She just keeps falling asleep!!

[poshBecks]

:confused:

Ok so I've tried a cold washer, rubbing her feet, rubbing her head, changing her nappy, a bath, a break......... What else do I do????

Every time I feed Ella she falls asleep after 5 minutes & I struggle to get her wake up to finish her feed. So I give her a break & when she wakes again usually about 5 or 10 mins later she's starving but falls asleep again!!! It's driving me bonkers coz it's taking ages for her to finish a feed!!!
I ended up expressing her last feed coz my boobs were sooooo full & she was just taking too long!! I needed some reief!!!

Some tips would be great....BRING THEM ON!!:o

[Chickadee]

I'm no expert on this, but from memory these were the suggestions I was given:
- tickling under the chin or under their jaw/ear
- blowing air onto their face
- changing breasts or positions

It's possibly easier to keep her awake than to wake her up, so try to be proactive and not wait till she's already dozed off, but keep tickling her (or whatever works) every 30 seconds to every minute.

If you don't get any other suggestions and really need some help today, I suggest you phone the ABA in your area for help . There is usually a volunteer on call all the time who may have some ideas.

[draught]

Martha has given you all the advice I was going to offer - including calling the ABA. Hope things sort themselves out for you both.

[xkwzit]

Hi Becky

I had the same problem with DD1, she was a bit jaundiced (which everyone told me meant she'd be sleepy) and it lasted for a month or so.

My LC told me much that you're already doing. Make sure she isn't too rugged up, no blankets or wraps while feeding, consider removing a layer of clothing (she would make me take her socks off and everything). Massage her feet, tickle her ears and cheeks, change her nappy in the middle of the feed to wake her up so she can finish. (the LC thought a wet washer a bit ********, but if the weather is warm I don't think it too out of line).

I think the things that worked best for me were to make sure she wasn't too warm and to change her nappy in the middle of the feed. But they are all individuals, other things may work better for you.

She will get much better as she grows - so it won't last for long. Just one word of caution regarding expressing - it isn't as good as your baby at removing milk and so *may* cause your supply to drop off if your are expressing a lot rather than feeding. Expressing to be comfortable is absolutely fine, but you have to be careful not to express too much (or you'll overstimulate your supply). Breasts can be very clever and responsive things, but its best not to confuse them too much :D .

Cheers

[Goosie22]

Does the Hospital you birthed at have an Home maternity service(if you had a home birth they will probably come to help)? They can come out and visit you at home and check the Jaundice level and also help with feeding, if they don't offer that they may just ask you to come in as you are actually considered a Postnatal mother untill your baby is 6 weeks.

Another thing to look at is her latch(attachment)? can you hear her swollowing while attached? What is her output like(wee and poo)?Is she bright eyed otherwise or lethargic? if she seems a little lethargic I would go and have her checked out and the Emergancy department(but ring the maternity ward first incase you can get in the back door that way?)

[LilShenanigans]

hehe my DD does exactly the same, and I do it all... tickle, change nappy, burping etc...

I found burping the best method, cause it's hard for them to stay asleep whilst sitting upright..
Although once she fell asleep quite quickly, got her up to burp and she was still sound asleep... :rolleyes: Oh well! :p equalled 8hr sleep that night! Woohoo!

[kimmy]

Chloe use to do the some thing & i use to tickle her chin it worked for me but she still fall's asleep on the boob but she will still feed while sleeping.:D

[JanetF]

The great thing about it is that you have the perfect way to get her to sleep so you won't need to worry about how you'll help her sleep in a few months :D In the meantime, she is so wee that she does need to be fed frequently. Good on you for bfing! What a lovely Xmas pressie for a baby LOL.
:)

Try these:
http://www.mother-2-mother.com/cc-baby-A.htm#SleepyBabies

SLEEPY BABIES

If your baby is sleepy here are some suggestions to help keep the baby awake and interested:

make sure your free hand is supporting your breast so the weight of the breast isn't on the baby's chin
switch breasts as soon as the baby begins to lose interest in active nursing, this *may* need to be done every 30 to 60 seconds at first (the first few times you do it). You should begin to see a difference within a couple days of doing this.
Burp and change diaper. Burping should be done with the baby sitting supported upright on mom's knee or lap rather than over the shoulder because it's also less sleep-inducing.
nurse in clutch or "football" hold as opposed to cradle hold - it's a little less "cuddly" and sleep-inducing.
massage the baby's head (crown) in a circular motion while nursing. Also using a wet cold washcloth and wiping back against the grain of the hair growth can help Try this for several days and see if there's improvement, and please update us as you can.
Place baby on your lap with legs near your tummy and head on your knees. Gently supporting baby, raise in sitting position, like doing a "sit- up". Do this two or three times, then do "side to side" a couple times.
You can also try breast compression.
You may want to reduce any outside or excessive stimulation. (bright lights & noise) Sometimes babies just need to tune out all the noise/light and they do this by falling asleep.

http://www.breastfeeding-basics.com/html/waking_a_sleepy_baby.shtml

In order to stimulate an adequate milk supply, newborns need to nurse a minimum of eight times, and optimally ten to twelve times or more during a twenty-four hour period. This usually means that your baby will nurse every two to three hours during the day, with possibly one four hour stretch at night. Newborns often nurse almost constantly for hours each day (cluster feedings) and then may sleep deeply for several hours. These longer sleep periods are fine as long as the baby is getting in his minimal number of feedings in twenty-four hours, and his urine and stool output and weight gain is adequate (see article on “How To Tell If Your Baby is Getting Enough Milk”).
READ THE REST AT THE LINK

ABA groups
http://breastfeeding.asn.au/contact/groups.html

Helpline:
Telephone Counselling
All capital cities and some other areas run a Breastfeeding Helpline on a roster system. You can also look under Australian Breastfeeding Association in your local White Pages (Some books may still have us listed as Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia). The Helplines are available 7 days a week. Counsellors are answering calls in their own homes so please take this into consideration when calling.



BREASTFEEDING HELPLINES
ACT/Southern New South Wales (02) 6258 8928
New South Wales (02) 8853 4999
Queensland (07) 3844 8977 or (07) 3844 8166
Townsville (07) 47235566
South Australia and NT (08) 8411 0050
Northern Territory counsellor contact line (08) 8411 0301
Tasmania (03) 6223 2609
Tasmania - North (03) 6331 2799
Victoria (03) 9885 0653
Western Australia (08) 9340 1200

[Me]

I'm glad to hear i'm not the only one!

DD will often have a few mins nap and end up dribbling milk all over the 2 of us, but that's ok - in the end she gets all the milk she needs and it is usually less than an hour to feed so i'm happy with that for now.

DD does have a bit of jaundice so perhaps that could be what it is - i'm not worried about it at this stage but it's good to read all the advise.

[poshBecks]

Thanks all for your tips!! Especiall JanetF!! That info was great...

Ella has been a little better today.... I must say though that I am looking forward to more of a routine:o

I'm so glad I found this site..... the support is fabulous!!:p

[JanetF]

Sometimes when we parent we need to let go of our own expectations and just go with what our babies need. You'll know in your heart what your baby needs. Glad to hear it's working well for you :)