Another Side-lying Breastfeeding Question

To switch sides I would lay on my back and lift my children up onto my chest. I would hold there head securely with one hand and their body with the other and roll over. I would position them the exact same way I did with the other side. The only thing was that I had to make sure that the baby didn't roll off the bed. I solved this by putting a pack and play right up against our bed. It had a bassinet insert that was the full length of the crib. I then created my own co-sleeper by putting a blanket underneath the pack and play mattress and up and over the side. I then tucked the rest of the blanket under our mattress. This way if I fell asleep the baby would only roll into the crib. It worked for us and they never rolled into the crib. Probably not the safest idea, but it put me more at ease. You could purchase a co-sleeper, but I already had the pack and play.

Maybe you need to lay down with her on your right side to start out with. Let her try to get what she needs on that side for about 20 mins. Then you can turn you both over and do it on the familiar side.

If this does not work.... I would get a boppie pillow. (u-shaped pillow) This is a wonderful item. It allows you to feed the baby and also makes it so that your arms do not get tired from holding the baby up.

When I was breast feeding this pillow was a life saver.

Hi J., I know the other moms have already replied with this...but yup, you need to lay on the other side. It's not just how I do it, but it is the recommended method, too. I used to make a big production about rolling over because I was soooo worried about my son falling off the bed or something...now, I just hug him and we roll over together. I can't even remember what I was doing before. I think I was picking him up and laying him on my other side and then moving my pillow around and doing all kinds of weird things....so glad I'm over all that fussiness ;) Good luck...once you get the hang of things, it will be second nature to you both.

I nursed all five of my babies in bed (not the twins so much, but the other three). This is the only way I could get any sleep. I would either move baby to the opposite side of me or I would move to the other side of baby. Don't be afraid to move or move her. Relax, you'll get the hang of it.

Hi J.,
You will have to lie on your other side and change baby to the other side as well to give the other breast. You'll be able to do it half sleeping, that is my experience, although it is a hassle to rearrange everyone in the bed, but you're better of not giving the same side twice in a row.
G.

It sounds simple....but what I do is I feed my daughter one side and we fall asleep on that side. When she wakes up, I half-wake up, pick her up, roll over to my other side, and latch her on and we fall asleep again. I dunno, maybe this dosn't answer your concern but this is what I do.

After we finish on one side, I pull the baby close against my chest and roll over with her on me. Then we re-situate our selves on the new side and she can nurse on that side. Good luck!

I had the same problem while breastfeeding my son. What I found was the most effective was to completely switch the side I was lying on. So at the beginning of the night I'd start on my left side & nurse him...in the middle of the night when he woke up I would essentially switch places with him. Luckily my hubby is a pretty heavy sleeper so all the moving around never really disturbed him lol! Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you.

I just roll over more so I am half on my tummy and feed from the other breast :)

Hi J.,

I am a mum to a new baby girl, only 8 weeks. She is my second child, and my second breastfeeding experiment;) I pumped for my son after two weeks after birth, the sensations were awful. For my daughter I wanted to exclusively breastfeed on the breast. Thankfully the sensations left for her and she latched on beautifully. I too began wanting to lay down at night and feed her, seeing she would get up so often I didn't want to constantly move around to accommodate the classic breastfeeding position. I simply face her towards me while lying on either side and feed her the breast laying on the bed. You may need to fiddle with her to get it right so it doesn't slip out while laying completely down. My daughter wouldn't settle down or wake up to feed on each side. I had to feed her for a limit on one side or she would fall asleep and not take the other breast. I let her feed 3-5 minutes on the first side, then turn around facing the other side of the bed and have her finish on that breast. It eventually worked on for me. We feed at night laying down every night now. Best of luck!

-L.