On Sun, 6 Oct 2002, Dianna Tolen wrote: > How do you advise >> breastfeeding moms to handle those middle-of-the-night newborn feeding >> sessions? > >Start right from the beginning, don't let the baby get in the habit >of sleeping in bed with you. My son slept in his "big" crib, not a >bassinet, and in his OWN room from the very first night. Well, I did that, but that didn't help the problem I described of nursing/sleeping/dropping baby. >I found that I got better quality sleep (yes, only in small >increment) when I slept without worrying about him being in bed with >me all the time, than I did when I tried to sleep longer by putting >him in bed with me. My husband was also very "supportive" of not co- I didn't get much sleep either way, as my son nursed at 2 hr intervals, but that's not my point. My point was, when I nursed in bed, the baby was safe from being dropped, but when I nursed on a chair or sofa, he would be dropped onto the floor, because I would fall asleep while nursing him and lose my grip on him. Perhaps my original post was unclear on that point? >> where/how can we safely nurse without accidentally ending up in a >> cosleeeping situation? > >For what it's worth, I feel my son to this day is a very independent >and successful sleeper because of these habits. I nursed him for 8 My son has been sleeping on his own in a twin bed since 18 mos of age and we have no sleep problems because of our early sleep habits. >months. He stopped the night feeds at about 2-3 months. He was >usually put down to sleep for naps and bedtime, AWAKE, because I did Yes, I always put him down for naps awake when possible, and for "bedtime" awake as well - but like I said, when he woke hungry, I had to bring him to bed to nurse, because I couldn't find another safe place where I wouldn't risk him being dropped. I guess I didn't make myself clear because your reply doesn't seem to address the issue at hand. Oh well. Maybe I should take a class in "how to make your point in ten easy steps" :) because this isn't the first time this has happeend. >back in his own bed. Yes, I was exhausted, I was working full time >too, but I just never wanted to take the risk. I never wanted to take the risk either, which is why I always tried to put him back in his bassinet if I found him sleeping in my bed! But my point is, if you fall asleep, you fall asleep, I don't know about you but I couldn't help it, it just happened! Since it would happen, I decided it was better for it to happen in a place where my son wouldn't be at risk from falling from several feet off the ground when it happened. My question was, how do you avoid that problem in the early newborn period (my son nursed q 2-3 hours round the clock til 8 weeks, then q 2-3 hrs during the day and q 3-4-rarely-5 hours at night until about 14 weeks!) when you are so tired? Thanks, hillary hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est." newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)