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A few ?s about sleepy nursers

ces25cces25c member
in Breastfeeding

Sorry that this is so long and some of my questions are similar, but I am getting so frustrated with trying to feed DD!  She will not stay awake while nursing no matter what I try.  She will wake up when I unlatch her or when I sit her up to burp, but she falls back asleep almost the second she is latched on again.  Her dirty diapers are good and my supply seems fine, but she is below average on weight gain.

Have you found anything that works to keep your LO awake that isn't suggested on kellymom or the LLL book?  Her pedi and the LC only suggested things I'd already read there.  

For anyone whose LO is like this, how do you tell if they are done nursing?  How do you tell when to change sides?  She never pops off so I usually think she is finished when she seems truly asleep, but she will wake up and root/stick out her tongue either right after I unlatch her or within a few minutes of setting her down.  

If your LO never pops off or seems finished on their own, do you have a time limit for feedings?  I keep reading to let her suck as long as she wants, but she will nurse over 2 hours (maybe half of that time she is asleep or being burped/sat up, etc to wake her) which leaves next to no time to play and sleep before we are supposed to start again.  

Do rooting and sticking out her tongue ever mean she just wants to suck and isn't still hungry?  How can I tell whether she is just sucking for comfort or still hungry if she still swallows occasionally?

How do you do nighttime feedings?  Even if she wakes up on her own, I still have to undress her, etc to get her alert enough to latch and stay awake, then go through our entire bedtime routine again afterwards.  If I keep her swaddled, she is even more difficult to keep awake to eat. 

Did your LO eventually stay awake to eat, and if so, what age? 

 

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Re: A few ?s about sleepy nursers

  • jlsimon56jlsimon56 member

    My LO is also slow....  She is 10 weeks and can still take over an hour.  I found that the football hold delivers milk faster to her so she has to stay more alert to swallow it all.  

    Also, about the tongue sticking out thing....  I remember I got one of those weekly emails that gives a tidbit about baby's growth, and it said that baby finds their tongue and sticks it out to show it to you.  So the tongue sticking out wasn't necessarily a hunger cue.  I forget what age that was.  Maybe your LO has reached that milestone? 

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  • ces25cces25c member
    imagejlsimon56:

    My LO is also slow....  She is 10 weeks and can still take over an hour.  I found that the football hold delivers milk faster to her so she has to stay more alert to swallow it all.  

    Also, about the tongue sticking out thing....  I remember I got one of those weekly emails that gives a tidbit about baby's growth, and it said that baby finds their tongue and sticks it out to show it to you.  So the tongue sticking out wasn't necessarily a hunger cue.  I forget what age that was.  Maybe your LO has reached that milestone? 

    Football hold does work slightly better for us, which figures since I have the most trouble getting her positioned that way!

    You could be right about the tongue thing, since sometimes she is looking at me and sticks her tongue out, then doesn't want to eat.

    Thanks for the reply things seem to be going better today on their own, so hopefully it's a sign we're getting the hang of things now. 

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