Plus-Sized BF Help, Please!

[MimiB]

Hi Ladies,

I am looking for some good resources that show breastfeeding positions for big breasted women. I've so far mastered only one position for nursing and it's starting to kill my back b/c I'm basically leaning over to nurse. Basically, DS is lying on a firm pillow in front of me and I lean into to nurse.

But, the frustrating thing is that everyone (LLL, lactation consultants, books) describe positions that aren't working so well b/c my breasts seem to be too large so I always have to hold the nursing breast into position otherwise the weight of it just pulls it right off of DS. I'm getting really frustrated...especially watching how much ease (and comfort) other women seem to have nursing their DC while leaning back or cradling their DC. I would like to be able to hold him comfortably while nursing and would LOVE to be able to cradle him but can't seem to make it work out.

Has anyone found any good websites that demonstrate (not just describe) different holds specifically for large breasted women??

[Sharon, RN]

Been there, done that

I'm sure the great ppl here will give you many websites to see, but I just wanted to post and let you know that I had the same problem (big boobs, little baby).

When he was a newborn, I always had to do a football hold (with him on a pillow) or a side-laying position. As he gained more muscle control, it got to a point where he could "push" the extra skin out of the way- do you know what I mean? LOL I hope you can picture this.

What I'm trying to get at, is that when my ds got older, it got easier to nurse him with a cradle hold because he could move his own head and arms to help me support him and my breast at the same time.

Good luck! If it's any inspiration, he ended up nursing until he was 3.

[purposefulmother]

One thing that works for mamas with large breasts is to roll up a handtowel or kitchen towel and place that under the breast while nursing. It keeps it elevated, which prevents the breast from slipping while baby is nursing. Another trick you can try is to nurse side-lying. Also, if you can bring the baby up to you rather than lean over the baby, it will ease the strain on your back. Good luck mama!

[gwynthfair]

The 'My Brest Friend' nursing pillow saved my back. I still use it and DD is nearly 6 mos. old.

[FreeThinkinMama]

I wear a 42F now and have found the most comfortable position is the cross cradle hold:

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/breast...ositions_2.htm

I can't control ds's head when I put him in a cradle position because his head is in the crook of my arm. With this hold I can hold the back of his head so it doesn't flop all over the place. I use a boppy pillow and sit in a chair with arms so the ends of the boppy pillow are resting on the arms of the chair. If I use the boppy pillow in bed or on a sofa I have to lean over and it kills my back. I can also manage the football hold but my ds doesn't like it.

HTH!

[timneh_mom]

I second the suggestion of rolling up a towel. I have a friend who did that and she told me it worked quite well!

[soygurl]

Originally Posted by purposefulmother

One thing that works for mamas with large breasts is to roll up a handtowel or kitchen towel and place that under the breast while nursing. It keeps it elevated, which prevents the breast from slipping while baby is nursing. Another trick you can try is to nurse side-lying. Also, if you can bring the baby up to you rather than lean over the baby, it will ease the strain on your back. Good luck mama!

Someone actually invented a special pillow to go under the breast... idk if it would actually be that much better than a rolled towel, but at least it would stay the same shape.
http://www.mom4life.com/catalog.php?...Fcategory%3D38
(and no, I don't have any affiliations to the web site OR the product...)

[cdahlgrd]

I did the cross cradle hold too until finally my boys were big enough to help. When they get to 4-5 months old, they start to push against your breast with their hands and then you can use the traditional cradle hold much easier. You are almost there.

I tried the roll under, but it was just too much work to try to get it in place, baby in place, hold baby, hold breast, hold towel. . . I also couldn't use the nursing pillows because they were too tall.

If you have a recliner, try putting a small blanket under your arm and baby's head and recline a bit. That lets your breast rest against your chest and not falling forward onto the baby.

[Muaile]

I got a tip from a bf counsellor to feed lying on my back with the baby either coming sideways across my belly or feet in my crotch position which is really comfortable.... my boobs are soft and big though, this may not work for the busty perky kind!

Good LUCK!!!

[KatWrangler]

I tend to sit crosslegged on the couch with a travel size pillow under my daughter (when she was a newborn. It sounds like baby needs to be higher and closer so you aren't leaning over.

Have you tried nursing laying down on your side? That has always worked for us.

My boobs are large (42DD) and well kind of floppy.

[crissei]

I almost always nursed laying down when DS was an infant, and I have to prop it up with my hand. Now that he's a toddler, he can also sit on my lap and nurse, if I hold it for him.

I kind of lean on my elbow, and hold it with the same hand. Yep, it's a pain, I am jealous of people that don't have to, but it's worked for us for over two years now.

[prettypixels]

Don't give up mama : to you for working so hard! You should not have to have a sore back though!

Definitely work on bringing baby up to you. I like shmooshy pillows for me personally.. it allows me to shmoosh them up exactly where I need support. I did not like the boppy. Lots of people love the boppy or firmer pillows, so just keep in mind that you have to keep trying until you figure out what works for *you* personally. I agree with suggestions for the cross-cradle hold, Figure 3 on this page...http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/positioning.html

Made it much easier for me to hold my babies head to get her situated. Actually I still do that. Although I switch to regular cradle now, once she is set... you will get there!

Here are some more links which may be helpful...
http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleade...yJun89p35.html

http://www.parentingweb.com/lounge/b...ition_pics.htm

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/N...ndowedFAQ.html

You may also consider consulting with a lactation consultant.

[momuveight2B]

All of the above is what worked for me. Hang in there because it will get lots easier and you won't need all these tricks anymore.

[midstreammama]

Just wanted to chime in and say definitely side-lying nursing worked for us. I still do it because I think it's the most comfortable.

[Eben'sMama]

Another vote for the My Brest Friend pillow and the cross-cradle or football holds--these worked very well for nursing DS when he was little--by little, I mean 10-12 pounds, as he was 10lbs, 11 oz at birth. Once he got a little bigger, we did the side-lying position most of the time, or a modified cradle hold with the "C" hold/"U' hold on my breast and the MBF pillow. I was a 34D before DS's pregnancy and birth and am now a 36H, so I know how hard it can be to find a comfortable position for the 3 of you--mama, baby and boob!

[Jess A]

I have large (42F) and rather, well, droopy, breasts. It wasn't so much the size of my breasts but the direction of my nipple. But I was determined to breastfeed, and I'm still going strong at 4 mos.

First, let go of what you think (and most books think) breastfeeding should look like. I read that somewhere and it was a great help to me. I had to let go of the image I had of sitting down, cuddling ds, and nursing in the cradle hold . . . so far, it just won't work.

In the beginning, we used the football hold with a pillow. When he was about two months old and I wanted to be out and about, I found that putting a Boppy on my lap and holding my breast made nursing work. I could sit on the floor, on the bed, anywhere really . . . play games at the same time with older DCs . . . as long as all I needed was one hand, LOL! I imagine that due to my breasts' size and . . . lack of perkiness . . . that I will have to support my breast for a while.

That's what works for me. I now own three Boppys (Boppies?!?) . . . two for the house and one I keep in the car for outings. I take it EVERYWHERE. I am proud of my Boppy, darnit, because it helps me feed my son comfortably with the freedom to get off the couch or recliner (where I did football hold for the first two months). And, the Boppy covers that oh so lovely pregnancy belly I've been left with .

That said, even though I'm proud, it is a bit of a pain to drag the thing around, and I've noticed that if I can prop my feet up, I can use just a tiny pillow to help bring up DS's head . . . a pillow that can fit in my diaper bag. DS is getting bigger, and sometimes I have to push away the side under his feet so he's only using one half. And oddly enough, the couple times I've nursed in the car, I haven't needed a pillow at all . . . something about the angle of my seat, I guess.

But kudos to you for not giving up. Don't worry about what other people think or what you think you look like because I'll tell you . . . you look like a mama feeding her baby . And that's all that matters. As long as the latch is good and baby can breathe (I actually do have to hold the breast down from DS's nose a bit . . . I know most of what you read says otherwise, but I've tried to let it go and it covers his nose completely).

Oh, and regarding holding my breast . . . when DS was in the nurse constantly phase, my wrists got really sore. I compensated by not doing other things that I knew would stress them (like lots of typing . . . not that I had much time anyway) and did lots of wrist stretching. Now that he nurses for less time each feeding, it's a bit easier.

I've often thought of writing a book with real life advice aimed at mothers with larger breasts . . . while there's a lot of great nursing advice out there, most of it is not aimed at some of the specific challenges I've had. And while I have some friends who say they are large chested too . . . well, they're not . I sometimes think I'm at an advantage . . . at times, the size of my breasts allows makes it easier for me to bring DS to them, if that makes any sense.

Good luck! Find what works for you and go with it. DS has more than doubled his birth weight at four months and is a great nurser.

[Dov'sMom]

When DS was little, the only way to do it for me was the football hold. As he got older and better at latching on without my centering my nipple in his mouth, the cross-cradle worked, but not comfortably -- it hurt my wrist (just as the football hold hurt my wrist when he got bigger). What I do now is probably bad for my back and putting me at risk for clogged ducts (though I've never had ANY problems) is he (4 months and 2.5*birthweight) sort of sits on my lap and I hold my breast at almost a 90 degree angle so the nipple is in his mouth. Since I was warned about the clogged ducts issue, I've been more careful to hold it in different ways.

[ltk]

hang in there girl.....I was right where you are. hated the fullness of my FULL boobs..but it got easier. I felt better once I started laying down with him. I still had to hold my boob, but I kept him in the crook of my elbow, side lying and that really worked. Then I learned to stay on one side, just adjust my body and switch boobs. I was a 40G? not sure...but then down to a 38DDDD, not a 38DDD at 10 months post partum...so the boobs will mellow out a little is what I am trying to say. GOOD LUCK! Call La Leche, they are so helpful!

[MamaEli]

Hey I agree with most others. I do one most often that seems kind of awkward for most people, but other than lying down (which I master with #2, couldn't get the hang of with #1) is that it works best in the recliner, and I usually kick up my legs on the footrest. I have a firm sofa pillow, and lean that on me, then put DD on it. Imagining she's nursing on my right side, I hold my breast with my right hand in a C hold. She is tummy against me for the most part, and if I want to hold her on I can, otherwise, my left hand is my free hand. Even when laying down, I sometime hold my breast for her. She's a big ol 7 mo old now, and even if she can latch on without me holding it, it's not very comfortable because I tend to point kind of down and sideways. When she's in a growth spurt, my wrists did get really tired, but that's how it is, I guess.
I too had to let go of the image of cradling babies close, walking while nursing, discreetly using my sling while accomplishing other tasks. When I nurse, that is it, unless I'm talking on the phone.
Last night I did try something new, where I was laying in bed on my back and she was laid across me. She just grabbed on, found my nipple, and was happy as a clam. Will try that agian tonight, I think.
Good luck!

[megny]

Just had to chime in about the pillow mentioned above... for supporting the breast. It works great! I've been nursing for 2.5 years straight, and finally, for the past two nights, I've been able to nurse hands free. Wish I'd found this months ago, especially through those nursing-intensive first few months. I was hesitant to purchase it cause I hadn't heard anything about it before, but I'm very please.

Good luck... I used the Brest Friend pillow too, it was a life saver for getting baby up to the right position. It'll get easier.