How do I keep my 3 week old awake long enough to feed at each breast, also it is very difficult to wake her up to feed. thank you M.
Congrats on your new baby. I had the same problem with my son, it had to umdress him because he was too comfortable you can also try a cool wash cloth on her feet or face it irritates them but wakes them up. That is what my nurse did when my son was born. You can also try shortening the time on each breast or alternate breasts at each feeding. Hope this helps.
A.
Hi M.,
My mother always told me they will eat when they are hungry. So when talking to the PED, I told her the baby falls asleep and I wait until she wakes to feed her again. The PED told me to wake her up because she needs to eat. Her weight had decreased quite a bit. She said to just (lightly) poke at her cheek and she will eat while she is sleeping.
My daughter had lost some birthweight and got pretty skinny, although all caught up now and then some.
C.
I acctually had to pump and feed my son after he ended up loosing a lb in the 1st week and a half being home. Sometimes it would take an hour to feed him 2 ounces. But we had to do it every 2 hours and I would suppliment or pump and feed along with the breast if she is falling asleep that way she gets enough to eat measurably you can tell. What I did was nurse, then bottle then nurse (as he would always fall back asleep on the breast) Hope that helps.
My youngest was notorious for falling asleep after only a couple of minutes - even in the hospital right after I had her. The lactation nurse suggested keeping a glass of ice water close by and when she began to nod off, to dip my finger and lightly trace it over her face then blow. When she began to get too comfortable and try to drift off, I would wet my finger again. One thing I liked about this was it gave me a chance to really study my new baby's face in a way I hadn't with her older sister.
What helped me was to keep them a little cold...leave the babies legs out of the blanket...don't have them wrapped up at all...also try to tickle your babies feet. avoid stroking your babies head or forhead that is knockout time for every baby it seems. um let's think....try picking your baby up when the baby seems to begin to fall asleep...don't worry though the baby knows when to eat if your baby just seems to not get enough food or is too sleepy all the time (but keep in mind that is what they do) then you may want to call your doctor.
Hay M. Congrats on the new baby!! I know that all the books and Dr's say wake them to feed them every 3-4 hrs. but when that doesn't work sometimes you have to try something "new" My kids are much older (12&13) It always worked for me to let them tell me when they were hungary... If you are not waking them up to eat then they would not go right back to sleep :) If your baby is healthy (not under weight, etc.) try it and see what happens. It worked for my kids! sometimes we have to go back to what worked before we had all the "good ideas" Good luck! Tiff
