Announcement

Collapse

Facebook Forum Migration

Our forums have migrated to Facebook. If you are already an iMSN forum member you will be grandfathered in.

To access the Call Room and Marriage Matters, head to: https://m.facebook.com/groups/400932...eferrer=search

You can find the health and fitness forums here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/133538...eferrer=search

Private parenting discussions are here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/382903...eferrer=search

We look forward to seeing you on Facebook!
See more
See less

Breastfeeding Help

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 2
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 template Next
  • #1

    Breastfeeding Help

    Hi ladies,

    Question for those of you that have or are breastfeeding...

    Adele keeps falling asleep! I feel like I'm feeding ALL the time because she'll eat for 5ish minutes and then fall asleep, so if I remove her she's awake 5 minutes later wanting to be fed again. Sometimes she's not completely disengaging, just barely sucking and then she could be on there forever.

    Her night sleeping has gone downhill in the last few days and I feel like it is because she is repeating this eat, sleep, eat, sleep pattern during the day instead of having long awake times and longer naps.

    Any ideas, suggestions, etc. to keep her awake or at least actively sucking? Any "I've been there and this is what worked" stories?

    TIA! :huh:
    Wife to NSG out of training, mom to 2, 10 & 8, and a beagle with wings.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Breastfeeding Help

    How old is your daughter?

    When my son would do this, I would strip him down so he was a bit on the chilly side to keep him awake. The combination of a full belly and warm snuggles would put him out like a light. I would also jostle him a bit or tickle his feet.

    If she is tired, what about feeding her after she wakes up from her nap so that she doesn't associate suckling with sleep. That can really impact their sleep at night. My sister who has 3 kids swears by nursing after naps.

    Good luck.
    Kris

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Breastfeeding Help

      I'm having a hard time remembering, but I think it helped when we did things in this order...sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep....that way DS was more alert for feedings. It also helped to keep him unwrapped during feedings.

      Have you charted her sleep patterns to see how much total sleep she is getting each day? How much is she sleeping during the day? At night?

      ETA: Oops....sorry for the cross-post!

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Breastfeeding Help

        I sometimes had to strip Daegan to his diaper for feedings or he would snug up and go to sleep. I also did a lot of cheek stroking, back rubbing, poking and prodding to keep him awake enough to eat. Also sometimes I would squeeze my breast to manually express more milk in his mouth to stimulate him to eat again. Sometimes I would just let him sleep and then when he woke back up I would distract him if I could, or wrap him and try to get him to either be awake, or asleep....but not in that dreamy, flutter suck stage.

        I know there were more things that I would do but I can't remember right now....I'll post again when I remember. Its amazing how quickly I forgot so much of the bad/difficult stuff.
        Mom of 3, Veterinarian

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Breastfeeding Help

          Thanks guys, those ideas help - she is 6 1/2 weeks old. I was just thinking I should keep track of her sleep.
          Wife to NSG out of training, mom to 2, 10 & 8, and a beagle with wings.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Breastfeeding Help

            ITA w/the undressing them! All my kids wore gerber onsies as a layer of underware , undrneath the clothes I would put on them, so I often just had to strip them down to just that layer. Like Michele I would do circular strokes on the areas,that the hospital lactation consultant taught me about: the mandible joint area & the fontanel(soft spot) these two areas stimulated their sucking reflex!

            Good luck!!

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Breastfeeding Help

              It could be a growth spurt. DS had a growth spurt at 6 weeks and during that time his feedings were short and very frequent...every 1-2 hours....for a couple of days.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Breastfeeding Help

                Originally posted by Suzy Sunshine

                Adele keeps falling asleep! I feel like I'm feeding ALL the time because she'll eat for 5ish minutes and then fall asleep, so if I remove her she's awake 5 minutes later wanting to be fed again. Sometimes she's not completely disengaging, just barely sucking and then she could be on there forever.
                DS also got milk-drunk very easily. I used to tickle the bottoms of his feet to wake him up.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Breastfeeding Help

                  Definitely a prime time for a growth spurt. According to my journal, right at 6 weeks Eddy went on a "no-naps kick".

                  Unfortunately sweet Eddy is having his six week growth spurt right on time so not much is getting done around the house. After days of napping for hours on end, he hasn't slept voluntarily for more than 15 minutes today, preferring to fuss and eat. He did sleep in the mei tai for about 20-30 minutes? And he slept in the jogger when I went for a nice long walk.
                  Breast compressions seem like the most helpful thing I've tried for jarring kiddo into re-engaging and finishing his meal after he's started to flutter-suck. http://www.kellymom.com/newman/15breast ... ssion.html
                  Alison

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Breastfeeding Help

                    ITA with everything. The growth spurt freqent feedings for us helped increase my milk-- I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, since each "feeding" it felt like they didn't eat anything, but after a week or so it calmed back down...

                    But I was never good at getting anyone to sleep/nap on any sort of schedule at 6 weeks-- well done!
                    Peggy

                    Aloha from paradise! And the other side of training!

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Breastfeeding Help

                      Originally posted by Suzy Sunshine
                      Thanks guys, those ideas help - she is 6 1/2 weeks old. I was just thinking I should keep track of her sleep.
                      She is probably hitting her first real growth spurt. I know the first few months tend to be a blur, but by now she should start to sleep better at night. Be prepared for additional feedings when the growth spurts hit. You can try to sneak in a couple of extra feedings before bedtime and that can help the night time awakenings.

                      But mostly making her slightly less comfortable while nursing will help. (I had forgotten about stroking the soft spots...)
                      Kris

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Breastfeeding Help

                        All my favorite tricks have already been mentioned: strip to diaper, harass the baby , stroke the jaw, compressions.

                        Some of the video clips on the Jack Newman site show/talk about compressions (maybe the kellymom site already links to these? I don't remember)

                        http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?o ... &Itemid=42

                        And if it's of any comfort to you, Cora made a leap in control and efficiency around 8 weeks and another around 11 weeks. You may not be far from this suddenly getting quite a bit easier.
                        Married to a hematopathologist seven years out of training.
                        Raising three girls, 11, 9, and 2.

                        “That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect.”
                        ― Lev Grossman, The Magician King

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Breastfeeding Help

                          Nothing to add, just giving support. You have gotten good advice and everything is already suggested that I would have written. Goodluck.
                          Needs

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Breastfeeding Help

                            I would rub DD's head or get a cool damp cloth and gently touch her feet and cheeks and that would help rouse her (it was summer and in the south when I had her though- I don't know how cold it is where you are- wouldn't want your little sweetums to catch a chill!) Stripping her down also helped.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Breastfeeding Help

                              I've so been there! Everything that we did has already been suggested.

                              Good luck!!
                              Cranky Wife to a Peds EM in private practice. Mom to 5 girls - 1 in Heaven and 4 running around in princess shoes.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 template Next
                              Working...
                              X