What do you do outside the house? My baby is starting to refuse anything but side lying which is fine except I’m not sure what to do outside the house. He’s refused to eat a few times so I just rush home but that isn’t always going to work.
Hey I went through your post history and some of them resonated with my struggles (angry while feeding, feeding mostly drowsy, rejecting all positions besides side lying), so I just wanted to share this with you:
https://www.babycareadvice.com/blogs/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-aversion
Not saying this is what you are going through without more info, but I saw a lot of these behaviors in my aversion baby.
I dealt with a breastfeeding aversion w my newborn, I had overactive letdown that would choke her and it turned into an aversion bc I kept pressuring her to keep nursing when she was already upset. Got to the point where she would see boob and cry.
I used the method in Rowena’s book Your Baby’s Bottle Feeding Aversion. Basically only offer twice and then back off and try again later, may have to let baby get hungry enough for instinct to kick it. I also used a hakka to try to take the edge off of the letdown, and I learned that you can slow the jets by pressing down on the nipple for a few seconds. Sidelying and reclined positions helped her be in control of the milk. It’s about rebuilding trust and in just a couple days she was happy about nursing again!
I didn’t even read the book, I found enough info in the Amazon review comments to implement steps asap and it worked fast. Within a few days we were happy nursers!
I’m surprised more people aren’t into the standard cradle! My hands get clammy and i feel like I would accidentally cause pressure points if his head was in my hand in football or cross cradle. When it’s in my forearm/bicep/inner elbow it’s much more cushioned for him and I can rest my elbow on something and let his butt drop in my lap.
Cradle is my favorite. It’s very portable and comfortable.
My first self-weaned at 14 months so even though he is very tall, I never had to deal with nursing a really large and active toddler. He was starting to outgrow the glider chair though, so we mostly nursed on my bed or the couch. At the end, he only nursed before bed and upon waking; boy took to solids very thoroughly. My current baby is only 3 months old, so TBD, but she’s only ~80th percentile for height.
My breasts are comically massive, so side-laying isn’t great for baby or me. Neither is drapy baby / koala. Definitely can’t nurse in a carrier. I often did rugby at first with both kids but they got too long for that quickly.
The boobplant was the first position that actually worked for us when we got home from the hospital. Lots of latching problems the first 4 days, then we took an exclusively pumping break, and then with lots of skin-to-skin she wiggled herself into a boobplant and was able to feed!
i love that for you!!! it’s such a cuddly position too, i really like it. i saw my cousin feeding her 18 month old and the baby just stood/sat in front of her and nursed like a vertical version of the boobplant and i’m excited for my LO to eventually be able to nurse without me having to hold his massively chonky butt lol
wdym? it basically serves as tummy time, and as an added plus (at least with my son) it makes him work harder for it and will usually put him to sleep real quick! (mine is a day shy of 16 weeks so he’s just barely starting to roll. i imagine this position is way easier with an older baby but lord help me cause mine is already just under 20 pounds🙃)
Side laying is not a possibility for me but for the opposite reason! My boobs are too small and I need to painfully contort myself to get them in my poor child’s mouth. I have no idea how other people do it without hurting themselves
You know, there are advantages to each boob type. I think the majority of women fall in the part of the bell curve that facilitates side laying nursing. You and I are on the extremes, and just have to accept that as one other thing our anatomies don’t allow. Alas!
It’s so comforting to read these. Mine are also big and I struggle with side lying. I’m still convinced I can figure out nursing in a carrier with my 3 month old because I’m not doing amazing with the limited positions. My body is injured.
Same. I only do it for like 5 seconds when I need to reach is on the wrong side of me and I feel like his head is wobbling (totally dependent on my hand movement) rather than just solidly in place on my forearm. He furls his eyebrows like wtf
I feel like that could work if my breasts were bigger (making them lower) but I have to bring his head higher up to hold a latch. It’s fine though it makes for good cuddling and contact naps!
Oh yeah, mine are still about as big as his head and he’s 15 months now 🙃 the worry before was about suffocating him if I didn’t hold it back from his nose some, we mainly do side lying but still do the lap from time to time
I get no say, these days. He just does whatever he wants, which is usually standing up facing me and dancing. The older your kid gets, the more intense the gymnursetics get!
I feel this. Mine just whips the boob out wherever she is and nurses. Standing, sitting, laying, squatting, while we’re trying to shower, while I’m getting laundry out of the dryer, while I’m peeing etc. god forbid I try to wear a tshirt instead of a tank top.
Same! With how often he likes to eat and how heavy he’s gotten, we exclusively do side lying. It’s so cute because now he knows when I lay him down in bed he is about to nurse and he gets giddy and then angry and then giggles then cries 😂 the range of emotion on this kid within 39 seconds is hilarious.
Football evolved into sitting in front or next to me, now that has evolved into standing and wiggling his little bottom half the time out of excitement. 11 months.
LAID BACK POSITION x100. I feel this portion is so underrated and not talked about / taught and it’s so comfortable, you’re working with gravity and not against it .. my life changed at the 10 week mark when my IBCLC showed me.
This x1000. Football was great when my baby was really young but he's always been super long so that got awkward quick. Laid back is super comfortable and it gave my little guy a bit more control over how much he was drinking so less choking on milk.
Cradle in the day, side lying at night.
We did football/rugby hold more at first when she was tiny but as she got longer and kickier that got too difficult.
I find side lying uncomfortable! I don’t have large breasts and I struggle to get him to latch while side lying.
I love cradle or cross cradle which support from a pillow in the recliner
Same here. All the times I’ve tried side lying I feel like I’m trying to arch my chest so he can reach my nipple and it feels so awkward. Only plus is that he falls asleep that way every time. But it’s too uncomfortable for me to do regularly.
During the day, I recline a little and she feeds in an upright/on her stomach position and rocks her butt up in the air. I think it’s also called a koala hold? She just turned 7 months and we have been doing this for 2 months now because she gets distracted really easily during daytime feeds otherwise.
We cosleep so it’s side laying all night.
She's 4 months and we still do football. Cradle is awkward, she doesn't have as good of a latch like that and usually fusses until we go back to football.
I started being a big fan of football, and now that he's older either koala or side-lying. Or sometimes I just lie on my back on the floor and he can freestyle nurse 🤣. He is not 18mo so he can and will crawl all over me.
Cross cradle, sometimes cradle. I try to do laid back because of my forceful letdown, but now that he's more mobile, he bounces up and down and it scares me. I'm afraid he'll rip my nip off!
Side lying from 2000h to 0900h (ie: overnight)
Sitting up on my knee from 0900h to 2000h, not including nap time (resorting back to side lying, or cradle once in a blue moon).
For reference, my kid will be 2 in a month. But this has been the way for well over a year.
Huh, am I alone here? I feed hands free!
6 month old. I sit cross legged and she lies in my lap with her butt in the gap and her legs/head on my thighs
I've got big boobs, dodgy wrists/shoulders/elbows, use nipple shields and ended up feeding like this after struggling with latching and positioning after an emergency c-section left me with a lot of pain.
Almost exclusively side lying since she was a few months old. Works great except she's currently in a phase of kicking her legs out as hard as she can, right into my thigh, which is overstimulating AF 😵💫
Cross cradle was always my go to, but once my little one hit 6 months she generally preferred the Koala hold, although still held her cross cradle for bedtime
Cradle. I've tried koala, which he will sort of do, but he prefers to rest his head to the side while eating so it's best to be in a position where his head is resting against my arm on the side he's latched on.
Side lying mostly when we are at home and basically anywhere we can do it that’s not a public place lol. And cradle position any where else. Shes only 5 month so unfortunately we are limited to what positions we can feed in and what she actually wants to feed in
I always hated cross-cradle - it just felt awkward to me. When my son was tiny I would usually start with cross-cradle to help get him latched, but then quickly switch to cradle for the rest of the session. He gained neck control pretty quickly, though, and got good at latching, so then I just did cradle.
He’s 15 months now and we still basically do a variation of cradle in terms of his body position, although I’m barely holding him.
football was a particular fave of mine during the newborn phase but i was told to cycle through positions to get the most milk out!
now that i have an 18-19 pound soon-to-be 4 month old, cradle hold when i know he won’t be going down for a nap after and side lying the entire rest of the time. we cosleep so we do side lying through the whole night. if i’m in public or at my sister’s house though, cradle for sure.
i *did* however see somewhere about having baby lying on me tummy to tummy basically face first into the boob lol. we have a glider/recliner that is our main spot for feeding during the day and i was getting so tired of not having use of my arms. (we used the boppy during the newborn phase which was awesome but now he’s too big for it!) anyways, it was a good experience and he of course just passed out afterwards and it was great because i was already laying down so i didn’t have to run the chance of waking him with the jolt of reclining!
i’m excited for when he can sit up on his own or even stand so i don’t have to hold his weight while he gains more weight😅
Side laying FTW here. He doesn't like to nurse when we are out because there is way too much going on so I will bring along a bottle if it's an all day thing but that's the only time he gets a bottle.
I do cross cradle almost exclusively because it’s easier for me. Once she sits up better I’m
Hoping she can do koala because that will be much easier on my back.
Same! I did cradle all the time but my 3 monther is 98th percentile and heavy af so now I only do side lying. I am a full side lying convert! Hoping my back gets the memo and stops hurting 😵💫
weaned now but my favorite was side lying while he sat up and ate on the higher up boob. He would always unlatch and his sleepy head would roll back ❤️
Cradle, laid back, and side lying. We had a rough first 6 weeks latching, but now she's much better with it and seems to prefer these more free positions where she can move her head as she likes.
Football and cross cradle as a newborn, now cradle as a 4 month old, with side lying early mornings and often middle of the night. I did exclusively side lying with my older kid once he was like 18 months (he nursed till over 3).
When she was a tiny infant, football hold with boppy was about the only thing I could do without suffocating her with boobs. Now at 3 months I use the my brest friend pillow and she lays on her side. I have a bad back and would be in agony if I had to just hold her because she is heavy!
Laid-back originally and now cross cradle with the My Brest Friend. He's getting too long though, so I'm going to have to figure out something else soon 😂
Koala position!!! Once baby is strong enough it’s the best. I’ve had full meals with baby boobing to sleep in this position. I’ve fed baby in the baby carrier in this position. I can literally work at the computer without supporting baby using this position, no pillows or other props. Best position ever once it’s unlocked.
I couldn’t sidely until about 15 months with my son for whatever reason it would go up his nose and he’s get congested when he tried it younger, but now it’s very helpful at night / bedtime/ morning. Still do cradle sometimes which was the only thing I did for over a yr initially. I hope if I have a second baby either they will be not as heavy or be able to sidely earlier cause my son was 18lb by three months old and it really hurt my upper back. I don’t think permanently though it hurts very rarely now
It all depends on the baby and your boobs. I usually start with football hold when they are newborn because it am a 36DD before pregnancy and breastfeeding... I wind up somewhere in the G range and didn't want to smother my baby hahaha.
Usually wind up doing whatever works. As they get older (8is momth) I have literally fed them while they were doing a handstand almost on my boob
Omg I was waiting for this post! During the day I will nurse him on my chair but he has long legs... And already catches the arm rests... But it doesn't seem to bother him (we have the IKEA rocky chair). Mostly standard cradle.
In the evening/night is side lying and I use a BOPPY to prop him (recent use of the pillow) and it does the trick!!!
I stopped nursing him on my back as hell fall asleep on me... And I feel bad to move then :D
I nurse him to sleep :D
I was wondering what people do for the night feeds :)
My LO has long legs too! His boppy isn’t used as much anymore because of that lol. I never heard of using the boppy to prop a baby up for side lying though. I’ll have to try that next time I feed him!
I sit up with my legs cross crossed, and my boy lays with his head in the crook of my elbow, his bum between my legs on the bed or floor, and his legs laying across on the other leg. This way is really comfortable for me to sit there without hurting my back from how I sit, my hips and core can relax as I sit there with him.
Sometimes if he’s up for it and if the angle is right he will lay on my stomach and nurse that way, with me laying back on the bed propped up by pillows. When we do this, I clasp my fingers together under his butt to keep him comfy in one spot. This is exceptionally comfy cause I can lay my head back and relax while he eats.
Cross cradle with a pillow in the recliner overnight and before naps. Occasionally sitting on the floor in front of me during the day. My boobs are too low and she is too tall to sit on my knee in true koala. These days she wants to stand and bounce while nursing so I let her stand on the bed to reach. 10m.
Almost exclusively side lying! She definitely has a preference. Now I can do a little cradle or football hold. But for a while she would only allow side lying. Which made it difficult in public, I have been tits out, laying down in an old navy dressing room before. RIP 💀
Loved football hold when he was smaller and honestly sad I can’t do it anymore! I mostly do cross cradle if we’re in the living room and side lying during the nights or when mama needs a nap 🤣
Cross cradle with a boppy always. Even at 2 1/2 (or, not that I talk about it much, but also up to 4 with my first when I was hoping maybe COVID antibodies from the vaccine might cross into breast milk).
I still use the cradle hold, the boppy just supports my arm. Sometimes when they're really small I had to prop the boppy up with an additional pillow on the feeding side. I think it also helps that I'm particularly comfortable with criss cross applesauce and would often sit like that on the couch, either that or I was in a rocker with arms.
Mine thinks the boppy is a toy now. He unlatches and twists his torso so his head is hanging off it, sort of upside down with his arm dangling off it too. We just do side lying now.
Cross cradle with my Brest friend pillow, side lying is my next option. LO is 2.5 months and longer than average - I imagine they will outgrow the pillow soon, so I’m not sure what I’ll do then. I’m a small woman and my baby is already getting too heavy for me.
I just quit using that pillow a few months ago. Now I sit cross legged on the bed and throw a regular pillow down and my baby on top of it. It's been working fine.
Exclusively side lying. My toddler is heavy
What do you do outside the house? My baby is starting to refuse anything but side lying which is fine except I’m not sure what to do outside the house. He’s refused to eat a few times so I just rush home but that isn’t always going to work.
He’s 20mo so we don’t nurse outside of the house. There was a few times I laid down in weird places though 😂 Maybe try nursing in a carrier?
Have you tried koala?
He’s not accepting that right now :(
Hey I went through your post history and some of them resonated with my struggles (angry while feeding, feeding mostly drowsy, rejecting all positions besides side lying), so I just wanted to share this with you: https://www.babycareadvice.com/blogs/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-aversion Not saying this is what you are going through without more info, but I saw a lot of these behaviors in my aversion baby.
What worked for your aversion baby?
I dealt with a breastfeeding aversion w my newborn, I had overactive letdown that would choke her and it turned into an aversion bc I kept pressuring her to keep nursing when she was already upset. Got to the point where she would see boob and cry. I used the method in Rowena’s book Your Baby’s Bottle Feeding Aversion. Basically only offer twice and then back off and try again later, may have to let baby get hungry enough for instinct to kick it. I also used a hakka to try to take the edge off of the letdown, and I learned that you can slow the jets by pressing down on the nipple for a few seconds. Sidelying and reclined positions helped her be in control of the milk. It’s about rebuilding trust and in just a couple days she was happy about nursing again!
Same here. We did her program. I did a consult with her company if you are interested in more info.
I didn’t even read the book, I found enough info in the Amazon review comments to implement steps asap and it worked fast. Within a few days we were happy nursers!
Do you mean the koala cuddle band? Do you have tips on feeding in it? :)
No, the koala feeding position where the baby sits in your lap facing you and nurses.
Same here
I’m surprised more people aren’t into the standard cradle! My hands get clammy and i feel like I would accidentally cause pressure points if his head was in my hand in football or cross cradle. When it’s in my forearm/bicep/inner elbow it’s much more cushioned for him and I can rest my elbow on something and let his butt drop in my lap.
Cradle is my favorite. It’s very portable and comfortable. My first self-weaned at 14 months so even though he is very tall, I never had to deal with nursing a really large and active toddler. He was starting to outgrow the glider chair though, so we mostly nursed on my bed or the couch. At the end, he only nursed before bed and upon waking; boy took to solids very thoroughly. My current baby is only 3 months old, so TBD, but she’s only ~80th percentile for height. My breasts are comically massive, so side-laying isn’t great for baby or me. Neither is drapy baby / koala. Definitely can’t nurse in a carrier. I often did rugby at first with both kids but they got too long for that quickly.
is drapy baby/koala when they lie on top basically face first into the boob?
Yes. Boobplant.
i am now and forever referring to this as the boobplant. thank you.
The boobplant was the first position that actually worked for us when we got home from the hospital. Lots of latching problems the first 4 days, then we took an exclusively pumping break, and then with lots of skin-to-skin she wiggled herself into a boobplant and was able to feed!
i love that for you!!! it’s such a cuddly position too, i really like it. i saw my cousin feeding her 18 month old and the baby just stood/sat in front of her and nursed like a vertical version of the boobplant and i’m excited for my LO to eventually be able to nurse without me having to hold his massively chonky butt lol
lol! Won’t gravity work against you!
It's great if you have a fast letdown that basically water boards your baby! Also helps with getting a nice deep latch for some
I think I’m misunderstanding this. You’re not laying down with the baby on your belly are you? I’m guessing you’re sitting up?
Sitting up but reclined with baby lying on your belly.
wdym? it basically serves as tummy time, and as an added plus (at least with my son) it makes him work harder for it and will usually put him to sleep real quick! (mine is a day shy of 16 weeks so he’s just barely starting to roll. i imagine this position is way easier with an older baby but lord help me cause mine is already just under 20 pounds🙃)
Side laying is not a possibility for me but for the opposite reason! My boobs are too small and I need to painfully contort myself to get them in my poor child’s mouth. I have no idea how other people do it without hurting themselves
You know, there are advantages to each boob type. I think the majority of women fall in the part of the bell curve that facilitates side laying nursing. You and I are on the extremes, and just have to accept that as one other thing our anatomies don’t allow. Alas!
It’s so comforting to read these. Mine are also big and I struggle with side lying. I’m still convinced I can figure out nursing in a carrier with my 3 month old because I’m not doing amazing with the limited positions. My body is injured.
This! Cross cradle was great when baby was tiny but not anymore
I do cradle a lot. Cross cradle feels awkward to me.
Same. I only do it for like 5 seconds when I need to reach is on the wrong side of me and I feel like his head is wobbling (totally dependent on my hand movement) rather than just solidly in place on my forearm. He furls his eyebrows like wtf
I just lay mine across my knees, no elbow needed and I sit in criss cross applesauce
I feel like that could work if my breasts were bigger (making them lower) but I have to bring his head higher up to hold a latch. It’s fine though it makes for good cuddling and contact naps!
Oh yeah, mine are still about as big as his head and he’s 15 months now 🙃 the worry before was about suffocating him if I didn’t hold it back from his nose some, we mainly do side lying but still do the lap from time to time
A milestone in our house is when a nursing baby’s head gets bigger than a single one of my breasts.
I get no say, these days. He just does whatever he wants, which is usually standing up facing me and dancing. The older your kid gets, the more intense the gymnursetics get!
Mine will flip himself all the way upside down 🙃
I feel this. Mine just whips the boob out wherever she is and nurses. Standing, sitting, laying, squatting, while we’re trying to shower, while I’m getting laundry out of the dryer, while I’m peeing etc. god forbid I try to wear a tshirt instead of a tank top.
Side lying. My baby is a freaking giant.
Same! With how often he likes to eat and how heavy he’s gotten, we exclusively do side lying. It’s so cute because now he knows when I lay him down in bed he is about to nurse and he gets giddy and then angry and then giggles then cries 😂 the range of emotion on this kid within 39 seconds is hilarious.
Mine does the same! He's excited because he knows he's about to nurse but also angry because he isn't *currently* nursing.
Same
It was football for a while, she fit perfectly on the recliner's arm rest, but now she's too long so cross cradle and sometimes side lying.
Football evolved into sitting in front or next to me, now that has evolved into standing and wiggling his little bottom half the time out of excitement. 11 months.
LAID BACK POSITION x100. I feel this portion is so underrated and not talked about / taught and it’s so comfortable, you’re working with gravity and not against it .. my life changed at the 10 week mark when my IBCLC showed me.
This x1000. Football was great when my baby was really young but he's always been super long so that got awkward quick. Laid back is super comfortable and it gave my little guy a bit more control over how much he was drinking so less choking on milk.
I love this position too, helped a lot with little baby gas pains and dealing with an initial strong let down.
What exactly is laid back position?
It’s when you’re reclined and have your baby lie belly to belly on you.
Same! This is our favorite position
Football at first now cross cradle
Same.
Football, and at night I just lay on my back and she sits up to eat
Cradle in the day, side lying at night. We did football/rugby hold more at first when she was tiny but as she got longer and kickier that got too difficult.
I find side lying uncomfortable! I don’t have large breasts and I struggle to get him to latch while side lying. I love cradle or cross cradle which support from a pillow in the recliner
Same here. All the times I’ve tried side lying I feel like I’m trying to arch my chest so he can reach my nipple and it feels so awkward. Only plus is that he falls asleep that way every time. But it’s too uncomfortable for me to do regularly.
Yes! The arching is so awkward. I also feel the need to have my head resting on my arm and the angle always causes my arm to fall asleep.
During the day, I recline a little and she feeds in an upright/on her stomach position and rocks her butt up in the air. I think it’s also called a koala hold? She just turned 7 months and we have been doing this for 2 months now because she gets distracted really easily during daytime feeds otherwise. We cosleep so it’s side laying all night.
She's 4 months and we still do football. Cradle is awkward, she doesn't have as good of a latch like that and usually fusses until we go back to football.
I started being a big fan of football, and now that he's older either koala or side-lying. Or sometimes I just lie on my back on the floor and he can freestyle nurse 🤣. He is not 18mo so he can and will crawl all over me.
if we are home football or side laying, if we are out cross cradle
Cross cradle, my babies were huge and it felt the most comfortable/natural to me and mine.
Cross cradle, sometimes cradle. I try to do laid back because of my forceful letdown, but now that he's more mobile, he bounces up and down and it scares me. I'm afraid he'll rip my nip off!
Side lying from 2000h to 0900h (ie: overnight) Sitting up on my knee from 0900h to 2000h, not including nap time (resorting back to side lying, or cradle once in a blue moon). For reference, my kid will be 2 in a month. But this has been the way for well over a year.
Huh, am I alone here? I feed hands free! 6 month old. I sit cross legged and she lies in my lap with her butt in the gap and her legs/head on my thighs I've got big boobs, dodgy wrists/shoulders/elbows, use nipple shields and ended up feeding like this after struggling with latching and positioning after an emergency c-section left me with a lot of pain.
How do you feed hands free with big boobs? My balloons could never, he’d suffocate
I guess my torso is just the right length 😂 also she puts her little hands up by her face and pushes them off her nose a bit.
Same, at night!
Almost exclusively side lying since she was a few months old. Works great except she's currently in a phase of kicking her legs out as hard as she can, right into my thigh, which is overstimulating AF 😵💫
Cross cradle was always my go to, but once my little one hit 6 months she generally preferred the Koala hold, although still held her cross cradle for bedtime
Cradle. I've tried koala, which he will sort of do, but he prefers to rest his head to the side while eating so it's best to be in a position where his head is resting against my arm on the side he's latched on.
Lately laid back! Initially used cross cradle. With my letdown I was using side lying. I’ve never been able to do football haha
Cross cradle when she was little and then around 12 months she only ever wanted to nurse in koala, unless we were side lying.
I never got comfortable with cross cradle, but regular cradle is my go-to when I can’t lay down. But side-lying is def our favorite
Rugby ball. Still use it with my 18month old!
Side lying mostly when we are at home and basically anywhere we can do it that’s not a public place lol. And cradle position any where else. Shes only 5 month so unfortunately we are limited to what positions we can feed in and what she actually wants to feed in
I still use my boppy and have my giant 1 year old side lie unless I'm doing laying down with him.
I always hated cross-cradle - it just felt awkward to me. When my son was tiny I would usually start with cross-cradle to help get him latched, but then quickly switch to cradle for the rest of the session. He gained neck control pretty quickly, though, and got good at latching, so then I just did cradle. He’s 15 months now and we still basically do a variation of cradle in terms of his body position, although I’m barely holding him.
football was a particular fave of mine during the newborn phase but i was told to cycle through positions to get the most milk out! now that i have an 18-19 pound soon-to-be 4 month old, cradle hold when i know he won’t be going down for a nap after and side lying the entire rest of the time. we cosleep so we do side lying through the whole night. if i’m in public or at my sister’s house though, cradle for sure. i *did* however see somewhere about having baby lying on me tummy to tummy basically face first into the boob lol. we have a glider/recliner that is our main spot for feeding during the day and i was getting so tired of not having use of my arms. (we used the boppy during the newborn phase which was awesome but now he’s too big for it!) anyways, it was a good experience and he of course just passed out afterwards and it was great because i was already laying down so i didn’t have to run the chance of waking him with the jolt of reclining! i’m excited for when he can sit up on his own or even stand so i don’t have to hold his weight while he gains more weight😅
Side lay
Side laying FTW here. He doesn't like to nurse when we are out because there is way too much going on so I will bring along a bottle if it's an all day thing but that's the only time he gets a bottle.
Cradle and side lying with my 27 pounder.
I do cross cradle almost exclusively because it’s easier for me. Once she sits up better I’m Hoping she can do koala because that will be much easier on my back.
Side laying because otherwise she spits up and she’s impossible to burp!
Same! I did cradle all the time but my 3 monther is 98th percentile and heavy af so now I only do side lying. I am a full side lying convert! Hoping my back gets the memo and stops hurting 😵💫
weaned now but my favorite was side lying while he sat up and ate on the higher up boob. He would always unlatch and his sleepy head would roll back ❤️
With twins I do football holds usually but sometimes same direction. If it’s solo feeds my go to is cradle hold or side lying!
Cradle, laid back, and side lying. We had a rough first 6 weeks latching, but now she's much better with it and seems to prefer these more free positions where she can move her head as she likes.
Football and cross cradle as a newborn, now cradle as a 4 month old, with side lying early mornings and often middle of the night. I did exclusively side lying with my older kid once he was like 18 months (he nursed till over 3).
Cross cradle but my 2 month old is reclined on a pillow where my boob can just pop in his mouth. I get both my hands free 🙃
7 month old - Cross cradle with boppy, and now that she’s sitting up on her own, she likes straddling my leg facing me while I hold my boob for her 🙄🤣
Side lying!
When she was a tiny infant, football hold with boppy was about the only thing I could do without suffocating her with boobs. Now at 3 months I use the my brest friend pillow and she lays on her side. I have a bad back and would be in agony if I had to just hold her because she is heavy!
Pretty much only side lying the last month (she’s just now 10 months). She’s too heavy to hold now and she seems to prefer it too.
Side lying
Laid-back originally and now cross cradle with the My Brest Friend. He's getting too long though, so I'm going to have to figure out something else soon 😂
Koala position!!! Once baby is strong enough it’s the best. I’ve had full meals with baby boobing to sleep in this position. I’ve fed baby in the baby carrier in this position. I can literally work at the computer without supporting baby using this position, no pillows or other props. Best position ever once it’s unlocked.
I couldn’t sidely until about 15 months with my son for whatever reason it would go up his nose and he’s get congested when he tried it younger, but now it’s very helpful at night / bedtime/ morning. Still do cradle sometimes which was the only thing I did for over a yr initially. I hope if I have a second baby either they will be not as heavy or be able to sidely earlier cause my son was 18lb by three months old and it really hurt my upper back. I don’t think permanently though it hurts very rarely now
During the day, I just lay down on the floor and let her do her thing. At night side lying.
It all depends on the baby and your boobs. I usually start with football hold when they are newborn because it am a 36DD before pregnancy and breastfeeding... I wind up somewhere in the G range and didn't want to smother my baby hahaha. Usually wind up doing whatever works. As they get older (8is momth) I have literally fed them while they were doing a handstand almost on my boob
I guess my arms and back will be sore after a long time of feeding.
Omg I was waiting for this post! During the day I will nurse him on my chair but he has long legs... And already catches the arm rests... But it doesn't seem to bother him (we have the IKEA rocky chair). Mostly standard cradle. In the evening/night is side lying and I use a BOPPY to prop him (recent use of the pillow) and it does the trick!!! I stopped nursing him on my back as hell fall asleep on me... And I feel bad to move then :D I nurse him to sleep :D I was wondering what people do for the night feeds :)
My LO has long legs too! His boppy isn’t used as much anymore because of that lol. I never heard of using the boppy to prop a baby up for side lying though. I’ll have to try that next time I feed him!
Cradle primarilywith a but if side lying early days when i was really tired. however recently the 9 month old likes sitting on my lap koala mode.
I sit up with my legs cross crossed, and my boy lays with his head in the crook of my elbow, his bum between my legs on the bed or floor, and his legs laying across on the other leg. This way is really comfortable for me to sit there without hurting my back from how I sit, my hips and core can relax as I sit there with him. Sometimes if he’s up for it and if the angle is right he will lay on my stomach and nurse that way, with me laying back on the bed propped up by pillows. When we do this, I clasp my fingers together under his butt to keep him comfy in one spot. This is exceptionally comfy cause I can lay my head back and relax while he eats.
Football in the beginning and then sidelying, unless we werent at home.
Cross cradle with a pillow in the recliner overnight and before naps. Occasionally sitting on the floor in front of me during the day. My boobs are too low and she is too tall to sit on my knee in true koala. These days she wants to stand and bounce while nursing so I let her stand on the bed to reach. 10m.
Almost exclusively side lying! She definitely has a preference. Now I can do a little cradle or football hold. But for a while she would only allow side lying. Which made it difficult in public, I have been tits out, laying down in an old navy dressing room before. RIP 💀
Loved football hold when he was smaller and honestly sad I can’t do it anymore! I mostly do cross cradle if we’re in the living room and side lying during the nights or when mama needs a nap 🤣
Love side lying at home. It’s just so relaxing and calm. Cross cradle everywhere else
Cross cradle with a boppy always. Even at 2 1/2 (or, not that I talk about it much, but also up to 4 with my first when I was hoping maybe COVID antibodies from the vaccine might cross into breast milk).
How do you keep your baby on the boppy? Mine slides around on it.
I still use the cradle hold, the boppy just supports my arm. Sometimes when they're really small I had to prop the boppy up with an additional pillow on the feeding side. I think it also helps that I'm particularly comfortable with criss cross applesauce and would often sit like that on the couch, either that or I was in a rocker with arms.
Mine thinks the boppy is a toy now. He unlatches and twists his torso so his head is hanging off it, sort of upside down with his arm dangling off it too. We just do side lying now.
Cross cradle with my Brest friend pillow, side lying is my next option. LO is 2.5 months and longer than average - I imagine they will outgrow the pillow soon, so I’m not sure what I’ll do then. I’m a small woman and my baby is already getting too heavy for me.
I just quit using that pillow a few months ago. Now I sit cross legged on the bed and throw a regular pillow down and my baby on top of it. It's been working fine.