This might be a silly question, but as a first-time mom at 36+4, I’m pondering all the details!
Regarding nighttime feedings, I initially thought I would get out of bed and go to the nursery (across the hall, even though we will have the baby in a bassinet by the bedside) for better sleep hygiene. I’m very strict about not spending time in bed unless I’m sleeping, and I wanted to reduce the chances of falling asleep while the baby is eating.
I figured I would go to the nursery, sit in the glider, feed the baby, and then go back to our bedroom.
But then I read that armchairs are more dangerous for babies than beds, and now I’m wondering if it’s safer to just feed her in bed.
Depending on how your birth goes, it may be difficult to get out of bed. My husband would carry the baby from his bassinet to me so I could nurse him in bed, and then return him to his bassinet.
My birth experience was fantastic, and even then, my husband brings the baby to me, I feed her in the side laying position, and then he takes her and burps her before putting her to bed.
After 7 weeks, my fiancé still brings my baby out of the beside crib, changes him, hands him over to me, burps him, and puts him back. OP: I feed in bed. I can’t be bothered going to another room at this age; I just want to get back to sleep as quickly as possible!
Same here. I didn’t want to get out of bed despite the fact that I had a simple birth and a quick recovery. My husband brought the baby to me every night until he was about 6-8 weeks old and no longer required diaper changes (which he also did). I never tried side lying at night since I would have fallen asleep. I love it the rest of the time, especially now that he has greater head control.
I had an emergency c-section, so the bassinet was placed on his side of the bed so he could hand the babies to me for feedings. It was really difficult for me to sit up, let alone get up and down for each meal.
We worked shifts. So, when my husband was “on duty” while I slept, he kept the baby in a bassinet in the living room and brought her to me in bed for feedings before returning her. I fed in the nursery when I was “on duty”.
Newborns consume every 2-3 hours, counting from the time they begin feeding. They also eat slowly and burp frequently. So it may go like this: start feeding at midnight, feed for 40 minutes, burp twice for a total of 10 minutes, swaddle and rock to sleep for 10 minutes, and then wake up 1-2 hours later to eat again.
In addition, the Huckleberry app is quite useful for tracking feedings and diaper changes. I took it religiously for the first 12 weeks and it greatly improved my peace of mind. It also keeps note of which breast you last fed from, if you are breastfeeding.
My kid is nine weeks old, and I am still using it religiously, wondering when I will quit. I adore having all of the data about my baby and predicting what he’ll do next!
OP: I feed in bed. I can’t be bothered going to another room at this age; I just want to get back to sleep as quickly as possible!
and I absolutely love that for you!!