Have you fallen asleep while nursing?

shadysladyWed98470

Sometimes I will use the side lying position for nursing bc I am just too tired to get up, but after LO gets going I have a tendency to fall asleep. This makes me nervous and I'm thinking I should avoid nursing this way if I can't stay awake. Does anyone else have this problem? I should've known better.... I fall asleep sitting up! 

ClandestineX

I have.. but it only happened twice..once sitting up and once laying down. I vowed never to do that again, as my boobs are huge, and it covered his entire face each time I accidentally fell asleep and my grip on my breast loosened.

Smartie26

Yes. You just described my MOTN feeding routine! I usually snooze in a light sleep state for those night time feeds and wake up when LO unlatches and turn her on to her back. She always makes a loud sigh when she unlatches too.

JSS1002

Dozed off plenty of times, yes, many times in my glider while holding LO. It was not a good feeling to wake up to that.

NDarya

I only nurse side laying at night because I'm so tired to hold even my own body upright. Sometimes I fall asleep but not deep. Besides my LO is such a noisy eater, he won't let me switch off completely lol

mariahrb

I have, once. Ever since then some times ill wake up in the middle of the night in a huge panic thinking I fell asleep nursing and I just smothered him in my blankets. Such relief when I see him asleep in his bassinet. 

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

nearly_klo

I've fallen asleep lots. Sitting up and lying down.

kreeper611

I have. That's the benefit of nursing lying down! I sleep lightly because she is a loud eater but we both doze off.

elbou

JollyWife:

Yep.  We bedshare after the first night waking and I pretty much sleep while alternating which boob is in her mouth.

This is my LO and I as well.

shadysladyWed98470

AmyG*:

There is a natural hormone released when you breastfeed that makes both you and baby sleepy. It's much much much safer to just go ahead and lie down and nurse on a flat, cosleeping safe surface than it is to fight the sleep sitting up and end up falling asleep on a glider, recliner or couch.  babies die of suffocation in those non-safe places.  as for boob suffocating baby, I've actually heard of no cases of that in 13 years--that is why baby's nostrils flare out to the side so they can still breathe if the boob is in their face. a rolled up washcloth, hand towel (or beach towel depending on size of boob stuck under the breast to hold it up better can help with boob positioning if you are thinking you must hold up your boob but you keep falling asleep.

AmyG are you a baby expert or something? (Being serious, not sarcastic!) you always share such good info!  

Angela814

Yes, but we bed share, so I purposely nurse side lying so we can both go back to sleep.

UberBiz

shadysladyWed98470:

Sometimes I will use the side lying position for nursing bc I am just too tired to get up, but after LO gets going I have a tendency to fall asleep. This makes me nervous and I'm thinking I should avoid nursing this way if I can't stay awake. Does anyone else have this problem? I should've known better.... I fall asleep sitting up! 

I do it all the time. For the first stretch of sleep, I put LO in the pnp after he nurses, and he'll usually wake up twice more. The first time, I'll put him back in, but if he wakes up within 2 hours of 'morning time,' then I just lay him next to me, let him nurse, and go back to sleep myself.

 I will also say that I bed-shared with my daughter, and just flipped her over me when she woke up to nurse in the middle of the night and we had to switch sides. It was great and I slept so much better. Can't do that with this LO, though, cuz FI is a heavy sleeper and he's afraid he'll roll over on the baby if he is between us.

Ready4theParty

mariahrb:

I have, once. Ever since then some times ill wake up in the middle of the night in a huge panic thinking I fell asleep nursing and I just smothered him in my blankets. Such relief when I see him asleep in his bassinet. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has done this!  I usually nurse DD at night slightly propped up, she eats what she wants and then falls back to sleep.  It typically worked well for us.  One night in particular I woke up in a panic because I was laying down and there was no DD.  I like to sleep on the edge of the bed, so I thought I dropped her off the side, and when she wasn't on the floor, in my sleep induced panic I ripped all the blankets off the bed, including the ones that were on DH.  And then realized DD was in here pnp.  I haven't been able to sleep during MOTN feedings since.