Super Sleepy Baby While Feeding - Help!!!

[Girlwithboots]

I have an almost 3 week old son. Since day one he has been what nurses have told me is a "sleepy baby". It's not so much that he can't be woken up to feed, but that he falls asleep almost instantly once I start feeding.

This issue caused my milk to come in very slowly (almost 6 days) and caused his weight to plummet by 13% in the first week. Due to the weight loss, we had to start "topping up" with formula using a syringe (because we didn't want to make the poor feeding habits worse with a bottle.) We are still doing this because I'm concerned about my milk supply at this point.

We did get his weight gain going, but the sleepiness while feeding although improved, definitely isn't good. My milk supply seems to be steadily dropping and I'm seriously worried that without strong nursing from my son, I won't be able to continue breastfeeding.

I have tried just about everything short of poking him with a pin to keep him up (massage, changing positions, tickling, getting him nude, cool washclothes, even icecubes wrapped in washcloths) and pretty much nothing works for more than a few seconds.

Any thoughts on what I can do to solve this issue? Thanks for your help!

Lisa, Brad and baby Marcus

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Hi Lisa and welcome to the boards

Big hugs to you as i know how hard it is in the early days

Ok, to bump up your supply you can pump after each feed to start with. This will get the milk flowing again A lot of lo's (little ones) are very sleepy in the early weeks so don't worry there, there is a hormone in your milk that does this.

Are you single side feeding?
How often are you feeding?

If he is only taking a little at each feed, try to fit in more feeds in the day say every 2hrs doing all the above that you mentioned to get him to take as much as you can. Something else you can try is breast compressions, there is more info on the FAQ's board. Basicaly you massage the breast in a downwards motion a little like milking a cow lol (excuse the expression). If you are double side feeding then try to do one side more often as this will get to the fattier milk to help with weight gain.

If you really are stuggling there is something called the 'SNS' which is a little tube which you  pop in the side of there mouth when feeding and you can put your pumped milk in that. Im not too experienced with this product so i will ask someone else if they think this might be a good option for you.

There are many women on this site with a range of lots of problems, so please try not to worry too much and im sure that someone will have an answer for you

More hugs
Kate x

[Kimberly®]

Hi there congrats on the new LO.

My DD#2 was also what you would call a sleepy baby, that combined with other issues nearly cost nursing with her. But with a lot of support and work we're still going strong at 8 months.

The advice you have gotten is excellent.

I would ferther it by saying you should look into a herbal suppliment known as fenugreek and a second called blessed thrisle. Taken together they can increase your milk production along with pumping. If you need something stronger there is also domperidone, a perscription drug, with the side effect od increaseing milk production in nurseing moms.

As for pumping an electric pump would work better, specially a double electric. Try feeding him both sides first as long as he will take it for both, then pumping for 10 minutes per side.

Do not freak out if no milk or very little milk is pumped its very normal. Its not actually an indecation of your milk supply. You will know its working when your LO starts to gain weight.

hth

[Girlwithboots]

Thank you Kate and Kimberly,

Currently I am feeding every 2-3 hours except at night when we usually get one or two 4-5 hour stretches (lucky us!) I tend to do both sides but I'm working on switching that. (Trying just 5 min on one side, then 25+ on the other.)

I just heard about those two herbs, fenegreek and blessed thistle, and I think I'll be getting those tomorrow. As far as the pumping, I am doing it some (not enough) but I find with the feeding every 2-3 hours, trying to eat myself and dealing with diapers etc etc that the pumping just eats up the last bit of my time, so I'm not as good about it as I should be. I'm trying to get better about it.

So it sounds like you both think that Marcus will "wake up" in time, that this is a temporary thing?

I also just bought "The Baby Whisperer" and I'll be trying EASY starting today. My hope is that with a bit more structure, he'll be more awake for feeds and sleep more deeply when he's supposed to be sleeping. Not sure if that is a realistic hope or not, but it can't hurt!

Thanks for the input,

Lisa

[Kimberly®]

(Trying just 5 min on one side, then 25+ on the other.)

Be carefull doing this as it can have the wrong effect on your supply and can cause a formilk/hindmilk inbalence leading to a VERY unhappy baby. Instead you want him to feed as long as possible, with breast compressions then the other side so he gets more of the fattier richer hindmilk which will satisfy his hunger better and provide more nurtrients.


Yes I do believe he will "wake up" soon enough Karrigan was about 6 weeks when she finally did.

As for pumping I understand how hard it is believe me. LOL I was doing it every 2-3 hours aswell and I also have a 3 year old to care for at the same time. There were days when it was trully a PITA however it was also well worth the work and effort in the end.

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

yes i have to aggree with Kimberly on the

(Trying just 5 min on one side, then 25+ on the other.)

Be carefull doing this as it can have the wrong effect on your supply and can cause a formilk/hindmilk inbalence leading to a VERY unhappy baby. Instead you want him to feed as long as possible, with breast compressions then the other side so he gets more of the fattier richer hindmilk which will satisfy his hunger better and provide more nurtrients.

Yes i agree, i think at this age just feed on one side until he comes off on his own and then try the other side. Or you could find that he doesn't get much of a weight gain.

With the pumping, have you tried pumping WHILE feeding? Its a bit tricky to start with but its a great timesaver once you get the hang of it. So you feed one side and pump the other side at the same time lol

HTH (hope this helps)

Its a great idea to get started on EASY. One thing that i found to be the key is not watch the clock for times (which i know is hard) but just do :

Wake - feed
A time - watch for cues (using guide lines for your age lo which is not long for a 3wk old)
S - and then start again when he wakes

Kate x

[clh]

PP's (previous posters) have given all the advice I was going to offer, so just {{hugs}} & sympathies from me. 

Oh, and as a note of encouragement, it *can* work out.  I had a sleepy baby in James, and it took him a few weeks to wake up.  He also dropped more than 10% of his birth weight that first week, had to supplement with formula in the beginning, took my milk days to come in, the whole bit.  We fought hard & ended up ebf (exclusively breast feeding) till he was 14 mo, I was pg again, & my milk dried up because of pregnancy.    Keep posting.  We'll keep trying to help. 

[gabriels mum]

Hi Lisa

I can certainly sympathise with you at the moment, as I had a VERY sleepy baby who feel asleep almost instantly on feeds.  I posted many times on here and got some great advice and encouragement, and my LO is now 8.5 months old - and to date no bottles or formula - yippeee!!!  So what I'm trying to say is hang in there - he will wake up in time.

Sorry to say my LO was sleepy until about 12 weeks, and I thought it would never improve - making sure he got lots of rest in between feeds was a help, and breast compressions were a fantastic tool (infact I still do this every feed now, just to keep him to stay on longer than about a minute, as he is such a nosey little thing, he really has no time to stop and eat these days!! - wow, what a change from a few months ago!!!)

You can find lots of great video clips and tips about breast compressions on the Dr. Jack Newman site.  They basically help continue the flow of milk/bring on another let down, and therefore encourage the baby to drink again.

Other than that - just hang in there - lots of us have been in your shoes and come out the other side!

Just wondering - is your LO Jaundiced?  This can really make them sleepy?

Oh, and another thing - has anyone checked the latch?  Has he got a good mouthful of tissue?  If he is not latched on well, he may not be stimulating the milk well.  Just a thought?!

[AmandaY]

My little guy was super sleepy for a few months and I never thought I would get him to take a full feeding.  The best advice I got from my LC was to sort of run my fingers along his spine in the back-through his jammies, that would sort of wake him up enough to keep going.  Also do a sort of tickling motion on his ribs in the back and apply just light pressure.  It really helped wake Nate up just enough to eat, but not get mad.  Good luck.  Believe it or not, you'll miss the sleepy days!

[clh]

Ooo... There's also a gentle massaging motion you can do... where is it...  right behind their jawbone, I think it was.  Either there or at the jaw joint, but that doesn't seem right.  Seems to stimulate them to suck.  Used that with success with Isaac. 

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Hi, hows things going?

Kate x