Breastfeeding in bed

[alannanoelle]

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I've been co-sleeping with my 7-week old daughter since day 1. I swore I'd never co-sleep because I'm so paranoid about SIDS, but after trying the Arm's Reach Cosleeper, a bassinet, and even the Snuggle Nest, we've found that the only way she sleeps for more than 45 minutes is if she sleeps right beside me. I still find that I wake up completely paranoid throughout the night to make sure she is still breathing, but I do love having her beside me.

My question is about breastfeeding. In the past few weeks, we finally got the side-lying latch figured out, and I love the convenience of nursing her in bed. She nurses, and then we both fall back asleep. So, I don't end up burping her after nursing. Is this a bad thing? Also, she rolls on her side to nurse, and sleeps most of the night that way, facing me. I try to roll her back on her back, but she keeps rolling to her side again. I am so worried that this is a dangerous position. Am I right to worry, or is this okay?

Thanks in advance for any input!

[lunarmagic]

Well I don't really have any advice for you, but I wanted to say that we're in the exact same situation. We too never intended to cosleep because we're nervous, but our daughter won't sleep for more than an hour in her cosleeper - and even that is tricky. I nurse her side-lying and we fall asleep like that, with her facing me belly-to-belly. All I try to do is tilt her head upward on top of my boob so her airway isn't blocked at all... sometimes I'll try turning her onto her back, but yeah she always turns toward me.

But you know, as much as I swore I'd never do this, it feels "right" at the same time. Even if my neck gets a crick in it!

[rachelsmama]

What you're doing is the most normal, most common sleeping arrangement there is. It is far safer than you have been led to believe.

This might help you feel a bit better: http://askdrsears.com/html/10/t102200.asp

[texmati]

my mom taught me how to burp a baby laying down-- basically, after she's done nursing, hold her so she's laying accross your belly. then once she's burped (or spat up on your stomach ick!), then nurse her a tiny bit more, just to nudge her into sleep.

[alannanoelle]

Thank you - I'm glad I'm not the only one! She automatically snuggles up to me when we get in bed. It is so cute, and I love it. Thank you for the link as well - it does make me feel a bit better!

[alannanoelle]

Thanks! I'll try to do this whenever possible!

Originally Posted by texmati

my mom taught me how to burp a baby laying down-- basically, after she's done nursing, hold her so she's laying accross your belly. then once she's burped (or spat up on your stomach ick!), then nurse her a tiny bit more, just to nudge her into sleep.

[NSmomtobe]

Originally Posted by alannanoelle

Thanks! I'll try to do this whenever possible!

That is how I burp my son when he is feeling squirmy/not settling after a nighttime feeding. If he goes to sleep, I assume he is fine (i.e. not gassy) therefore does not need to be burped.

[alannanoelle]

I know she gets gassy, because she squirms and farts all night long. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, but it keeps me awake! I'll definitely try burping her on my stomach, but I suppose since she doesn't seem to be bothered, it's okay for those times when I fall asleep while she's still nursing.

[kismetbaby]

Co-sleeping has been shown to be safer than crib sleeping in regards to SIDS BTW. My ds has always slept best snuggled right up next to me. I guess by the time I could successfully nurse lying down (about 8-10 weeks for me), I didn't worry so much about the burping. It was such a relief to be able to just nurse and doze off at the same time. Sometimes though when he'd wake and I'd put him into an upright position a burp would suddenly erupt.

[Nicole730]

Both my babies sleep facing me like you described, with their face right by my breast. That's how I feel safest bed-sharing.

Our local news did a newspiece on co-sleeping because our city has had a lot of baby deaths recently. The only thing all the deaths had in common was that the baby was formula fed. The experts said that breastfed babies sleep lower on the bed, away from pillows, and nestled against their mamas, which keeps them safe.

[marinak1977]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby

Co-sleeping has been shown to be safer than crib sleeping in regards to SIDS BTW. My ds has always slept best snuggled right up next to me. I guess by the time I could successfully nurse lying down (about 8-10 weeks for me), I didn't worry so much about the burping. It was such a relief to be able to just nurse and doze off at the same time. Sometimes though when he'd wake and I'd put him into an upright position a burp would suddenly erupt.

DS slept next to me since day 1 in the same exact position, he cradled me and often put his head on my belly or in the crook of my arm. In addition I had him wearing just a diaper and was going topless myself (under a receiving blanket) so that he was receiving the full benefits of being skin to skin. We still sleep that way and I get way more sleep than I would otherwise because I just doze off when he nurses. The gassiness got better as he got older and I never worried about burping him unless he complained.
I was careful about him being safe from suffocating by keeping blankets, pillows, boobs out of his face, but I was not worried about SIDS (which is not the same) which is actually a much lower risk when you co-sleep. Now that DS is almost 6 months and can move around a bit I feel even safer since I know he can get himself out of trouble if he rolls over and his nose is covered. Enjoy - I love cosleeping with my little squishy.

[alannanoelle]

Thanks so much for all the input - I feel much safer now! I really do love having her snuggled up against me. I like the skin to skin idea too. As soon as it warms up enough here at night, I defintely want to try it!

[mamazee]

Both my babies fell asleep nursing lying down, and I never burped either of them. The first one slept on her side all night and now sleeps either on her side or her back. The second one really wanted to sleep on her stomach, which I resisted until she could roll over on her own, and she's slept on her stomach since.

Nothing to add but my experiences. The bigger they get, the less scared I was, but they do seem very fragile when they're tiny.

[meemee]

my dd has never slept on her back. ever. the first month she slept on her tummy on my chest. after that it was side sleeping. by 3 months she was on her tummy. i would roll her and she would roll back on her belly. the ped. said that was ok if she was doing it herself.

i did most of my nursing in bed. and i never ever burped her after she fell asleep in bed. she has never had an issue.