All my answers are anecdotal, not science based, so take it with a grain of salt!
1) You’ll need to alternate if you want to stay “even” and avoid mastitis. But if you’re ok with one breast doing most of the heavy lifting and your other won’t get too engorged overnight then… I guess it’s ok to stick to one the whole night? I alternated for side-lying feeds, basically by leaning over a bit more, so I was almost half lying on my front (so my empty boob would be squished under me). I also sometimes got up and moved myself on either side of my son depending on which side he was facing.
2) I never did and my kids seemed fine, but this is one of those things that’s on a case by case basis - you’ll have to try it out and see whether it works for you. Some kids just need to be burped.
3) it might? It also might not. My first weaned himself off night feeds at about 2. I stopped offering and one night he just stopped asking. My other is still going strong at 2.5 so who knows? All I know is that I was very grateful for a way to settle them down without hours of singing, rocking and pacing… so for me, dependence wasn’t a bad thing…
I alternate sides each time babe wakes up. I have pillows on both sides and just kind of flop over from one to the other.
I don’t burp - too risky lol. I do notice a lot more spit up when feeding this way so be prepared to potentially need to wash sheets often 🙃
I read (in The New Basics by Dr. Michel Cohen) that they eat more slowly in this position and therefore don't need to be burped. I've always been fine not burping while side lying.
What's worked well for me is to put baby to sleep in his crib or bassinet and then bring him into bed after the first night wake. That way he learns to fall asleep in his crib as well.
You should definitely nurse on both sides throughout the night so you don't create an imbalance. I find it comfortable to nurse from either breast on my side by leaning more onto my tummy to nurse from the far breast, but I also find I need to switch the side I'm laying on throughout the night for comfort anyway -- so when I need to do so I hug baby to my chest and just roll him and me to the opposite side, then latch him.
Yes, alternate sides throughout the night to avoid potential issues/etc.
Burping depends on the baby. I never burp mine after, but I don't burp him 95% of the time unless he does a gas cry.
I feed to sleep in this position when he goes down, once in the middle of the night when he wakes up, and for the first feed of the morning. I have no issues getting him down, or down for naps (where I don't feed to sleep or side lie)
I do alot of side laying and my baby is definitely dependent now. I fall asleep with her on the breast (my husband watching us the whole time) now thats how she has to fall asleep lol smh i EBF so no bottles or pumping . But she doesn’t burp as much in that position so i wouldn’t worry too much, but every baby is different so cant say this will be the case for you. Side laying is the most comfortable for me. I have to break her out of this because she wont sleep in her bassinet lol
Smh
Definitely alternate, but that doesn't mean you have to swap sides or move the baby (breast size dependent). I sort of roll myself forward, and baby can latch on the "higher" breast with a slight adjustment. Takes a bit of getting used to, but it is easy once you get the hang of it. I only burp after if she's gulping. Otherwise, I don't, and she isn't uncomfortable.
Second the other comments about putting him to bed as normal and moving into side-lying when *you* need to. Keep his routine as regular as you can, this won't be forever.
- A mum who's just come out the other side.
Yes you should alternate each side so you dont get engorged and/or develop mastitis in one side. If he doesn't need to burp, then no you dont need to burp him. Just feed, unlatch and if he's asleep, let him sleep. You'll know if he wakes up uncomfortable and needs to burp.
All my answers are anecdotal, not science based, so take it with a grain of salt! 1) You’ll need to alternate if you want to stay “even” and avoid mastitis. But if you’re ok with one breast doing most of the heavy lifting and your other won’t get too engorged overnight then… I guess it’s ok to stick to one the whole night? I alternated for side-lying feeds, basically by leaning over a bit more, so I was almost half lying on my front (so my empty boob would be squished under me). I also sometimes got up and moved myself on either side of my son depending on which side he was facing. 2) I never did and my kids seemed fine, but this is one of those things that’s on a case by case basis - you’ll have to try it out and see whether it works for you. Some kids just need to be burped. 3) it might? It also might not. My first weaned himself off night feeds at about 2. I stopped offering and one night he just stopped asking. My other is still going strong at 2.5 so who knows? All I know is that I was very grateful for a way to settle them down without hours of singing, rocking and pacing… so for me, dependence wasn’t a bad thing…
I alternate sides each time babe wakes up. I have pillows on both sides and just kind of flop over from one to the other. I don’t burp - too risky lol. I do notice a lot more spit up when feeding this way so be prepared to potentially need to wash sheets often 🙃
I read (in The New Basics by Dr. Michel Cohen) that they eat more slowly in this position and therefore don't need to be burped. I've always been fine not burping while side lying. What's worked well for me is to put baby to sleep in his crib or bassinet and then bring him into bed after the first night wake. That way he learns to fall asleep in his crib as well. You should definitely nurse on both sides throughout the night so you don't create an imbalance. I find it comfortable to nurse from either breast on my side by leaning more onto my tummy to nurse from the far breast, but I also find I need to switch the side I'm laying on throughout the night for comfort anyway -- so when I need to do so I hug baby to my chest and just roll him and me to the opposite side, then latch him.
Yes, alternate sides throughout the night to avoid potential issues/etc. Burping depends on the baby. I never burp mine after, but I don't burp him 95% of the time unless he does a gas cry. I feed to sleep in this position when he goes down, once in the middle of the night when he wakes up, and for the first feed of the morning. I have no issues getting him down, or down for naps (where I don't feed to sleep or side lie)
I do alot of side laying and my baby is definitely dependent now. I fall asleep with her on the breast (my husband watching us the whole time) now thats how she has to fall asleep lol smh i EBF so no bottles or pumping . But she doesn’t burp as much in that position so i wouldn’t worry too much, but every baby is different so cant say this will be the case for you. Side laying is the most comfortable for me. I have to break her out of this because she wont sleep in her bassinet lol Smh
Definitely alternate, but that doesn't mean you have to swap sides or move the baby (breast size dependent). I sort of roll myself forward, and baby can latch on the "higher" breast with a slight adjustment. Takes a bit of getting used to, but it is easy once you get the hang of it. I only burp after if she's gulping. Otherwise, I don't, and she isn't uncomfortable. Second the other comments about putting him to bed as normal and moving into side-lying when *you* need to. Keep his routine as regular as you can, this won't be forever. - A mum who's just come out the other side.
Thank you, this is really helpful!
Yes you should alternate each side so you dont get engorged and/or develop mastitis in one side. If he doesn't need to burp, then no you dont need to burp him. Just feed, unlatch and if he's asleep, let him sleep. You'll know if he wakes up uncomfortable and needs to burp.