Baby Falling Asleep During Breastfeeding

[tiaz2088]

My baby is just 6 days old and is breastfeeding extremely well.

I was advised by the lacation consultant at the hospital to let the baby nurse on one breast for 10-15 minutes then switch to the other breast to finish. The problem I am running into is that my baby falls asleep as soon as I get her on the second breast and it is extremely difficult to wake her up, if I can wake her up at all.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

First time Mommy,
Tia

[heidi_timms]

I feel your pain-my dd is just a little over a week old as well and sometimes I have this problem! I found if I let her cry for a few minutes when she wakes up hungry, it sort of wakes her up a little bit or sometimes I'll change her diaper before she nurses or in between breasts. In the hospital, they used a cold, wet towel on her neck to wake her up when I was breastfeeding to make sure she ate enough.

I hope this helps!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[stillplayswithbarbies]

My daughter would fall asleep as soon as my nipple was in her mouth during her first few weeks. :) There are lots of tricks to try, but what worked for me was blowing across her hair and face. Both of my hands were full trying to hold her, so I couldn't do some of the things people suggest like tickling the back of her neck.

...Karen
Jake age 12
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[deenass]

I found it effective to change my son's diaper before I started feeding him and leave him undressed while he nursed the first side (skin to skin contact was good too) then to dress him before putting him on the second breast ... that ususally woke him up

[Rachels]

Congratulations! This will get easier, I promise. You will develop a sense of when your baby needs to switch breasts (or IF your baby needs to switch breasts) without watching the clock, and the baby will get more efficient at nursing as well. In the meantime, you can try all the tricks people have mentioned. Diaper changes and patting her feet worked best for us. Truthfully, though, unless there's a worrisome weight issue, I would not stress about it so much with a second baby. They tend to wake up and eat when they're hungry. :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[flagger]

What worked for a couple of fathers I met for night feedings was they (the fathers) would change the diaper between switching even if it involved going to another room. Doing so would wake up their babies for the next round. Also letting them cry would wake them up and stimulate the mothers' letdown.

After the second breasts, they would take the babies back to the crib in sort of a milk-induced coma and their babies would fall immediately back to sleep.

[COElizabeth]

I agree with Rachel. Your baby may be getting enough on just the one breast. James was this way and would often nurse for only 5 minutes. Granted, he nursed fairly frequently, but it worked for him (and for me). If you are concerned about weight gain you can probably get a free weight check at your ped's office, but otherwise, I wouldn't worry!

Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[liya]

My lc and dr both recommended to ignore that 10-15 min thing..They told me to nurse him in one breast and if he stayed hungry then feed him the other...remember that your breastmilk increases when the baby has totally emptied your breast...lol...it also sounds to me like your baby is getting enough from one breast when shes hungry shell let you know trust me .....lol (my son didnt wake up either and then 30min he would cry cry cry.....)

[spu]

yes yes yes! Ignore the clock and the switching breasts. Also ignore the # of times per day your baby nurses. If you feed on cue (anytime your baby wants) and for as long as your baby wants, then your baby will be well fed. I've been nursing my 9 month old babies and it has become such a pleasure!

Be careful about switching breasts too soon during a feeding too, esp. if the feeding at the first breast wasn't a constant and strong sucking. It's important to let the baby nurse as long as possible on the one side inorder to get to the nice rich hindmilk that follows after the thirst-quenching foremilk. You can also massage and rub the breast tissue starting from the underarm, sternum and ribcage, and gently massage toward the nipple. This will also help release the hinkmilk which is thicker than the foremilk.

As far as falling asleep during the nursing, if you're nursing often enough, having enough wet diapers and is gaining weight, than she's probably getting plenty to eat. In the early weeks, we tried whatever it took to keep the babies awake - they get so warm and comfy during nursings that it's natural for them to be lulled to sleep. It's like bliss for them! Change the diaper, take off their pjs, even turn on lights or the TV to keep them semi-stimulated.

When they get bigger, they tend to eat more efficiently and falling asleep only after they've had enough to eat. I think the key is frequency though. They say if a baby is truly hungry, we'll know, but I've found that sometimes if a very new baby is really tired, they may be even too tired to eat, so it's important to keep up the frequency (and this will also keep up a healthy milk supply too.)

good luck! and congratulations!

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else