# Cosleeping & the art of the boob switch...enlighten me!



## pangirl (Aug 26, 2008)

Cosleeping, bf'ing moms...how do you switch breasts during the night? My daughter falls asleep at the breast during the night quickly, but will wake easily if I try to move her. So we share the bed and I nurse lying on my side to get the most rest possible. During the night, I have been leaving her in the center of the bed, and when I need to switch breasts, I move to the other side of the bed. So I'm flipping from one side of the bed to the other throughout the night and she's in the center.

Here's the problem: my husband has been on the couch for 3 months. I want us to all sleep comfortably together. If I had to stay on one side of the bed, and moved the baby from one side of my body to the other, there would be one side I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her stay on once asleep, because she would be near the edge of the bed instead of in the center. And I'm sure she would wake up if I tried to move her back to the center (we abandoned the arm's reach because of this waking up while transferring issue, I take naps with her during the day). I've tried feeding from the top boob while side-lying, but it's so uncomfortable.

My baby is 5 months old. Since birth, she feeds at night every 1-2 hours and sometimes more. I loathe the idea of having to sit up to nurse that many times. So many couples bedshare, and nurse... I am missing something, right?


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## Bokonon (Aug 29, 2009)

I just offer the other breast. No flipping over necessary.


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## annemoonstar (Mar 10, 2008)

We have our mattress on the floor and a futon mattress on the side of our bed. So, if DS fell out it wouldn't be a big deal, although he hasn't even come close to falling out yet (and he is 9.5 months and VERY mobile, even at night). So I do move him from side to side (or I move from side to side--depends on how awake he seems when we get ready to nurse again). When he is on the side of the bed near the edge I do usually keep my arm around him. But even when I try to move towards DH and let him just sleep near the edge, he always turns towards me to snuggle, so I'm really not that worried about it at this point.


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## LionessMom (Mar 12, 2008)

before i figured out how to use the top breast i just only offered the one at night. then offered the other more during the day to even it out. i dont subscribe to the whol have to switch every time you feed thing. i offer the one that is most handy at the time. which is why my left makes more than my right ( i am right handed). i also side car my crib and lo sleeps on that side instead of between me and DH. as far as it being uncomfortable offereing the top breast, it might get easier with practice. i didnt get it until i was nursing DD2.


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## Whistler (Jan 30, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bokonon* 
I just offer the other breast. No flipping over necessary.

This is what I did. I just leaned over a little farther and rolled the baby a little more onto his back and gave the top one. It wasn't hard.


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## Chamomile Girl (Nov 4, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bokonon* 
I just offer the other breast. No flipping over necessary.

See, I can't do this because my breasts are too small...so we got bedrails. DH sleeps on one side and I rotate between the middle of the bed and the side. But I only flip once during the night and do block feeding in the interrum.


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## SpunkyMama (Feb 18, 2009)

http://www.gobedbug.com/

We won one of these and love it. You could also use a rolled up blanket under the sheet. I gently slide ds to whichever side I need him on. I know a lot of moms who scoop them up and roll with them to get them to the other side.


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## MsVyky (May 29, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chamomile Girl* 
See, I can't do this because my breasts are too small...so we got bedrails. DH sleeps on one side and I rotate between the middle of the bed and the side. But I only flip once during the night and do block feeding in the interrum.

This. Except we don't have a rail. Our bed is mighty close to the floor and DD isn't rolling yet. I put a pad down on the floor 'just in case' but for the most part she only sleeps in the crook of my arm anyway


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## red and lulu (Oct 6, 2009)




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## sdbeachy (Aug 14, 2009)

Until our baby was about 6 months old I would sit up and scoot him over to either nurse him on the outside or put him back when he was done. Now that he's not quite so floppy I roll with him on top of me to move him. He stirs but doesn't really wake up, as long as I let him down gently. I think a bed rail or a bed on the floor with an extra mattress might work well for you. Then you can roll/move her to the outside (she's already awake if she wants to nurse, right?), nurse her, then just leave her there til she's ready for the next nursing. And in the meantime you'll be in the middle to cuddle your husband.


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## Xavismom (Dec 22, 2009)

I just nurse on one side until DS fusses to have his diaper changed (usually 1-2 times per night) When we get back in bed from changing, I lay on the other side and offer him that breast, and we both go back to sleep.

I NEVER thought of staying on the same side though, and just offering the top breast that way!! I am going to have to try this. Not sure how well it will work though with my breast size. Its worth a try though! Anyone have any tips or tricks for positioning?


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## sunshynbaby (Dec 10, 2008)

I'm not talented enough to do the top breast thing, so I move the baby over and we trade places all night. I have now unused sidecar crib on one side so I don't need to worry about him falling off. I really want to get a King size mattress to put on the floor once he starts crawling. I'm paranoid he is going to crawl off the bed...


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## Mrsboyko (Nov 13, 2007)

I didn't figure out the top boob thing till kid #2. It is so much easier! I don't have large boobs either, a full 34C when engorged and no more. I do end up basically lying on his side for the top to reach him, but he ses comfortable still.


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## KermitII63 (Oct 29, 2009)

I bought a Humanity Family Bed and it's been totally worth the expense for me. I start out either in the middle of the bed or against the HFB, and my son sleeps on a cotton changing pad. When it's time to switch, I crawl over him and slide him into the right position. Sometimes he stirs a tiny bit, but settles down right away when he realizes which side I'm on. Some nights I can get away with switching just once, depending on what the milk situation is.


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## ReadingRenee (Aug 8, 2008)

I cannot lie on the same side all night or my hips HURT. So I have to switch sides.

How I do it is I cradle my baby in my arm on the side I am lying on and kind of scoop her onto my chest. Then I wrap my other arm around her so now both my arms are wrapped around her to keep her secure and roll to the other side, take away the other arm and she naturally falls into the position of being cradled in my other arm on the side that I switched to for nursing. Then if I don't want her head on my arm I pick up her head with my hand and lower it to the bed and kind of scoot away slightly to make the angles work.

Ive been scooping and rolling since birth but she couldn't nurse without me holding her in my arms while side lying til she was about 5 mos old.


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## KarlaC (Mar 20, 2009)

Yeah I can't lay on one side all night either, my back/shoulder & hip just hurt too bad if I do.

I just scoop him up, lie him on my chest & roll over quickly then offer the breast asap to keep him from totally waking up. It didn't always work at first but now he sleeps through it for the most part.


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## AGierald (Sep 5, 2007)

i used to hold him to my chest and roll on my back, putting him on the other side.. now that hes enormous, i sit up, roll him to the otherside and lay back down. i do it in my sleep now, lol


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## pangirl (Aug 26, 2008)

thanks for the ideas, mamas. i'm gonna try the roll over with baby thing and see if that works for us.


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## finnegansmom (Jul 15, 2007)

I always roll over with the baby on top of me, and I always sleep on my side facing my baby (who is now 17 months old). Now, if i roll over and put my back to him, he immediately wakes up and CLIMBS over me so he can be face to face... LOL.


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## gbutterflykissesm (Apr 8, 2008)

One thing that came in very handy for me and my light sleeping DS who wakes up if I so much as breathe too loud was having him sleep on a towel. When I wanted to switch sides I would just sit up, pull on the towel, and voila! He was on my opposite side. He wouldn't even know he had moved.


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## Tattooed Hand (Mar 31, 2009)

I am new to this, but what I have been doing is nursing her on one side, sitting up to burp her (because if I don't she either cries or pukes) and then lay her down on the other side and stick the other boob in her mouth. She doesn't take much from it, but drifts off to sleep, so it's the one we start with when she wakes up the next time.

Mine wakes up if you drag her across the bed on a receiving blanket... the roll idea is good too.


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## spirit4ever (Nov 4, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *finnegansmom* 
I always roll over with the baby on top of me, and I always sleep on my side facing my side facing the baby.

that's us too, although I must admit After 3 kids and dd being almost 18 months I'm not so gentle in my switch over ! I also have had my bed many different ways!! Dc1 was mattress on the floor, dc2 we used bed rails on both sides of the bed (I think they were by safety 1st) and dc3 we now have our bed pushed right against the wall and dd's crib sidecarred on the other side!!


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## OperaDiva (Jun 11, 2009)

I never thought I'd be so thankful for my 32G boobies, but the top boob feeding is a piece of cake for me! I do lay about halfway between side and tummy when I top feed though. The towel/receiving blanket switch sounds like a good idea though.


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## Kivgaen (Dec 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pangirl* 
My baby is 5 months old. Since birth, she feeds at night every 1-2 hours and sometimes more. I loathe the idea of having to sit up to nurse that many times. So many couples bedshare, and nurse... I am missing something, right?


Some mamas are going to probably flame me for this... but oh well -- Call me a bad mama if it makes you feel better:

I stacked up a bunch of pillows/blankets, etc., on the floor next to my side of the bed, and I just flipped DS over to the outer side.

In the 2 years that DS slept beside me, I think he only fell out of the bed once... maybe twice. He wasn't hurt at all... If I recall correctly, I don't even think he woke up. Our bed is on a bedframe, has a box-spring and a thick mattress, so it was about 3 feet up).

Ideally, you could get a rail to install on your side of the bed so that the above never happens. (I could never find one tall enough to fit our King-sized mattress properly).

But honestly, you are so aware of where your baby is that it really isn't that much of a problem. Eventually as time went on, I only ever fed them from the side in the center. I was probably a bit lopsided by then, but do you think I really noticed and/or cared about that???


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## mambera (Sep 29, 2009)

Top boober here. I am a 36C/D. We couldn't do this until LO was about 6 months old though.


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## AJ's mommy (Sep 14, 2007)

With DS1 sliding him over would work great because even if he would wake up I would gave him the other breast and he would fall asleep instantly. With DS2 (12 weeks) I'm having some problems nursing in bed... He nurses fine but as soon as he's done he wakes up and stays up for an hour everytime. I tried giving him the other breast, burping him (right after birth until about 8-9 weeks I had no choice to burp him cause he would screaming with pain, now it's way better), signing, etc... Nothing works. And you can see he's really tired but just doesn't want to sleep and cries. A lot of the times I have to pick him up and go rock him to sleep! I'll give the top boob a try again... It hasn't worked yet!


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## Babina's Mommy (Dec 27, 2008)

I do the sliding thing...I usually put baby on a blanket that's spread out on the bed to sleep because of all the spitting up and explosive poops that happen in the early days. If I need to change sides I slide the blanket and baby to my other side. I also do the thing where I go on the other side of baby or I lift baby over to my other side. I switched up what I did for each child and which stage of development we were at...


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## lonegirl (Oct 31, 2008)

I always kept Tyr on the outside of the bed when he was tiny (DH paranoid of him being squished in the middle) I literally switched Tyr and I upside down


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

We're art time bed-sharers here, but I just hug baby to me and roll over. I don't worry about her being on the outside of the bed. She's big enough now (1 yo) to slide down off the bed on her belly or her back but has never done it in the middle of the night. When she's in bed with us, it's because she NEEDS and WANTS to be there, so she's cuddled right up close and I can't get away from her at all (believe me, I've tried! She scooches right on over to me as I'm trying to scooch away!)


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## ~Kristina~ (Mar 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Whistler* 
This is what I did. I just leaned over a little farther and rolled the baby a little more onto his back and gave the top one. It wasn't hard.

Same here.


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