Hi Everyone,
I tried searching the BF Problems forum but was unsuccessful in locating a related thread.
I'm a first time mum and my son is now 13 days old. The last 4 days or so he has been falling asleep while BF and he doesn't feed as long as he did before. I have tried not using a BF pillow, stripping him, using cold fingers and tickling to try and keep him awake but it doesn't work for all that long. Has anyone had the same experience and have any tips to share? Thanks! Mel
not every feed, but yes...and I use it to my advantage
J went thru a stage where he'd have a cat nap with every feed... maybe it's a growth spurt thing? Is he feeding more often too?
ETA, keep in mind too, that as they get older they become more effecient suckers, and can get wht they need faster
DD was hopeless at staying awake furing feeds I was constantly "razzing her up" to get her to feed.
Same sort of this changing nappy halfway through, tickling under the chin (being very annoying I am sure), also stroking the side of her face and under the chin to make sure that each such that she was taking was an effective one, this helped a lot with her feeding a weight gains
I ended up expressing and bottle feeding most feeds for the first 6 weeks or so, because my bub wouldn't stay awake long enough to drink enough. It was also a bit of a struggle to get him to stay awake to have enough EBM - there was lots of tickling and very bad singing and goodness knows what else involved!
In the first instance, offer more often (like whenever he is awake) and see if that helps.
Sounds toally normal....bf is supposed to make you and bubs drowsy so for them to fall asleep is a good thing. If he isnt screaming for food then I would say he is getting enough and maybe just sucking better and getting it quicker.
Please keep trusting your body your doing a wonderful job and enjoy your son he wont be this age again x
How is your baby doing otherwise? Bfing naturally makes Mum and bub sleepy, that's one of the benefits.
Does he have plenty of wet and/or dirty nappies? How often is he feeding? What is he like in himself (settled, happy)? What was his birth weight and how have his weight gains been since?
Babies of his age should be having between 8 and 12 feeds in 24 hrs. Would he be having this many?
Let us know how he's going and we can probably make a better judgement on whether he's already very good at this bfing thing or whether you do need to worry about waking him up a bit more.
The main concern with sleepy babies at this age is that we need to be sure they are getting enough milk. We can generally tell that by the number of feeds he is having and the wet and dirty nappies. What goes in must come out! I wonder, is he jaundiced? Get back to us - Jennifer's questions are a great starting point
Thanks Everyone for your quick replies and help!
i'm sorry i did't get around to replying sooner.
DS has plenty of wet nappies and is falling asleep less now.
It appears he is getting enough milk as the early childhood nurse weighed him on monday and he has put on 1kg in 3 wks. She gave me the impression i was overfeeding him. i don't think i am. So i think i will move on to my next stress - settling/ crying.
Fabulous news! Sounds like he's just really good at the bfing thing. For settling - have you tried wearing him in a sling? He may want your closeness for longer, given he's fed quite so quickly.
Hi Jennifer,
I bought a hug a bub and have tried him in that a few times (facing up. I can't seem to get the 'peapod' right) but he doesn't appear to like it. Are there any you can suggest?
I loved the HAB but it can take a few practices to get it right. Make sure it's quite tight and walk him around in it. If it's not comfortable on you, try it again.
Otherwise, there's a great section in here on babywearing, where you are sure to find something suitable! Baby Slings & Baby Wearing
m1n1mel - sounds like things are going really well...i just wanted to say that my DS had some whopping weight gains as well for a BF baby. my MCHN didn't say i was overfeeding but did always ask if i was sure i was just BFing but yeah, they're all different & that sounds like a great weight gain
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My Baby falls asleep during feeds
x
She gave me the impression i was overfeeding him. i don't think i am. So i think i will move on to my next stress - settling/ crying.
For settling - have you tried wearing him in a sling? He may want your closeness for longer, given he's fed quite so quickly.
but yeah, they're all different & that sounds like a great weight gain
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