[fallingstar]

My friend K. just had a baby on Tuesday, and I've been trying to help her with nursing.

Her baby L. doesn't have nipple confusion or anything like that, thankfully, and her latch is improving. The problem is that L. pretty much immediately falls asleep as soon as she starts nursing. It's really cute, but she's not getting enough milk, not wetting her diaper enough, etc. She nurses every two hours or less usually, so her timing is fine, but she doesn't nurse for very long at all, because she just nods off.

It was a normal vaginal birth with no drugs at all and no interventions, so it's not a case of her being too groggy from the anesthesia or something. She's also not jaundiced.

Has anyone else had this problem? What did you do? What would work to get her nursing for longer periods?

They are trying all the normal stuff to try to keep her awake. Talking to her, bright light, a cool washcloth on her face, tickling her ears and feet, undressing her some, sitting her up then putting her back on again, switching to the other breast, etc. They also try to catch her when she's already awake and fussing. Can you think of anything else? What could encourage her to nurse longer?

 

[PatioGardener]

some ideas:

-skin-to-skin (diaper only on mom's bare chest) each time

-breast compressions while nursing (see videos at www.drjacknewman.com

-switch sides frequently if that works

-mom pumps or hand expresses after every feed to stimulate supply and then baby is fed that extra milk by cup, spoon, dropper or syringe - sometimes they sleep because they are conserving energy and need more milk.

-contact an LC or LLL asap to check latch, milk transfer, baby for tongue-tie etc.

-if baby is not making enough heavy wet diapers in 24 hours (5 heavy wet diaps in 24 hours by day 5) or is still having meconium poops by day 5, then follow-up ASAP with a healthcare provider (midwife, lactation consultant, public health nurse or doctor) to have baby assessed for dehydration.

some good info: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...-concerns.html

 

[zinemama]

I had this exact problem with both my babies. It was incredibly frustrating. It would routinely take two hours to repeatedly wake him to nurse the equivalent of ten minutes. My first baby lost a lot weight during this period, and my supply went down as a result. He eventually "woke" from his newborn stupor after 3-4 weeks, but my supply never came back despite the help of an excellent lactation consultant, pumping, fenugreek, etc. I nursed that kid for over two years, but he needed forumula to survive that first year.

When my second son was born he was the same way - nurse a few seconds, out like a light. But although he lost some weight, he "woke" sooner (after about two weeks, I think) and went on to nurse without any problems. It was a huge relief.

I would advise your friend to meet with a lactation consultant ASAP.

 

[russsk]

We had this problem, too. Thankfully it didn't last long. To make sure my supply didn't drop, I pumped in between nursings - and yes, that meant I pretty much nursed or pumped constantly. We did all the usual stuff to wake DS up - skin to skin, rub his head against the hair, walking fingers up the back, little baby situps, facial and tongue massage, etc. - and we used one of those syringes with the curved tip while he was latched on to give a little squirt of expressed milk when he fell asleep and get him sucking again. All of this was done in consultation with a lactation consultant, which your friend should also do.

 

[Zadorina]

My week old son has this same issue...we actually started calling it "boob narcolepsy" LOL. I started pumping at least once a day between feedings and also waking him to nurse if I started to get nervous that it was too long between feedings.

A nurse at the hospital where I delivered was a bit of an alarmist about it saying things like "that baby needs to eat EVERY TWO HOURS or his blood sugar gets too low and he's too weak to eat". However, my OB and my son's pediatrician told me not to worry too much about that and he said that my son will wake when he's hungry. I parked myself somewhere in between (letting him sleep and waking him if more than four hours have passed) and baby boy is doing fine. Now, one week later, I seem to be constantly nursing all day and nursing less often at night and he is doing great...seems during the day the kid wants to eat about every half hour! I do wake him after 4 hours if he hasn't nursed at night...more because my full breasts wake me up more than he does...

On a side note, we are also co-sleeping...not sure if that is why he sleeps so well at night right now. Last night he fell asleep about 1am and I had to wake him up at 5:30 or so to eat. I wonder how long he would have slept if Mommy wouldn't have gotten so nervous? (Can't help but wonder if it's ok to just let him sleep and appreciate a good thing??? Can anyone offer input on this please?)

He's already almost back to his birth weight and doing great. He has a VERY strong suck and I'm pretty sure he's getting lots of milk even if he only nurses for a few minutes during a 'session'.

I would definitely talk to a lactation consultant for advice but also just wanted to reassure that 'this too will pass'.

 

[hollytheteacher]

Has the baby had a complete look-over by a physician? I only ask (and i am not trying to scare you) because my ds was born with a heart defect and one of the biggest things that i was supposed to watch out for was that he would become too tired to nurse and fall asleep. Luckily we never really had that problem, but they always asked me at his cardiologist appointments because "heart" babies tire easily.

 

[fallingstar]

Thank you very much everyone for your reassurances and ideas. I forwarded them on to my friend.

To answer a few questions:

Yes, L. has seen a few different pediatricians. K. did have a consult with a lactation consultant (who confirmed that the latch was fine, no tongue tie, etc), midwives, a few nurses, and a doula. I think she's in good hands. I did forward her the contact info for all of the local LLL leaders and their meeting is this Monday. She had a few wet diapers, and her poop had moved on to milk poop, they were just a little too spaced apart. I think everything is going to be fine, but I do know how anything that veers from the textbook can be worrisome for a new mom and baby.

I know K. had been doing breast compression, but I forwarded those videos in case she needs help on technique.

Thank you again everybody for your suggestions!