NB night BFing ?-STM's

katieb7413 · January 2014

Sorry for all the questions below.

I am curious how BFing routines (especially at night) have panned out with newborns.I want baby in my room at least for the first few weeks. My question is how has this worked for STM's in the past. Baby needs to eat, you grab baby, then:

1. Lay in bed with baby to BF

2. Sit up and BF baby in bed

3. Have a glider/rocker in your room and rock in there?

4. Travel to another room to feed baby (Yes travel, again I am lazy)

5. ANY other options?

I have a daughter but it was almost 2 decades ago so my routine was if my boob was in the bed so was my baby. Now that I have a husband who will be back at work and in bed with me, things change a bit. With my daughter during the day I would feed her on the couch, chair or wherever she was hungry. I don't even know if gliders existed back then!?

SO...

1. How much did you use glider or rocker? Is it necessary?

2. Was it in your room, living room, or nursery?

2. If baby is a slow eater should it be set up where I can watch TV or something?

Thanks in advance for ANY help. I have no idea why this is stressing me out so much. I am the furthest thing from Type A as humanly possible!

thomas930 · January 2014

Middle of the night feedings happened sitting up in bed. Anything during the day happen pretty much on the couch in the living room. The only thing I ever used my glider for was to rock my kids to sleep in. I didn't really like feeding in it.

Linnea503 · January 2014

I would nurse sitting up in an armchair in my room, or sometimes take him down to the couch. Eventually I learned to side nurse laying down and it was so much better. Even for mamas that don't intend to bedshare I always encourage them to have a safe place to lay down and nurse at night. For me that was a firm futon mattress on the floor with minimal blankets and pillows. It's really not safe to fall asleep on sofas or big chairs with a newborn, much easier and safer to just have a planned safe spot to lay down.

RedDawnsRevenge · January 2014

Our bassinet was on my side of the bed. DH would go change her and then I would sit the bed up (we have an adjustable temper pedic) and put the my Brest friend pillow on. I just couldn't figure out how to bf laying down until she was much older and my breast were so engorged they didn't move, like they were boulders. So BFing laying down was physically impossible.

MapleLeafMama · January 2014

We did night feedings with DS (BF at first, then FF) in his room, in the dark or dimly lit. He was always put right back to bed after. During the day, it was wherever we were, couch, bedroom, etc.

Airynn Chica · January 2014

I think I fed DD1 alot of different ways. I.E. in bed lying next to me, sitting in a chair/couch. I never went to another room at night. It was always the bed or a chair. I like the chair the best, because she latched that way better. Not all babies latch well lying down or sitting up. I want a glider this time around though. I also used a boppy all the the time when feeding her!

Rrrrrachel · January 2014

I was more comfortable, especially at first, sitting in a chair so that's what we did. I also needed a little light to get latched.

jennypenny1014 · January 2014

I very quickly mastered the art of the side-lie BFing position, so when DS was hungry, he got pulled into bed, I adjusted, and got to lay there while he nursed to his heart's content. I have such large pendulous breasts that a cradle hold was near impossible since my boob pretty much took up the space in the crook of my arm that was meant for a baby's head, and a football hold wasn't feasible to set up in the middle of the night, so the side lie was a Godsend.

Linnea503 · January 2014

Yes, I agree with other ladies it is really tricky to nurse laying down in the early weeks. I think I started when he was more like 6 weeks. Before that it was sitting up.

The glider was nice when he wanted movement in the middle of the night and I was too exhausted to walk around. I waited way too long to get the glider last time.

ksulli · January 2014

Learning to bf laying down was life changing. Until I mastered that I would feed her sitting up in bed. When she was down to one overnight snack she moved to her room and I would nurse her in a chair in there. During growth spurts I would bring a phone in to keep me entertained for the longer nursing sessions. I continued to rock/read/nurse her in the rocker in her bedroom at bedtime until we moved her to a big girl room, so for us having it was worth it.

MamaFantastic · January 2014

my son was put to sleep in his room right away (not intentionally... we just tried it once during maybe day 4 or so, and he was happy there, so we left well enough alone!) so when he woke, i'd just go into his nursery and change and nurse him there in the rocker. i never nursed in bed - it felt awkward to me. during the day, i nursed either on the couch (for the TV) or in my nursery rocker. this was before the introduction of iphones into our lives, so i was just very bored during those feedings

juniper75 · January 2014

I had the Bassinet beside me but I often took DD down the hall to her room and nursed her in her glider during the night. I would change her diaper while we were in there. Her nursing sessions were so much longer when she was little that this was just most comfortable at the time. I was never very good at nursing her lying down until she was much older. Sometimes I would nurse her sitting up in bed and use my snoogle as a nursing pillow.

During the day I just nursed her on the couch or wherever we were.

Twirple · January 2014

In the early days, it took about 45 minutes to do an entire feed. DS would sleep in the bassinet in our room next to the bed. When he woke up, I would take him to his room for a change and then into the living room to nurse on the couch with the TV on. It wasn't far though. When he got a bit older and was sleeping in his own room, and could nurse more quickly, I would nurse him in the rocking chair there.

katieb7413 · January 2014

These responses are seriously so helpful everyone!

ksulli · January 2014

@katieb7413 you should lurk on the BFing board. I learned so much over there.

katieb7413 · January 2014

@ksulli Haha. I never said I was that smart! That is a genius idea, I will do that too. Thanks:)

strawberrytree · January 2014

MIddle of the night feedings happen in bed here. He will sleep in our room until 6-7ish months like his older brother did and hopefully by that point we will be down to just a couple feedings a night. I was so in tune with DS1 that I would wake up the instant he started to stir and have him on the boob before he even cried. Sometimes I'd nurse him side lying in bed and just keep him in there with me, other times I'd sit up and nurse and put him back in his bed. Just depended on what I felt like doing. I didn't get a glider until he was about 9 months old and going through a phase where he only napped in my arms. I got the glider so I would have somewhere to sit so I could nurse/rock him to sleep and then be comfortable. I wouldn't have needed one if he had napped like a normal baby. I was always more comfortable nursing him in bed or on the couch.

fourthnlast · January 2014

I never figured out how to lay down and breastfeed, so I always brought him out to the couch; he got to eat, I got caught up on the DVR. I imagine the same thing will happen with this one

pdilly2b · January 2014

thomas930 said:

Middle of the night feedings happened sitting up in bed. Anything during the day happen pretty much on the couch in the living room. The only thing I ever used my glider for was to rock my kids to sleep in. I didn't really like feeding in it.

This for me too. DS would wake up, DH would get him and change his diaper while I set up my boppy on my lap (2 pillows behind my back and 1 under my knees). I would put DS back in the pack-n-play (upper level) once we were done (he usually fell asleep on the boppy when he was done). I had a dim little lamp on my night stand so I could see without it really waking all of us up. Also always had 2 bottles of water handy - nursing made me parched.

After DS was a couple months old, I switched to side lying as my go-to position for any time I had access to a bed or sofa. It was awesome. We bought a glider that is in our bedroom but it takes up a lot of space and we have hardly ever used it. I never used it to nurse.

ksulli · January 2014

Oh- @pdilly2b- excellent call on the dim light. We didn't co-sleep, dd had a cradle right next to us and I remember waking up in a panic not sure if I had put her back or fallen asleep on her. A dim light fixed the problem- turn it on, get baby, put baby back, turn it off. This way when you wake up if it's dark you know baby is in their own space.

homediva · January 2014

I had baby in my room in a bassinet for the first 4-5 months. When he woke up I would nurse one side, change him, then nurse the other. I did it sitting up in bed but it hurt my back so I think this time I'll bring the glider into my room!

katiedidthat · January 2014

I was a "nurse sitting up in bed" mom. I had DS in a bassinet until he outgrew it, then he slept in our bed until around 9 months, then a pnp at the foot of our bed until about a month ago when he weaned and moved to his crib. I would get him, nurse whichever side was due then lay him back down. I almost never even got out of bed unless he was soaked or messy. Our bassinet had a nightlight on it that would run for 10 minutes then automatically turn off so I'd just use that so I didn't have to remember to turn a light off. I wouldn't have even used the light once he was a bit bigger except that we were still using a nipple shield and it was hard to do that in the dark.
During the day I would nurse him on the couch or sitting on our bed. In the early months I could nurse him anywhere with anything going on and he'd be fine but by about 6 months it was the bed in our room only because he was too easily distracted. I didn't start using the glider until he weaned and started needing rocked to sleep.

SIR12 · January 2014

DS wad in a bassinet in our room till 12 weeks. I BFed sitting in bed in the middle of the night or we went down to his room and used the glider/recliner. I love the glider-recliner we still use it to read stories at nap and bedtime. I strongly recommend a comfy chair between the colic, two rounds of croup and various other things I have spent many a night in there!!

pdilly2b · January 2014

For people who used a glider for nursing, did you use the bobby while you were sitting in it? That was always my problem - I couldn't fit me and the boppy in the chair because the boppy was too wide. I would, in theory, like to use ours, but it just didn't logistically seem to work for me last time.

LEIGHLOVE09 · January 2014

DD was in our room for 2 months but i always traveled to the nursery to nurse her in our rocker. I would change her diaper while we were in there as well. I also did not use a boppy in the chair but just a regular pillow. No tv while nursing for me. I didn't want I wake her too much and have her be up for hours. During the day I would just nurse her on the couch. For this baby I anticipate feeding her in bed more if I can. I don't want to travel to her room and possibly wake my other daughter. My DH will have to just deal this time

LBStewart · January 2014

I traveled out of my room for middle of the night feedings. With DD, we were in a ranch home so it wasn't a big deal. With LO2, we have a two story home so I'll have the recliner in another room. I had one recliner in our family room and used it for all feedings. At times, I did watch tv, but I tried to keep the volume low.

ricekez · January 2014

I kept a Boppy at the foot of the bed and nursed DS sitting up in bed at first, then laying down when I got the hang of it. If DH didn't have work the next day, he changed DS's diaper, otherwise I would pull a changing mat into the cradle and change DS.