Bringing baby to bed

el_twirpo · January 2012

so all of the resources online for maintaining milk supply suggest bringing baby to bed so they can nurse throughout the night, and i just can't figure out the logistics. are you nursing only in the side-lying position? and does the baby crawl himself to your breast? because it takes quite a bit of maneuvering for me to get DS lined up to my boob, and i can't imagine trying to do that in the dark while half asleep.

i'm only using cradle hold these days because he's getting too squirmy, and this is the only way i can pin his limbs down and get him calm enough to nurse. that takes quite a few pillow adjustments to nurse in that position in bed.

pepomntpat · January 2012

I always do side lying in bed.

Matt Dvorak · January 2012

I do side lying in bed. Took a bit of time to get used to, but so nice now and the only reason I'm not a total zombie most days.

meandmrsjones · January 2012

I use the boppy...but DD sleeps in a bassinet in the bedroom...most of the time I fall alseep nursing her and lay her down..and repeat the process every 3 hours.

GigiGaga · January 2012

Side lying

el_twirpo · January 2012

any tips for positioning in side-lying in the dark? or do i just need to practice a lot in the light of day?

clstoblg · January 2012

I co-sleep with DS most nights and he nurses throughout the night with little effort from me. The only thing I have to do is move him from side to side when I feel empty on one side.

I never had to "practice" it just comes natural once you do it. I have him laying almost parallel to me and LOW on my body so his head tilts back so he can breathe and eat comfortably. He usually "crawls" and positions himself so he can eat but once in a while he does get frustrated and he wimpers so I help him. If i notice he is asleep I will move him away from me and obviously I never have blankets or pillows near him.

This method has allowed me to get a lot more sleep because he likes to eat a lot more with me than at daycare.

Hope this helps.

pepomntpat · January 2012

el_twirpo:
any tips for positioning in side-lying in the dark? or do i just need to practice a lot in the light of day?

You'll be amazed how well LO can find your breast on his own. When LO is next to you, just keep his head at breast level. I also found I really didn't have to switch sides at all. I'd just roll a little more toward LO (so I was almost on my stomach) so she could reach the top breast.

I really never had to see what I was doing. Ro and I just felt our way.

reederah · January 2012

We co-slept for awhile and I nursed laying down (we actually used that position exclusively when he was first born... just worked the best for us). If your LO is eating during the night, is the squirming that much of a problem? I find DS just curls up to me and nurses while half asleep at night haha. If you sleep with him about at nipple level you should be able to just pull him in and he should latch on well. But if he's not used to it maybe you do just need practice. Good luck.

angela9602 · January 2012

Both my doula who teaches breastfeeding courses and my childbirth prep instructor who was a nurse were both completely anti bringing baby into bed because of the risk. I always get up to feed her and my milk supply has been perfectly fine. As long as you continue to nurse it will be good how can bringing the baby to bed help it stay maintained..they eat when they are hungry not all night long.

JWSchwarz · January 2012

Do you mean co-sleeping? If so, it's NOT recommended by the AAP.

el_twirpo · January 2012

thanks for the tips! i'll practice on the weekends when we can do a nurse-a-thon so i can get the positioning right. i just haven't been able to pump enough at work and really need as much skin time with DS to get my supply up.

Bringing baby to bed

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