my little one only wants to nurse about every 6 hours. When we left the hospital they said he should eat every 4 to 3 hours. I wake him up every 4 hours and try to make him eat but he just falls right back to sleep. Shoud I be worried? Should I keep waking him up or just let him wake up when he is hungry?
Re: Help...
my DS was a very sleepy eater too. it was soo frustrating. here are some things that helped (sort of) to keep him awake.
- undress him or at least just have him in diaper and short sleeve shirt
- change diaper in the middle of feeding
- I used to get a cup of cold-ish water and a washcloth, wipe down his feet, forehead, etc to try to rouse him if he fell asleep while eating.
yes it is VERY frustrating when they fall asleep but those are the tips I have for you! GL! it will get better, the bigger he gets....
There is a breastfeeding board that I've been lurking on in anticipation of starting in a week or two. It seems like there are some pretty knowledgeable people on there. It may be worth posting over there too if you haven't already.
Does your ped office have a lactation specialist or is there a la leche league hotline you could call?
Looking forward to facing these same issues here soon. . .
We have a sleepy girl here too. We did what many posters have mentioned:
drip water on her back
wiggle her arms and legs
tickle her neck
strip her naked
change her diaper
My dh does his best to rouse her and get her really fired up before bringing her to me to eat. The other night I heard him say to her that he really doesn't like making her mad, but if it's the only way she'll eat then he's going to have to really upset her! I felt bad
However, she did eat! If it makes you feel any better, we have to wake our lo up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours to eat because of her jaundice and that just sucks because she might be legitimately hungry. It will get better!!