Overly sleepy baby

CapricornPig · May 2014

I am EBF my 2-month-old but it's such a fight with her sleepiness. Whether she's had 1 hour or 3 or 6, she will fall asleep on the boob after 5 min. I've tried all the tricks - tickling, taking her clothes off, wet washcloth on her face/arms/legs, and laying her down next to me, which makes her mad and she wakes up. But once back on, she will fall asleep a minute later, no joke. Burping her puts her to sleep. I even change her diaper before switching sides, which usually wakes her, but again, only for a min or 2. So I can get, at most, and with a lot of struggling, 20 min of BF, but usually more like 15 min at best. I don't think she's starving or losing weight, but somehow this feels like a short feed. She used to do more like 25-30 min. Should I be concerned? Any other tips and tricks to keep her awake?

Lhageme85 · May 2014

Many babies get more efficient with age. If she is having enough diapers and seems satisfied I wouldn't worry too much. It may be reassuring to do a weighted feed or make an appointment for a weight check though if you want to make sure!

As for keeping babies awake tricks, blowing gently on baby's face and tickling were my go to moves that sometimes helped.

Good luck!

haylo33 · May 2014

The pediatrician said that babies that nurse longer than 15 minutes are just using the nipple as a pacifier. If baby is gaining weight and has enough wet/dirty diapers, I wouldn't worry