Need help from fellow bed-sharers

sunkissed7804 · June 2013

Our baby girl is a week old and is sharing bed with mom However, I think that my mattress is too soft (it is a memory foam). Although it doesn't seem dangerous at all (she doesn't really sink in), she has a hard time latching on for middle of the night feedings because there is a bit of a slope where the mattress has conformed to my body. Plus, I really am just paranoid. ;-)

Can you bed-sharers offer some advice on co-sleepers that are not going to cost a fortune. Nothing elaborate...just something to keep her level and still allow easy access to the breast and give her the cozy mommie feeling.

Thanks!! :-)

RioG1978 · June 2013

At that age I couldn't do the side-lie nursing position. She was too little. So we always sat up for night feedings.

ckk8584 · June 2013

I really think your baby is too young to be doing side-lying nursing. I've read they should be several weeks old before they nurse in that position.

Emerald27 · June 2013

Ditto to what PP have said. She would have trouble latching on in side lying position regardless at this point.

If you don't want to sit up all the way to nurse her, then lay her back at your side to sleep, you could do laid back nursing, with her laying on your chest/abdomen to nurse. Just make sure DH or someone is there with you to make sure you stay awake long enough to place her safely back at your side when she's done nursing. It wouldn't be advisable to fall asleep in that position. Good luck!

Birdies08 · June 2013

I agree that side lying wasn't easy at first. I know at some point, I had better luck with putting my arm under her head while she nursed (we did not sleep that way).

When LO was around 1 year, we side cared our crib, and I wish we'd done it earlier! Then she has the firm crib mattress and MH and I have more space, but I can still nurse her while lying down. Again, side lying may just be difficult at this age, but if you're looking for another option to your memory foam mattress, I would suggest looking into side caring, assuming you already have a crib. If you don't already have one, the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper might be cheaper than a new crib and would help with expanding your bed surface with something firm, which may or may not solve the nursing challenge.

aiche Umm Ayoub · June 2013

what I did when my son was that young was I placed a pillow under his body and it brought him up enough to side nurse ( the pillow was a super firm pillow)

Angela814 · June 2013

DD3 slept in the crook of my arm when she was that little. It brought her into a better position to nurse. She started being able to do true side lying position around 6 weeks.

UberBiz · June 2013

Birdies08:
I agree that side lying wasn't easy at first. I know at some point, I had better luck with putting my arm under her head while she nursed (we did not sleep that way).
When LO was around 1 year, we side cared our crib, and I wish we'd done it earlier! Then she has the firm crib mattress and MH and I have more space, but I can still nurse her while lying down. Again, side lying may just be difficult at this age, but if you're looking for another option to your memory foam mattress, I would suggest looking into side caring, assuming you already have a crib. If you don't already have one, the Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper might be cheaper than a new crib and would help with expanding your bed surface with something firm, which may or may not solve the nursing challenge.

My LO is almost 11 weeks old now, but when we nurse in bed I sometimes rest his head on my arm, then I don't feel bad about falling asleep because he is cradled in my arm instead of just next to me.

boogerbearoriginal · June 2013

At that age we didn't bedshare and I think I would've struggled with side-lying nursing. I always had to situp, and use the boppy, and both hand to get him latched on right.

By around 8wks we were bed sharing and I still had to assist with latching but side-lying became possible.

ETA - we used the bassinet in the PnP initially and we side-car the crib when he outgrew that. It worked well and wasn't any extra expense. There's lots of tips/howtos online if you search.

MrsBigTime · June 2013

We couldn't side-lye until at least a month, maybe older. She was just too little and uncoordinated. When she was a little bigger we were finally able to do it if she was lying on her back and I bent forward and offered her my top breast. I was always awake in the beginning, and it wasn't until she was two or three months that I could drift back to sleep while she was eating.

We had a Arms Reach Co-sleeper, but honestly, I preferred to have her right next to me in the crook of my arm. I did use the co-sleeper, but I liked having her in the actual bed with me more. When she was really little (like your LO) I appreciated the little wedge foam thing my friend insisted I borrow. It's about 1 foot wide and 1.5 feet long. I don't know where my friend got hers, but I think I saw one at BRU (it was Safety 1st brand, I think?). I can't imagine it was very expensive.