I came across this article on Natural Breastfeeding, natural referring to position, and thought it was interesting. After reading it I searched for it here and found that dogmama22 mentioned it within our most recent Thirsty Thursday thread (say that 5 times fast). It seemed that she and erbear had good luck with it so I figured I'd bring it to the forefront in its own thread.
Yeah, it worked for us! It does take less energy from LO, I think. She's mostly supported by my body. It also helped my nipples - we switched to nursing without the shield 90% of the time. She got a better latch!
I'll re-share my experience here. We were using many of these techniques already trying to correct my oversupply, but I wasn't quite hands free. Now that we're totally laid back, I feel like he's better able to manage my large breasts and I'm not working so hard to help him. It seems to be helping his reflux as well.
I feed like this in our recliner at night. T likes to lay across my stomach on her belly (sort of at a diagonal...I'm really tall) and latches that way. I use a pillow to help support her head because she turns it to the side. She rarely spits up when I feed her this way, and sometimes she burps on her own since she's somewhat upright. If she doesn't, I don't have to move her much to do so. When she's done, she just lets go and puts her head on my boob and sleeps. It's really comfortable as well.
I read the article after dogmama22 posted it and have been using this method when possible. It really helps my poor abused nipple as O goes through his 2-3 week growth spurt.
I'm having such a hard time with it I don't know if it's the big saggy boobs or the low nipples but I have the hardest time getting him latched. Plus his nose gets burried. Makes me want a reduction and lift right now.
I've gone into lurking for a while, but I must chime in and say I love this position. Works great, especially for middle of the night or early morning feedings. I love that it keeps my hands free, so I can read or mess with my phone during those middle of the night sessions to keep awake.
I'm having such a hard time with it I don't know if it's the big saggy boobs or the low nipples but I have the hardest time getting him latched. Plus his nose gets burried. Makes me want a reduction and lift right now.
+1 about the big boobs, low nipples, and reduction and lift need. In the article there's a link to YouTube videos. One of them is how to do it if you have large breasts. I just tried it last feeding and I think we'll have some kinks to work out as well but I think it's still worth a try to stick with it.
The first LC at the hospital tried to teach me to nurse this way but didn't explain anything, just shoved a bunch of pillows around me, positioned baby and then started to force him on the boob - he was confused, I was confused-- it was all odd. Now that I know what she was trying to do I get it, but she could have used her words....
I typed a long post about it on July bmb or maybe it was on the June thread here. Basically if it works for you and baby great, but there isn't just ONE way to naturally breastfeed, humans have been sitting up and feeding their babies in varying positions as long as there have been humans and their babies.
We tend to quickly move from laying around and caring for newborns to being up and about caring for the rest of the family and life goes on with baby in a carrier or sling, and we and baby both adjust just fine. So it's not like this is the ONLY way to nurse, or if it doesn't work for you that you are somehow doing it wrong. If I tried to use it when I lay on my back my boobs go into my armpits so unless baby were to lay next to me, they would be laying on top of me with their head in my armpit to find the nipple, lol. So it doesn't work for every mom and every baby and that's ok. Do what works.
I'm having such a hard time with it I don't know if it's the big saggy boobs or the low nipples but I have the hardest time getting him latched. Plus his nose gets burried. Makes me want a reduction and lift right now.
I'm pretty big as well. When I do this position, I'm not flat on my back, just reclined a bit in the recliner. I have T laying on her tummy with her head sideways like when she sleeps on my chest, but she's just sideways (angled a bit) across my tummy. I support her head with a pillow so she can lean back a little and not get buried in my chest.
I feed like this in our recliner at night. T likes to lay across my stomach on her belly (sort of at a diagonal...I'm really tall) and latches that way. I use a pillow to help support her head because she turns it to the side. She rarely spits up when I feed her this way, and sometimes she burps on her own since she's somewhat upright. If she doesn't, I don't have to move her much to do so. When she's done, she just lets go and puts her head on my boob and sleeps. It's really comfortable as well.
Be very careful if you fall asleep (Cosleep) in a recliner, esp with a pillow involved. It's one of the nursing locations warned against by the cosleeping experts, recliners and couches can be dangerous if you fall asleep and baby rolls into a position and suffocates. Just had to say it, sorry.
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