Hi
I have a 5.5 month old breastfed little boy who slept pretty well (up to 5 hours in one stretch, then shorter stretches for the rest of the night) in the Chicco next2me (side-sleeping) crib until he was about 4 months old.
At that point, he had a vomiting bug followed by a nasty cold/virus which also made him sick. We then went away to visit family at Christmas. When he first became ill at 4 months, he started waking up a lot more frequently for feeds and comfort. After he got better, and when we were travelling over the festive period, he continued waking just as frequently and sometimes more. Now we are home, he is still waking hourly throughout the night, and I am exhausted. Perhaps we are experiencing a sleep regression, perhaps the illness and travel have disrupted his sleep, or perhaps a mixture of both.
In any event, the only way I can get him to settle for longer is by co-sleeping (which I tried a little when he was really small, but then he didn't need it so I stopped). I appreciate there are debates around the safety of co-sleeping and I am taking all steps I can to do it as safely as possible.
However, I have two issues:
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Discomfort: my little boy is too long to surround with my arms and legs in a curled c-position, and in any event I find it really uncomfortable putting my arm under my head and/or pillow as is recommended to prevent the pillow coming down. I am uncomfortable and can't sleep as a result.
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Feeding on both sides: the side-lying feeding position seems only to work with the breast closest to the baby. As I must have my baby on my left side (for safety, as my husband, or gap before the wall if he sleeps in the spare room, is on the right) I seem only to be able to feed from my left breast!
I would be really interested to know if others have had and/or overcome similar issues. Any advice will be very much appreciated!
Many thanks 