Nursing is going well during the day but...

[mesa]

She refuses to nurse laying down!! I have to sit completely upright several times at night and nurse her in the football hold (the ONLY hold she likes). Also, she's still very sleepy...sometimes, especially at night, I spend upwards of half an hour just trying to get her to latch. If I'm even mildly engorged, she can't latch...she just sucks 2 or 3 times then lets go. I have to express milk by hand (usually into her mouth, to get her interested) to get my breast to soften a little bit before she will eat.

Is this a size/prematurity thing? The hardest part for me I think is the lack of laying down feeding...that was the best part of cosleeping for me with the boys. I never felt like I wasn't rested...and I'm having a hard time with it right now.

[*Karen*]

DS was really small and couldn't lay down and nurse for probably 3 months, he liked the football hold as well.

[anjasma]

yeah, my little is too small to nurse lying down. Sometmes I use pillows to boost her up, but mostly have been sleeping in our rocker/recliner at night since its easy to go from sit to lie down with minimal disturbance. That has been working really well for us. I've also had major engorgement issues (going on five days now & finally getting better!) so I'm hoping she'll start latching on easier now.

[mandalin24kd]

Originally Posted by mesa

She refuses to nurse laying down!! I have to sit completely upright several times at night and nurse her in the football hold (the ONLY hold she likes).

This is EXACTLY what my dd1 did for the first 3 weeks! Never nursed laying down and ONLY nursed football!!! It'll get better, but I feel for you!!!

[mandalin24kd]

And oh yeah, YES, I think it is a size thing. My dd1 was 6 pounds 8 ounces. I think tiny babies have a harder time adjusting o new positions.

[neomia]

Sorry to hear this mama. I had a really hard time nursing laying down at first as well, and my dude was 10.2! He also liked to lay right on top of me to sleep. I think we started getting the hang of it after a couple weeks, but I was so sleep deprived by that point I was almost crazy! So I really feel you. We also ended up using a pillow propping method. I am small breasted, so even with a bigger baby it took some figuring out.

You might want to take a look at this link about Reverse Pressure Softening if you don't know about it:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/...cotterman.html

That might be easier in the middle of the night. I took a workshop with an LC who is really well respected around here, and she is a big proponent of this technique. Good luck and hang in there mama! The hard times will be over before you know it.

ETA: I also had a horrible time sleeping during the day - just couldn't do it for some reason. But if you can catch even a few minutes of Zs while somebody else holds the baby, or while she is asleep, DO IT! Sleep whenever you can! Even if you just lay down with your eyes closed. I found out doing that helped me even when I couldn't fall asleep.

[BirthFree]

Honestly, look into possibly having cranial sacral therapy done with her... my son could not nurse laying down until he was 1.5 when we had it done (for another reason) and walah! He could then nurse laying down. The TIME and energy I could have saved not to mention the sanity!!!! I should have done it sooner.

Usually babies don't like to nurse laying down if they have reflux OR if they have too much pressure on part of their head while laying down. It's worth a look into it at least! Good luck!!

[mesa]

oh wow, thanks so much, guys!! I will definitely look into the therapy, and that kelly mom link will help us too.

She's a hungry thing during the day, but she can go 6 hours at night without nursing, which bothers me. My boys were both crazy enthusiastic nursers, so this is all new to me.

[mousebandit]

My preemie is doing the same thing (except she can go a while during the daytime too). We're just now getting anywhere at all with the laying down nursing, and she's 3 weeks now, and has hit 6 lbs. Hang in there! The night-time sleep deprivation sucks for sure. Hopefully things will ease up in a few days for you. Good luck!

Tracey Mouse

[blessedmom68358]

You already got great advice. Just wanted to share that I've BTDT, esp. so with my second and third, and I know how hard it is. (And mine weren't preemies, but FT - one at 7lbs, 15oz and the other at 6lbs, 15oz) It will get better! If it happens with me with this LO, I'll probably use the recliner advice. There's nothing worse than my head bumping against a hard wall or backboard in the middle of the night when I'm sitting up trying to nurse half-asleep with a babe who doesn't want to stay awake long enough to get a full belly. Seriously, it does get better though! Some babes just need a little more adjustment time. Maybe you can catch naps when the baby naps and/or when someone's there to help out for a couple of hours?

ETA: Until having a MW/this pregnancy, I honestly never knew how common it is for newborns to need adjusting from a chiro. Makes sense now and is definitely something to consider. Hope things get easier for you (and baby) soon!