Dumb questions from a first time Mum...

[moomin35]

Hi All, I'm 20 weeks and have started to think about feeding my baby when he first comes home and realised I'm completely clueless :-( I plan to breastfeed but will express or bottle feed if I struggle as my 'back up plan'.
Obviously during the day I can easily (i hope!) breastfeed but I am worried what happens when my partner and I go to bed ourselves. Will baby be in a moses basket down by my bed? Should the moses basket be at my level (ie. on a stand), will I breastfeed in bed? Will this wake my partner? What if it isnt comfortable and I need to sit in a chair but I'm too tired...argh...I'm getting worried just thinking about it.
Any tips or advice would be appreciated :-)

Will baby be in a moses basket down by my bed? Yep ( co sleeping is an option too)or a cot ( my last 2 started in cots)

Should the moses basket be at my level (ie. on a stand), on a stand is better than the floor and more stable than on drawers etc.

will I breastfeed in bed? Yep , you can even lie & doze once you've the hang of it.
Will this wake my partner? Depends how heavy he sleeps
What if it isnt comfortable and I need to sit in a chair but I'm too tired. See dozing ^ but you can sit up if you prefer

..argh...I'm getting worried just thinking about it. Welcome to motherhood :)

Completely agree with oodles on all counts.

We got the gulliver cot for from ikea and DH made the height exactly the same as our bed so the DD was level (cot wedged in between our bed and the wall so was completely flush with no risk of gaps). We slept like that til she was 7.5mo. We loved having her close but still had our own space. DH rarely ever woke during night feeds, he just didn't hear her stir and as I was so close I could react to a murmur quickly. Will do the same again with dc2 due in the summer.

And it's not a stupid question - when I was pg I couldn't work out where I would "put" the baby when I wasn't holding it - on the floor, on the sofa?? The whole vest/bodysuit/babygro terminology frazzled my weak preggo brain too!!

You'll find your own way, that's half the fun/beauty of it all!

A moses basket in a stand next to your bed is probably the easiest option when the baby is small, so you don't have to get up unnecessarily during the night. I would suggest you wait and see what suits you best for night feeds once he/she arrives - you'll have plenty of opportunity to experiment! With DS1 I took him into another room with dimmed lighting to feed, and read a book at the same time. With DS2 (who woke more frequently) I just fed him sitting up in bed. As the poster above said, feeding lying down is also an option, although I was always nervous about co-sleeping so have never done it. You'll figure out what works best for you and your partner, so try not to worry.

Oh, and congratulations on your pregnancy!

I have rented a bednest and love it. It makes night time feeding so easy. My husband never wakes up and I don't have to get out of bed (very handy in January!)

To echo soupqueen - I highly recommend a bednest. It has saved me hours of sleep over the last five months. I rented for six months (£99 and well worth it) and I'm dreading sending it back. It is also a good size, as many bigger babies outgrow Moses baskets quickly. DD is 91st centile for length and weight and still fits comfortably at 5 months.

We've done the ikea cot against our bed but most of the time dd is snuggled in with us. Perhaps have a read of the ways to co sleep safely....isisonline.org.uk is a good website about how babies sleep.

In our area breastfeeding support workers visit you on hospital after birth and also come around to your house for as long as you want. Could you look and see if this is offered in your area? They are a godsend!

Hey Moomin, Congratulations on your almost imminent arrival (i'm 22 weeks with no.2, it still feels quite a long way off yet doesn't it). Really don't worry about feeding at night, as others have said, co-sleeping with a moses basket or attached cot and getting the trick of feeding whilst lying down is really useful...in my experience, this was the least disruptive way, and many nights I found that I would be concious of DDs cues to feed, bring her to me and feed her without actually becoming fully awake, and would then wonder the following day if i'd fed her during the night!
Breast feeding support groups or visitors are extremely useful, and actually you don't necessarily need to wait for the baby's arrival to go along and talk to them I'm sure.
Other really good sources of breastfeeding info and advice are Le Leche League and Kellymom - both have websites
Good luck, and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy