Baby Falling Asleep at My Breast

I would highly recommend a book called "Parent Controlled Feeding". It teaches about putting the child on an eat/play/nap schedule. It is important that he is getting enough sleep (especially day sleep) so he's alert for feedings, but then also can sleep well at night because sleep begets sleep. We have 3 children, and we didn't do this with the 1st, but we did with the 2nd and 3rd and it was a noght and day difference! Huge!! My last 2 were sleeping through the night by 8 weeks and do not need rocking and nursing or anything else to fall asleep. We put them down awake and they fall asleep on their own. Email me if you want more info. It really works!!

Congrats new mommie! You and your son are doing fine, but if you are still concerned, try giving your pediatrician or La Leche League person a call.

Congrats again,
K.

Congrats, I think you should try to have him feed from both breast for a certain time. That way in the long run you will not mess up yourself and have one breast larger than the other. Every baby is different, so you have to feel your baby out.

H.,
You are doing everything right! The breast milk makes them sleep! Now, if you lie down with him to nurse and drift off to sleep with him, you will be in heaven. You're halfway there! Congrats. Keep on breastfeeding. Look at books from Dr. William Sears or La Leche League to explain what is happening here.
Amy

I had a sleepy baby too- but ONLY when she nursed! :)

A lactation consultant helped me with my problem by telling me to VERY gently "shrug" my baby's shoulder while she was nursing, in kind of a circular motion. It worked wonders for us!

Also, most pediatricians will let you "weigh in" your baby without an appointment if you are nursing and worried about weight gain. Remember that you can also check that your baby is getting enough by counting wet/soiled diapers.

Hope this helps!
Amanda

H.:

it sounds as if you are doing fine. If he were still hungry he would not be falling asleep.

if you are concerned you can make an appoointment with a lactation consultant - they canwatch a feed and discuss your concerns with you.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
800 LACTATE
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Wow, what a big, healthy boy. Lucky you -My 12 month old only weighs 19 lbs!

I wouldn't worry too much - it looks like he is getting plenty to eat. Nursing is very soothing and does make babies fall asleep. For me, that was a good thing as nothing else would soothe my colicky son. He didn't become completely dependent on it and is able to fall asleep without nursing.

You can try rubbing/ tickling the crown of your baby's head with your fingertips to wake him up and encourage him to nurse. Maybe you could check with your pediatrician or La Leche League if you are still concerned.

Congrats on your little one...

R.

My son did all the same things. I wouldn't worry about the baby not getting enough milk...when a baby is hungry, he'll let you know! The problem we discovered, however, is that my son never learned to fall asleep without me, because he had always fallen asleep at my breast. He's three now, and still sleeps in our bed because he absolutely won't sleep without us. I don't mind because I grew up in a "family bed" household, but if it's something you don't want, you need to break the pattern as soon as possible. Remove your son from your breast after a timed interval, burp him, and put him in his crib AWAKE. He'll learn to fall asleep on his own and you'll be the better for it. Good luck!

I am now on nursing baby number three. I have a 12.5 week old. BTW your baby is beautiful!!! Anyway I wouldn't worry to much. As the others said they will let you know if and when they are hungry. I really don't worry about it. Some times Jayden will nurse for 30 min and sometimes I struggle to get him to nurse for 5m on each side. I just go by whatever it is that he wants. As long as you are getting at least 6 diapers a day, don't worry mama you are doing great!!!

Hi H. - there is lots of good advice on the breastfeeding side (and my little one is not a good eater) so I won't try to help you there. As far as the nap thing, my little one is 20 weeks, but developmentally 13 weeks because he was a preemie. We started having nap difficulty about 2 weeks ago and are currently trying to change our nap system. We started napping him in the swing maybe about a month ago when he stopped being able to sleep anywhere, anytime and it worked great (I mean was a lifesaver level of greatness!!!) but he is now deciding he doesn't like it anymore. So I think it is just one of those things that is constantly changing. So it is very likely not related to your breastfeeding. Just keep trying different things, or if you have something that works, keep with it until it changes and then try to find the new trick. I did a lot reading on sleep research and started tracking his awake periods to learn how long he could go so he wouldn't get overtired. That has made a huge difference in the quality of his sleep during the day. So you might want to try that if you are not sure what is his typical awake period. If you can catch them before they get "overtired" they go down better and will nap better.

Good luck.

Hi H.:

I'm a lactation consultant and everything you're describing sounds normal. At his age, he may not necessarily have consistent sleep patterns during the day. What's important is that he's sleeping at night. That usually comes first, naps during the day evolve later. Also, falling asleep at the breast at this age is ok. When he gets to be 4 months, you can then try to start putting him down to sleep while he's still awake. Feeding at one breast per feeding is also normal. As long as you're seeing normal peeing and pooing patterns and he's gaining weight, I wouldn't worry. Also, many breast fed babies don't really burp. It's an airtight system compared to the bottle. If he falls asleep, I wouldn't wake him to burp. I hope that covers everything.

J.