Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
A prime solution to getting mama enough sleep while breastfeeding is to sleep with or near your baby. However, it might not work for you at all, and there may be periods of time when it won't work for you.
I fully intended to co-sleep, and bought only a moses basket as an alternate sleep location. While I had a C-section, I was able to nurse side-lying while at the hospital. But when I came home, particularly when my milk came in (vigorously), Teddy seemed to have a harder time latching, and kicked a lot. That kicking lined up perfectly with my healing incision. I couldn't do it. Fortunately, sitting up with pillows and later a boppy did work, and Teddy slept fairly well in the basket or on the floor.
In addition, my husband snores sometimes, and that snoring made it difficult to go back to sleep after nursing Teddy. So for a while, we played musical beds. I'd sleep on the couch (a sleeper, but I didn't always open it, because it was easier to get off the couch than out of a bed when I was still healing) with Teddy in a basket or on the floor. Or I'd sleep in the bed with my husband using the couch. Sometimes Teddy would sleep with him. Sometimes Teddy slept in the baby bucket after we got back from a trip away from home.
Because we did not have a good nap location for Teddy when he was rolling over (the basket isn't a great choice at that point, but now makes great toy storage. Even with bad aim, you can lob toys at it and they land inside.), I bought a baby hammock. That added yet another place for him to sleep; it was easy to move it from room to room, and it comes apart and packs up small for travel.
If you have a nursery, and you plan to breastfeed, one of the more common musical beds solutions is to put a daybed in the nursery so mama can sleep in there after (and eventually while) nursing the baby. She often starts in the adult bedroom, moves after the first wake-and-feed, and stays there the rest of the night.
Another common solution is the large mattress or futon on the floor, in which some or all adults sleep, with the baby, and possibly with other older children. It's on the floor because after you've seen your baby roll over a couple of times, that edge looks a little scary.
A General Discussion of Getting Enough Sleep for Everyone in the Family
Copyright 2006 by Rebecca Allen.
Created February 5, 2006 Updated February 5, 2006