nursing in bed

[IndiaInk]

I have an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper and had great plans to just roll over and feed DD and then easily fall back asleep after night time feedings.  Well joke's on me, because I can't figure out how to feed her very easily while laying down.  She keeps popping off the breast and I spend half my time shining my iPhone light on her, trying to help her properly re-latch, and getting myself positioned correctly.  Then she falls asleep at the breast, so I pick her up carefully and try to move her to the co-sleeper and she wakes up and cries.  

I've just gone back to having her sleep in her crib and feeding her sitting up in my glider, because it's easier.  Does nursing while lying in bed get easier when they're older?  Any idea why this isn't working right for me?

[Deleted]

I was never able to do it when she was younger, but was definitely able to once she was older. I can't remember at what age, but it was well past 6 months.

[indifferentstars]

We had the same plan and the same issues. I ended up just getting him up and going to the nursery all the time which was not my ideal.

I'd say it was somewhere around 5 or 6 months that it became possible to nurse lying down.

[Brie]

It was better for me once he had better head control around 3 months. Then we did a ton of side-lying nursing.

[livinitup]

I was well propped under my back and arms - she was moved to a bouncy seat set to vibrate, next to me, in the middle of our king bed.

[zarapipe]

We loved side lying around 2.5 months or so? It was before I went back to work thankfully- I think that is how I survived all those sleepless nights. It's hard to get until they are big enough.

[sjh722]

I couldn't do the side-lying nursing until she was older, more like 5-6 months. Otherwise she just kept popping off.

[crazycakes]

Somewhere between 2-3 months DD's head control was good enough to nurse on my side, with her on her side facing me. Before that I had to prop a bunch of pillows behind me to sit up in bed and nurse her that way, which sucked since I had to stay awake.

[IndiaInk]

Ok that's good to know. And...a bummer. Good thing my glider recliner is super comfy because I'm spending a lot of time in it.

[chickens987]

We used the co-sleeper even when we didn't nurse side-lying. Sometimes I wanted to sit up, so I'd grab her, sit up with some pillows behind me and feed her there. It was nicer than having to get out of bed

[andthentherewere10]

I've been side lying nursing at night since DS was 9 days old. I found that I have to be way above him and pointing my breast down at him with his head tipped back and mouth upwardly latching on my breast. Does that make sense? After he falls asleep I don't move him back to a cosleeper, though. We sleep on a hard cot together (jokes on me here, always said I'd never bedhare but Dr Sears info eased my mind).

[simpsongal]

I didn't like nursing laying down - I felt like I could fall asleep and crush him. Now that he's older and sleeping in his crib, I just nurse him for ~10 minutes in the glider. It's quick and easy (I've still fallen asleep).

I don't want him getting used to being in our bed, or our room for that matter, so I wouldn't nurse him there now.

[shelbyann]

Side lying really didn't work for us until she was around 3 months. Now it is awesome!

[IndiaInk]

I'd sit up in bed to nurse but she's been taking like 45 mins per feeding and my glider is just way more supportive than the bed.
I don't feel very comfortable falling asleep with her in our bed either because we have a pillow top mattress and a big down comforter, and it's just not that safe for her to sleep in there with us.
I'll just keep feeding her in the nursery and attempt side-lying as she gets older.

[natablue]

Jun 4, 2014 11:26:11 GMT -5 Brie said:

It was better for me once he had better head control around 3 months. Then we did a ton of side-lying nursing.

This is the case for us. Now that DS is bigger it's much easier, as we do it daily now, typically after his second (or third) wake up between 4:30-5:30 am. We get to lay down and we both get a bit more sleep. I lay a burp cloth down underneath him in case he spits up (learned that the hard way), and keep the comforter down around my waist. And I put a pillow behind my back to help keep me propped up.

Sometimes I still get nervous about it, though.

[lostlenore]

Jun 4, 2014 11:33:27 GMT -5 chickens987 said:

We used the co-sleeper even when we didn't nurse side-lying. Sometimes I wanted to sit up, so I'd grab her, sit up with some pillows behind me and feed her there. It was nicer than having to get out of bed

This is what I did too. 

[ladygrey]

I never found side-lying nursing to be comfortable. It was just as easy to grab her from the RnP and sit up in bed with some pillows behind me.

[Saudade]

With DS1 I couldn't side lie nurse until he was older, 3ish months. It was hard due to his head and my c/s recovery.

However, I've been sidelying nursing with DS2 since his 2nd day. I place him on his side, or on his back and turn his head, and I use the boob that is on the bed side. It's a lot easier since I didn't have the c/s recovery to deal with. I have to do the work though, he doesn't have enough head control to do it.

[JayhawkGirl]

I agree with PPs- it became much more doable around 3-4 months.

[andthentherewere10]

I took a pic today if you want me to post how we do it.

[redpenmama]

I could never figure it out with a newborn. Giant boob, tiny newborn unable to latch without help was too much. Now, I basically sleep through all of DS' MOTN nursing and did with DD too. I'd just give it time.

[curbsideprophet]

DD had latch issues, there was no way we could do side lying nursing in the early days . We got there eventually. Until then I just sat up on bed and nursed her sitting in bed, then put her back in the cosleeper.

[DarcyLongfellow]

Try this tutorial --

www.hobomama.com/2010/06/side-lying-nursing-breastfeeding.html

I found it so helpful when DD2 was tiny -- we were able to side lie nurse almost right from the beginning.

[anna7602]

Jun 4, 2014 11:47:58 GMT -5 IndiaInk said:

I'd sit up in bed to nurse but she's been taking like 45 mins per feeding and my glider is just way more supportive than the bed.
I don't feel very comfortable falling asleep with her in our bed either because we have a pillow top mattress and a big down comforter, and it's just not that safe for her to sleep in there with us.
I'll just keep feeding her in the nursery and attempt side-lying as she gets older.

Given the set-up, I take it that you have some nice air-conditioning going on. My hugely pregnant self is mildly jealous. We haven't slept with any covers at all on for the last few weeks. 

Anyway, like PP, I found it hard to side nurse at the beginning, but it did get easier as DD got bigger. By the time she was a year old, I would just bring her into bed for the first feed of the day, around 5am or so, and let her conk out right next to me for another few hours. I even had to set an alarm for work sometimes, which felt pretty amazing at the time.