when I go to his room. I also chug a bottle of water at every feeding because I get crazy thirsty in the middle of the night.

Crinita

I nurse in bed, and we have a PnP with a changing table attachment on it that we use for changing.  She wouldn't sleep in that at first though, so we had to buy a co-sleeper as kind of an emergency purchase.  She is still waking up at night and at this point I would say that 75% of the time I will still nurse her in the bed, it just seems more comfortable for both of us.  If I nurse her in a chair, I keep the lights out.

ktpaladino

I put a twin bed in the nursery and slept in the baby's room for the first 5 months. It let DH get a better sleep since he works long hours and I stay at home. I had DS right next to me in a rock-n-play and the changing table was next to him, so everything was in really close proximity. I would lean over and pull him out of the RNP and into bed with me as soon as I heard him starting to stir and nurse him right back to sleep. He was not a heavy wetter at night despite all the MOTN nursing he did so I usually only took him over to the table to change him once a night or if he pooped. We slept with a really dim nightlight on for the entire night. After 5 months, I "moved back in" with DH, and we transitioned DS to his crib with the help of a Magic Sleepsuit. We did some sleep training and night weaning to cut down on some of his wakings and feedings since I was now getting out of bed and going into the nursery to tend to him. I would still nurse him in the twin bed though, which turned out to be our little nursing nest for the remainder of his nursing days

CLLDLL

I know you didn't ask, so feel free to just ignore this, but I feel like I have to recommend getting a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding if you don't have it already. I just skimmed it while pregnant, but it was a godsend to have as a reference the first few months of BF'ing. Anytime I was like "Huh is this normal?" I looked it up and found some awesome info about what was happening and what I should or shouldn't do about it. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they kept talking about how "magical, wonderful, bonding" BFing is. While I do agree, it wasn't that way at first for us, and that's normal.

Also get some Lansinoh soothies and put them in the fridge when you come home from the hospital. Your nips will thank you.

Dreamingmommy4

unaveragejane said:

Okay, I am trying to get a better game plan for BFing this time around. Even though it's a bit early, I'm kind of obsessed. There are a lot of things that went wrong that I couldn't control last time, but one thing I did not plan for well at all was how to nurse comfortably at night. What worked best for you? Feeding in the bed or in a chair? Did your LO sleep in your room or the nursery? If you nursed in the bedroom while YH was asleep, did you use a night light or anything? Also, if you nursed in the bedroom, where did you do nighttime diaper changes? FWIW, we will not bed-share, but I am considering getting an Arm's Reach Co-sleeper b/c it seems like it would be easier to use for BFing and monitoring the baby than the PNP that we used last time.

I nurse DD in bed. She sleeps in our room. We have a cradle next to the bed that she usually starts out in, but honestly we bed share a lot of the time. I was adamant about not before DD was born, but I fell asleep on accident one night after nursing her. When I woke up I realized we both had slept for four hours without a problem and she was only a week old! So more for my sake than hers we still bed share most of the night. DD's room (once we transition her to crib sleeping, which will be once she can roll over) is right next to ours, so I leave her bedroom light on for a nightlight and it works well. I do her diaper changes in her room at the changing table. It's easier for me. What's nice is one of the bulbs in the light burnt out making it bright enough of a light for nursing in bed but not too bright for a late night diaper change.

unaveragejane

Thanks for all the input!!! I love the battery-operated candle idea. That would work perfectly for us since I don't have a good place to plug in a night light in our room. I guess I'll have to wait and see which "where" works best for us, but it makes me feel a little better to know that bed-nursing isn't easy for everyone at first. @Mandmeesh, my feet wouldn't touch the floor when sitting on the edge of the bed, so a couple of times I wound up sitting on the edge of our tub. I'm definitely getting a good chair this time. And @CLLDLL, I'm definitely planning to do a lot of reading. Your book is on my list to check out next time we visit the library!

shan417

He sleeps in his own room, but it is connected to ours. I bring him back to bed to feed him because it's more comfortable than the rocking chair. I do have a small night light, but I have also turned on a lamp (and watched movies with full volume) without waking DH. I change him in his room after he's done and he usually falls right back asleep when I put him in his crib. If he's pretty awake I go back to bed to hold him and read or watch tv. This works really well for me, but his crib is basically as close as it would be if our bedroom was big enough to fit it. He sleeps a couple hours at a time too, so I usually get up to pee or get a drink before going back to bed too. Plus he usually poops after eating. So I would be getting up even if we had a cosleeper.

jesstellina

DD slept in our room for the first 6 mos. She night nursed for about 10 months. While in our room, she slept in a bassinet or rock n play next to our bed. For probably the first 3 or 4 months I would nurse in a glider chair in our room. When she got bigger and could do more as far as negotiating into the right position to nurse, I'd bring her into bed. But then I would almost always fall asleep with her in bed with us for a couple hrs, which wasn't something we had planned on doing. This time I'll probably try to stick more to sitting in the glider... But it's so much easier to do it in bed at night!!