laying down to BF = not fully emptying breast?

[CherryBombMama]

to make a long story short, instead of the usual sitting up to BF ds2 in the middle of the night, ive been trying to just BF him laying down in our (family) bed. ive nursed him to sleep this way, but we have never managed to get a full meal. i always have to sit up in the end. is it harder to empty the breast while laying down?

[dharmabum]

If my 3 month old falls asleep while nursing, and pulls off the breast, I take that to mean he is satiated.  Your breasts are never really empty--when babe is done eating than the meal is over.  When I first started nursing, while lying down, it took some getting used too, but now that is all we do during the night.

[CherryBombMama]

Originally Posted by dharmabum 

If my 3 month old falls asleep while nursing, and pulls off the breast, I take that to mean he is satiated.  Your breasts are never really empty--when babe is done eating than the meal is over.  When I first started nursing, while lying down, it took some getting used too, but now that is all we do during the night.

i new this (the bolded.) but i couldnt help wondering if lying down somehow squished some ducts or something, making it harder to "empty" LOL. i realize how silly this is as im typing it. i guess its just me being paranoid.

im just gonna write it off as that - me being paranoid. everyone can ignore this post from here on out... :)
 

[akind1]

it may be just that he falls back asleep faster since he is laying down. Your breasts may not get as empty - at least until they get adjusted to the decreased night time demand - but if he is done eating then there really should be no problem.

FWIW, I found that nursing side-lying did put more pressure on the breast but that seemed to encourage empty-ing, not inhibit it.

[Oliver'sMom]

I noticed the same thing when I first started to nurse lying down at night with ds2 (I was never able to nurse lying down with ds1).  My breasts seemed much more full and ds2 would only need to nurse from one side before falling back asleep, when before he would need both sides.  Sine I started lying down to nurse ds2 also has started to want to nurse almost all night long.  He needs the boob in his mouth to sleep now.

  I don't know if any of this is helpful for you, but just wanted to let you know you aren't the only one!  I also worried about ds2 not getting enough at night, or that his latch wasn't good when we're lying down, but it all seems to have worked out and adjusted itself on its own.  My supply is still great and I don't feel uncomfortably full at night anymore.