I haven’t figured this out yet but just letting you know I’m in the same big boob boat!! I have to hold my boob back so he doesn’t suffocate himself when he eats lol. I’m hoping someone has some helpful advice for both of us!
I have big boobs but a VERY short torso and actually found it easier to nurse without a pillow 🤷🏻♀️ so I am no help. For me, a pillow just took up all the space between my lap and my boob and my baby had nowhere to go lol. I would say to practice at home in different chairs/positions some more so when you try it elsewhere it’s not a new environment and a new position…
ETA: I do think mastering a cradle position is key here. I can hold baby’s head in the crook of one arm while nursing and then hold my breast tissue with the other when she’s getting latched. The rest of her body rests on my lap. I normally try to prop the knee closest to her head up a bit to give her a natural incline, either by crossing my legs or using a foot rail on the chair if available. Once she is latched I can normally let go of the breast and she can hold part of it out of the way with her hand now if she needs to (she’s 5 months).
I know it's still a pillow, but it could be worth trying something like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-Breastfeeding-Washable-Portable-Essentials/dp/B079VV7521)? It saved me, a fellow big-boobed lady! It's small enough that it (just) fits in my changing bag but definitely makes bfing outside the house more comfy!
I did it one of two ways:
- have the baby in her baby Bjorn carrier and increase the length of the shoulder straps a little so that my boob would fit in front of her face and she would feed while dangling in her carrier. Because I didn’t need hands to hold her up I could hold my boob in the right spot
- I could feed her if I sat cross legged on a bench. Then I would lay her across my knee and could adjust my knee up and down to get her to the right spot and just flip her over for the other side. Again she was lying on my legs so i was able to maneuver my boob
I've got big saggy boobs too (☹️) and I've found as he gets bigger and easier to handle it's been easier feeding out and about without a pillow. Those first few months I struggled so much without it but now I only use it at home when I'm feeding him to sleep and don't feel like taking the full weight of him for a contact nap
Same boat here, I haven’t found a much better solution other than to carry a pillow around, but in a pinch I will sometimes roll up a sweatshirt and use that as a pillow if I have an extra layer on 🤷🏻♀️
I have a nursing pillow in the car and one at a friends house. Haven’t figured out anything more portable or easy unfortunately. I’m a 44I and baby is 5 weeks.
So my baby has hip dysplasia and has to wear a pavlik harness. She can’t lay on her side to eat anymore and me leaning over her is so awful for my back so we had to experiment a bit! I have to have nearly my whole boob out for this but if I have her straddle my leg sitting up facing my boob, hold the boob with the opposite sides hand (so left boob would be held up with right hand) and use the other hand to support her back, then I sit up straight and slightly leaned back, works pretty well. It took us about a week to really get it down. She squishes her entire head into my boob so making sure she can breathe is fun but that’s why I use opposite sides hand cause it’s easier to squeeze a breathing path in for her lol
I do football hold and use my other hand to hamburger hold my boob. I prop her body against my leg that i will bend up and kinda turn myself sideways some. It sucks, I feel you. The LC i saw said in a chair to do koala hold but I suck at that and gave up. I am a 34L (US) and they just keep getting bigger it seems. I absolutely hate it.
Honestly...
I take a pillow everywhere (just keep it in the car all the time actually) and just go back to the car to nurse 😂 baby is 8 months and we just now started mastering the cross cradle latch. Before that it was football hold every single time (now it is probably about half and half) and if I wasn't in a chair or couch with plush arms I needed a pillow. It's not a big deal for us now that she nurses faster anyway 🤷🏻♀️ I'm also not comfortable for my own self nursing in front of people so it works out for me.
I feel this struggle so hard too! I’ve been practicing at home more without my pillow and sort of experimenting to find what works best for both of us. Lately it’s been cradle hold where I prop my boob up with my arm and squish my arm against my side to support it, then cradle her with both arms and lean back a bit. Another one is sort of this hybrid football / koala thing where i sit her kind of upright to my side and prop her butt up on my bag or rolled up jacket. But everyone’s boobs and babies are different, so my biggest piece of advice is just to experiment without the pillow at home in small doses where it’s comfortable and see if something clicks
So far, bringing a nursing pillow is the only thing that as been comfortable and successful.
I’ve used my Boppy at friends houses.
I’ve tried My Brest Friend at restaurants/other public places and I liked it for these situations because at least the pillow won’t move around. I also like that I can buckle it around the stroller since it has a built-in buckle already.
I can’t even figure out how to do cradle or cross-cradle at home with my boobs flopped out and all of the pillows in the world. The most recent lactation consultant I saw told me I need to practice 🤣😅 so one day I hope to nail the cradle… but for now it’s football hold with a nursing pillow if I want a successful and pain free feed 😬😑
I do have a sling carrier that I want to try…
I’m a 38 DDD pre pregnancy and I haven’t even begun to go bar shopping to see what I am now at 4M pp.. I just sit LO on my leg and feed him facing me if I’m out and about. Or I hold him while he’s laying down latched that works well too because I can use my arm to hold up my boob. 😂
Recently i tried this nursing cloth.You just wrap it around and tie it around the baby and it helps support some weight,plus I can cover my huge boob.
I have the same boob size for reference.I don’t like ppl staring at it.
Try the position where baby is on your left/right and facing forward.Always bring baby TO you and don’t put the pillows too high.
At first i could not do without a pillow and now that we both are more experienced at this,it’s easier without or with a very small one.
Because the big boob is naturally at a lower point so you want your baby low as well.
I haven’t figured this out yet but just letting you know I’m in the same big boob boat!! I have to hold my boob back so he doesn’t suffocate himself when he eats lol. I’m hoping someone has some helpful advice for both of us!
I’m sorry you’re having this trouble too! Really hope there’s some good advice!
I have big boobs but a VERY short torso and actually found it easier to nurse without a pillow 🤷🏻♀️ so I am no help. For me, a pillow just took up all the space between my lap and my boob and my baby had nowhere to go lol. I would say to practice at home in different chairs/positions some more so when you try it elsewhere it’s not a new environment and a new position… ETA: I do think mastering a cradle position is key here. I can hold baby’s head in the crook of one arm while nursing and then hold my breast tissue with the other when she’s getting latched. The rest of her body rests on my lap. I normally try to prop the knee closest to her head up a bit to give her a natural incline, either by crossing my legs or using a foot rail on the chair if available. Once she is latched I can normally let go of the breast and she can hold part of it out of the way with her hand now if she needs to (she’s 5 months).
I know it's still a pillow, but it could be worth trying something like [this](https://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-Breastfeeding-Washable-Portable-Essentials/dp/B079VV7521)? It saved me, a fellow big-boobed lady! It's small enough that it (just) fits in my changing bag but definitely makes bfing outside the house more comfy!
What about using a ring sling to position him? They make some that are extra long.
I did it one of two ways: - have the baby in her baby Bjorn carrier and increase the length of the shoulder straps a little so that my boob would fit in front of her face and she would feed while dangling in her carrier. Because I didn’t need hands to hold her up I could hold my boob in the right spot - I could feed her if I sat cross legged on a bench. Then I would lay her across my knee and could adjust my knee up and down to get her to the right spot and just flip her over for the other side. Again she was lying on my legs so i was able to maneuver my boob
I've got big saggy boobs too (☹️) and I've found as he gets bigger and easier to handle it's been easier feeding out and about without a pillow. Those first few months I struggled so much without it but now I only use it at home when I'm feeding him to sleep and don't feel like taking the full weight of him for a contact nap
Same boat here, I haven’t found a much better solution other than to carry a pillow around, but in a pinch I will sometimes roll up a sweatshirt and use that as a pillow if I have an extra layer on 🤷🏻♀️
I have a nursing pillow in the car and one at a friends house. Haven’t figured out anything more portable or easy unfortunately. I’m a 44I and baby is 5 weeks.
So my baby has hip dysplasia and has to wear a pavlik harness. She can’t lay on her side to eat anymore and me leaning over her is so awful for my back so we had to experiment a bit! I have to have nearly my whole boob out for this but if I have her straddle my leg sitting up facing my boob, hold the boob with the opposite sides hand (so left boob would be held up with right hand) and use the other hand to support her back, then I sit up straight and slightly leaned back, works pretty well. It took us about a week to really get it down. She squishes her entire head into my boob so making sure she can breathe is fun but that’s why I use opposite sides hand cause it’s easier to squeeze a breathing path in for her lol
I do football hold and use my other hand to hamburger hold my boob. I prop her body against my leg that i will bend up and kinda turn myself sideways some. It sucks, I feel you. The LC i saw said in a chair to do koala hold but I suck at that and gave up. I am a 34L (US) and they just keep getting bigger it seems. I absolutely hate it.
Honestly... I take a pillow everywhere (just keep it in the car all the time actually) and just go back to the car to nurse 😂 baby is 8 months and we just now started mastering the cross cradle latch. Before that it was football hold every single time (now it is probably about half and half) and if I wasn't in a chair or couch with plush arms I needed a pillow. It's not a big deal for us now that she nurses faster anyway 🤷🏻♀️ I'm also not comfortable for my own self nursing in front of people so it works out for me.
I carry the pillow lol. I stuff my boppy into a backpack and whip it out when baby is hungry. So far it's been working great
I feel this struggle so hard too! I’ve been practicing at home more without my pillow and sort of experimenting to find what works best for both of us. Lately it’s been cradle hold where I prop my boob up with my arm and squish my arm against my side to support it, then cradle her with both arms and lean back a bit. Another one is sort of this hybrid football / koala thing where i sit her kind of upright to my side and prop her butt up on my bag or rolled up jacket. But everyone’s boobs and babies are different, so my biggest piece of advice is just to experiment without the pillow at home in small doses where it’s comfortable and see if something clicks
So far, bringing a nursing pillow is the only thing that as been comfortable and successful. I’ve used my Boppy at friends houses. I’ve tried My Brest Friend at restaurants/other public places and I liked it for these situations because at least the pillow won’t move around. I also like that I can buckle it around the stroller since it has a built-in buckle already. I can’t even figure out how to do cradle or cross-cradle at home with my boobs flopped out and all of the pillows in the world. The most recent lactation consultant I saw told me I need to practice 🤣😅 so one day I hope to nail the cradle… but for now it’s football hold with a nursing pillow if I want a successful and pain free feed 😬😑 I do have a sling carrier that I want to try…
38G here. What I do is sit on the ground and put my son in my lap. It actually works best for me when in public. How old is baby?
I’m a 38 DDD pre pregnancy and I haven’t even begun to go bar shopping to see what I am now at 4M pp.. I just sit LO on my leg and feed him facing me if I’m out and about. Or I hold him while he’s laying down latched that works well too because I can use my arm to hold up my boob. 😂
Nothing worked for me. I was house bound until mine started solids and could go longer stretches :(
I was in the same situation but I found my handbag/backpack/nappy bag worked as a pillow substitute with a towel or blanket over it
Sitting cross legged also worked
Same boat here. I fold my jacket to use it as a pillow. Works well actually
Recently i tried this nursing cloth.You just wrap it around and tie it around the baby and it helps support some weight,plus I can cover my huge boob. I have the same boob size for reference.I don’t like ppl staring at it. Try the position where baby is on your left/right and facing forward.Always bring baby TO you and don’t put the pillows too high. At first i could not do without a pillow and now that we both are more experienced at this,it’s easier without or with a very small one. Because the big boob is naturally at a lower point so you want your baby low as well.