Breastfeeding Moms, help!!?

My daughter is 5 weeks old and at first I used to actually get up at night and sit up in bed with the pillow and feed her, but the last week or 2, I have tried the side-lying position to feed her. The only problem is I don't know if she eats enough because I fall back asleep most of the time, At that point she ends up in the bed with me for the rest of the night. I would prefer to put her back in the bassinet, but i've already fallen back asleep before she eats again!
Anyway, last night she cried every hour to be fed. My question is..do you think it would be better to go back to waking up and sitting up to feed her and then try to get her to go back to sleep in the bassinet? The other problem is she doesn't always go back to sleep and it takes forever to get her to go back to sleep, especially in the bassinet.
Any suggestions...thank you!!!

I think she's probably going through her 6 week growth spurt right now. Her sleep and eating habits will change almost constantly as she grows.

Honestly, what I would do, is continue the nursing in bed during the night. It's what our species has done for millenia.

For me to get sleep my five month old lays in my arms during the night and is attached to my breast almost all night. She pretty much nurses through the night. Every few minutes I get a let-down of milk and I can hear her swallowing, and then she'll go back to comfort sucking until I get another let down. We've slept like this since the day she was born.

There's a really neat thing about how lactation works- the more frequent and longer the nursing sessions the fattier the milk will be. So logicaly, if you just keep her attached to your breast, you will get let downs every so often, and she will get fatty milk at that time. And in between, she will stay comforted through the suckling action.

You don't need to worry if she's getting enough to eat if you fall asleep nursing her. That's truly the natural way to care for your baby and she will definitely let you know if she's hungry.

Concerning the worry about never getting her into her own bed because you bring her into your bed: families have slept together for millenia. It's only our westernized culture that expects children to sleep alone. I'm sure that you will not have to fight her to sleep in her own bed when she's 18 going off to college.

I work over nights, twice a week. when i am not here my fiance says she sleeps through the night, when i am home she ends up in our bed all night. She seems to wake up every hour to eat, and i awlays fall alseep while she is eating, my fiance jokes that i have her on "full feed" because it seems like she is on the breast all night.

I would definitely go back to sitting up, preferably in a rocking chair or some other type of upright chair, to feed her. She may just be "snacking" and going back to sleep because she's very comfortable, rather than getting a full meal. I found that I needed to be alert myself so that I could keep my son awake (by burping, tickling his feet, etc.) so that he would get a FULL meal out of nursing rather than just sucking for 5 minutes and drifting back off to dreamland.

Additionally, it is NOT a good idea to sleep in a bed with a 5 week old baby unless you are very careful, no blankets or sheets and no way that she could roll off the bed (or get knocked off by you). Plus, she may get so accustomed to sleeping with you in your bed, that she will eventually fight with you when you try to get her to sleep on her own! My son has slept in his crib, since we took him home from the hospital. Crib = sleep and that's how I have him associating the crib with sleep, through being consistent!

If you prefer her in the bassinet, then you'll have to sit in the rocking chair to feed her. I did the same thing, and I don't sleep as well at night with my son in bed with me, and he doesn't sleep as well either. I'd love to be able to snuggle with him at night, but we sleep better apart. :(

It will get better, though. As your daughter gets older, she'll require less night feedings. That should be happening pretty soon after her six week growth spurt. Good luck!

I never feel safe with my baby in bed with me - I don't sleep well, and my back aches I think because I arch it to try not to crush her. I would get up to feed her. As far as getting her back to sleep - my daughter was the same way. She would fall asleep in my arms, then as soon as I'd lay her down, she'd be wide awake. She didn't cry, just grunted and made other baby noises - I learned to sleep through it! Our bassinet has a mobile and music, so I turned those on and went back to sleep! Now at 14 weeks, she sleeps in her crib, in her room, and sometimes even sleeps through the night... hooray!

Side-lying position is great, right? I'm sure she's eating enough because they pull off when their full. Breastfed babies rarely over or under eat.

When you wake up, just put her back in her bassinet. If you only are waking up when she is crying to be fed, then just feed her again and try to stay awake this time and then put her back in her bassinet.

I think feeding her in bed next to you is a great idea, but not so sure if doing it all night is a great idea. She may get used to falling asleep at your breast and you may end up with problems later.

Can you maybe do the side-lying position only as it gets closer to morning? Maybe the last two feedings of the night? Like at 3 and 5 AM? That way, she ends up sleeping with you only that last bit of the night.

Just some suggestions! I know how hard it is to get up out of bed so often! But it will get better.