teach me how to sleep through nursing.

[babybirkel]

my son is 4 weeks old. we recently mostly figured out how to nurse side-lying -- i sometimes have to sit up to latch him but not always. my problem is that i feel he nurses "better" when i sit up and get out the boppy and blah blah blah. he's more interested in actually eating and filling up. then he sleeps longer. when we nurse lying down, he sort of "snacks" and then falls back asleep...but then he wakes up every 30 minutes or so to to have another "snack." my midwife says he should be able to self-latch pretty soon so i can just leave my boob out all night and not even really wake up. as it is, he nurses for a little bit, falls asleep, then loses the nipple, and head-butts my boob over and over trying to find it again 30 minutes later until i help him find it...then he latches again, nurses for a second, falls asleep, etc. so i am not getting any sleep at all this way.

he also just seems to want to comfort nurse sometimes, but i think i have a bit of a forceful let-down, so he seems to get frustrated when there's milk flowing when all he wanted was to just suck. this contributes to him just "snacking" all night long. coming off and on etc.

i don't have a problem with him snacking all night long if i could sleep through nursing. but as it is i can't. i was never able to sleep through nursing with my older son when we co-slept either. even when he was older and didn't need help latching, it would just wake me up. so how do i learn to sleep through nursing?? sitting up and getting out the boppy isn't exactly restful either. that definitely wakes me up, too.

also, this is a weird question...but how do you nurse from both sides while lying down/co-sleeping??? with my older son due to breastfeeding issues i exclusively nursed on my right side...so i slept on my side with my right boob on the "bottom." how do you nurse from the top boob?

[MamitaM]

nak

if my bottom boobie isn't to full then i can sorta lay on it and then let my top boobie sorta flop over and nurse him with that one. i still lay on my side though. i hope you find a comfy way to night nurse and be able to rest while doing it.

[TSomm]

Yes!  Teach me how to sleep through it too!  My DD is 12 mo and I think I've fallen asleep while nursing a small handful of times.  I usually end up popping the nipple out once she falls back asleep, then I get to go back to sleep....

[LittleBirdy]

I only just recently learned this skill, so here are my thoughts:

I don't "sleep through it" but more just don't become fully awake/aware, which makes it really easy to nod off again once DS starts nursing.  What helped me in regards to latch was to put my pointer finger over my nipple and then lean in towards DS, feeling for his lips with the back of my finger.  Once I found his mouth I'd remove my finger and then he could latch - so I didn't even have to open my eyes!  I also find I am able to sleep better if I wear a long sleeved shirt and a nursing camisole - the sleeves keep my arms warm and the camisole keeps my tummy warm.  Having a pillow to put behind my back helps a ton (the one I use is an old one that got flat and it works the best).  I also use all the tricks to keep a baby asleep on myself - put shades over the windows, run a humidifier for white noise.  Basically, make yourself as comfortable as possible so that it's easy to get back to sleep once you get the LO latched on.  And (the hardest thing of all) stop thinking about how this is the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, etc. time the kid has woken up so far... how many nights in a row life has been like this... how many more are to come... and how you're going to function the next day.  It just keeps you up!  If I find myself going down that path I picture DS riding around on a tricycle in a few years with a big smile on his face and it makes me happy but is in no way related to his sleep... so it works.  Even though I still technically wake up each time he does I don't really remember being awake in the morning and I feel rested instead of feeling like I got hit by a bus.

In regards to the snacking, at that age I found if I woke myself up enough to get him a good feed the first time he woke up that helped a lot.  It stinks but it's only until they move on to the next phase.

I have never been able to nurse from the opposite boob (i.e. without switching DS to the other side of me).  But, I also like to switch sides every few hours anyway so I don't mind.

[Asiago]

In order to nurse on the top breast I did have to contort a bit when baby was very young, but it got much easier the bigger he grew. Many times I would just slide him over on the mattress while he was sleeping so that I could roll over and nurse from the other side. To keep baby from rolling off, I use a piece of foam under the fitted sheet. 

[sacredpresence]

I don't "sleep through it" but more just don't become fully awake/aware, which makes it really easy to nod off again once DS starts nursing.  

Having a pillow to put behind my back helps a ton (the one I use is an old one that got flat and it works the best).  I also use all the tricks to keep a baby asleep on myself - put shades over the windows, run a humidifier for white noise.  Basically, make yourself as comfortable as possible so that it's easy to get back to sleep once you get the LO latched on.  And (the hardest thing of all) stop thinking about how this is the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, etc. time the kid has woken up so far... how many nights in a row life has been like this... how many more are to come... and how you're going to function the next day.  It just keeps you up!  If I find myself going down that path I picture DS riding around on a tricycle in a few years with a big smile on his face and it makes me happy but is in no way related to his sleep... so it works.  Even though I still technically wake up each time he does I don't really remember being awake in the morning and I feel rested instead of feeling like I got hit by a bus.

I have never been able to nurse from the opposite boob (i.e. without switching DS to the other side of me).  But, I also like to switch sides every few hours anyway so I don't mind.

Yeah that!!! ^^^^

[Sfcmama]

Originally Posted by sacredpresence 

Yeah that!!! ^^^^

I couldn't agree more. There is not a clock in the bedroom that I can see from bed. Makes all the difference!!

[Dandelionkid]

I roll the baby over my tummy to the other side every so often throughout the night. It is such a habit I don't really notice it. Also I put one arm under the babies head so they are kinda propped up and can get a better latch.

[Mistral]

Originally Posted by Dandelionkid 

I roll the baby over my tummy to the other side every so often throughout the night. It is such a habit I don't really notice it. Also I put one arm under the babies head so they are kinda propped up and can get a better latch.

I do the same, and I sleep very well!