Often breastfeeding mums (myself included) are asked, ‘Doesn’t breastfeeding tire you out?’ Well, yes, mothering a newborn is exhausting, but the actual act of breastfeeding can be quite restful depending on how you approach it. Most of us mums remember the feeling of trying to quietly place our heads on our pillows (I don’t really know how you can put your head down noisily on a bundle of fluff, yet we try to muffle the sound anyway) after settling bubs to sleep in his cot only to hear him working up to a cry just seconds later. This is when it’s time to adopt a more sleep-friendly breastfeeding position. Sound like an advertorial on a morning talk show? Who cares! This one has the potential to change your weary, sleep-deprived life.
By placing your hand under your head beneath your pillow and snuggling your baby on his side with his nose lining up with your nipple and his hips up close so that your spines form a v-shape, it is possible for the baby to reach up and latch onto the breast. At the same time, mums can catch a few zzz’s. With my first baby, I used to sit up in bed for the night feeds and constantly found myself nodding off and wrenching my neck forward. By the time my second child came around, I was ecstatic to discover the lying down pose and was a much more well-rested and relaxed mumma as a result. With bubs No. 3? I barely sat up to feed at all! Of course, stick to safe co-sleeping guidelines, no doonas near bubba’s head and all that sensible stuff. Oh, and if your cup-size will let you, you don’t even need to turn over to change sides, just flop the top breast over the other once the bottom one is drained and tucked under you.
In those hazy first few months, mums often feel like they are constantly feeding their little one, but just think about it this way: the act of breastfeeding is actually forcing you to take some time out, to sit down on your comfy couch or lie down in bed and take a breather. Nature also gives you a helping hand here. When you are breastfeeding, a special hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) is released, which induces sleepiness (yay!), both in the baby and the mum (double yay!).
By placing your hand under your head beneath your pillow and snuggling your baby on his side with his nose lining up with your nipple and his hips up close so that your spines form a v-shape, it is possible for the baby to reach up and latch onto the breast. At the same time, mums can catch a few zzz’s. With my first baby, I used to sit up in bed for the night feeds and constantly found myself nodding off and wrenching my neck forward. By the time my second child came around, I was ecstatic to discover the lying down pose and was a much more well-rested and relaxed mumma as a result. With bubs No. 3? I barely sat up to feed at all! Of course, stick to safe co-sleeping guidelines, no doonas near bubba’s head and all that sensible stuff. Oh, and if your cup-size will let you, you don’t even need to turn over to change sides, just flop the top breast over the other once the bottom one is drained and tucked under you.
In those hazy first few months, mums often feel like they are constantly feeding their little one, but just think about it this way: the act of breastfeeding is actually forcing you to take some time out, to sit down on your comfy couch or lie down in bed and take a breather. Nature also gives you a helping hand here. When you are breastfeeding, a special hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) is released, which induces sleepiness (yay!), both in the baby and the mum (double yay!).
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