# Large breasts & side-lying position



## Rivka5 (Jul 13, 2005)

If you have large breasts, can you nurse comfortably in the side-lying position?

I'm pretty big (size 38H), and even at night I usually sit up leaning against the headboard to nurse. When I've tried to nurse side-lying, I feel like I have to arch my back to keep from smothering my baby (4.5 months). If I lie with a relatively straight back the breast covers his nostrils. So I can nurse side-lying for a few minutes, but I always end up with a back cramp.

Am I positioning him wrong, do you think? Or is it possible to just be too big to nurse comfortably in that position? I have already discovered that nursing in the sling seems to be for smaller women...


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## liberal_chick (May 22, 2005)

I'm not quite as large chested as you, but we have the nostril problem too. I either compress my breast a bit so he has a breathing passageway or I find that if I lay him kind of high next to me and latch him on with my boob kind of pointing up that his nostrils aren't covered. I know that's not a very accurate description. Maybe I can get him in that position and take a pic if you can't visualize it.


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## jeliphish (Jul 18, 2007)

34H here: I lay below her so that my nipple is pointing up at the roof of her mouth. This is the only way I don't smother her. Side lying is more difficult to larger breasted women I think.


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## bodhitree (May 12, 2008)

I use a finger to gently hold my breast away from LO's nostrils.


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## filiadeluna (Oct 2, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jeliphish* 
34H here: I lay below her so that my nipple is pointing up at the roof of her mouth. This is the only way I don't smother her. Side lying is more difficult to larger breasted women I think.

That's what I do. I'm only a D cup, though.







I have the side-lying thing down to a science by now, but for the first few weeks I couldn't figure out how to do it comfortably. It's amazing once you get the groove of it. You don't even have to fully wake up to feed your baby, and you can pretty much fall right back asleep.


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## chase_mommy (Nov 11, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bodhitree* 
I use a finger to gently hold my breast away from LO's nostrils.

This is what I did. As baby gets older it gets so much easier and for some reason my huge boobs don't seem to smother baby's little head. Trust me it gets so much easier.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Rivka5* 
I have already discovered that nursing in the sling seems to be for smaller women...

Not completely true. I am sure it is easier for them but totally doable for us. Just stick a prefold or a receiving blanket under your boob to hoist it up a bit. Get that nipple pointing straight forward and not so much down. Latch babe on and tighten up that sling. I have also found pooping your breast out over the top of a shirt gives you a good lift. I always latched DD on this way and stuck the tail of the sling over th top of my breast if I was feeling self conscious about the amount of boob I was showing. Keep practicing. In time this gets much easier too.


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## SomedayMom (May 9, 2002)

I'm a 36 H, was a 38 H immediately PP. It was almost impossible at first. I think when DS was around 6-7 months it just clicked. He nurses in that position just about every morning still now. I never managed to get the hang of nursing in a sling either.


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## TheGirls (Jan 8, 2007)

It was really hard at first for me. I was a 38K immediatly postpartum (I'm down to like an G/H now, but my babe is 13mo). I definitely held the breast for her for a long time (maybe 6-8 months) using a finger to keep it out of her nose. Also I'd use a pillow for my back and lay more on my back (somewhere between lying on my back and on my side, if that makes sense). For me it worked better to have her lower than nipple-level and make her look up to nurse. That way her nose pointed away from the boob.

Of course now she'll nurse while standing on one foot leaning across my chest singing to herself.... Toddlers are weird....


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## ShwarmaQueen (Mar 28, 2008)

I'm a 42C-D and I never had any problems. The thing with this positioning is you want baby to work out not being smothered by her/himself (to a certain extent). If baby can't breath, then baby can move his face/body to a position where he can- it's much much harder for you to move your boob around!


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

I'm an H cup too, and I found when he was tiny I a) had to latch on sitting up and then lay down and b) It helped if I angled his body closer to me than his head. It prevented the smothering feeling.


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## Rivka5 (Jul 13, 2005)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm glad to have things to try.

I can, of course, hold the breast down a bit with my hand... but I wouldn't want to go to sleep that way, you know? And I'm lazy.


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

I am, well I am not sure, but above an H. I almost always nurse in the side-lying position but like the pp's said, with the baby's head slightly above my nipple.


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## ShwarmaQueen (Mar 28, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Rivka5* 
I can, of course, hold the breast down a bit with my hand...

I was told a LC that pressing the side of your boob or nipple for long periods (like in this case, while nursing) can cause clogged ducts so definitely try to avoid that! Baby will not suffocate.


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

it should work, it just takes practice! i kind of pull dd's bottom half closer to me so that she is lying somehwat diagonally and her head is further away from my breast and it is less suffocating i think...


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## Morgana (Sep 25, 2008)

I'm a 32I and I use my finger to keep her nose clear. DD is only 11 weeks old so I hope that it'll get better when she has better control. I have a really hard time staying awake in this position so I'm afraid I'll let go of my boob and smother her. She also loves to put her chin to her chest so if I manage to get her to tilt her head up she only stays there for a minute.


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## averlee (Apr 10, 2009)

My mother-in-law's trick is to elevate baby slightly, like on a thin firm pillow or folded towel.

My trick is to pull baby's body closer, closer to me, then skootch her down, down, so she raises her chin quite high. Her head is slightly tipped back, so her nose is free.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

I found side-lying impossible until ds was about 4 months. Around 3 months I figured out that I could lie on my back, put a pillow under my arm (on the side I was going to nurse on) & then lay ds on his side/tummy across my body with his head on the propped arm. Once he was latched I could fairly comfortably fall asleep.

When we first started doing side-lying I would use a towel or something to prop my boob to the right height. But it still seemed to take more hands than I had. It wasn't until he had good head control & could practically latch on by himself that side-lying became comfy.

Oh yeah, I'm a G cup.


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## Dahlea (May 15, 2008)

that is the easiest for us and i'm a 34i. i use the bottom boob, which do you use?


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## heatherweh (Nov 29, 2007)

When that happens I just have to move him up a bit, like towards my head versus towards my abdomen. It seems to help because I don't want to have to press down on my boob to make an air pocket either.


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