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[lisaf]

Please help, I have a 4 week old and he falls asleep during bf and detaches, I never get him off then a couple of minutes he wakes and is still hungry, it would be 15 mins or so on each breast and then I would finally follow with a bottle of expressed milk or formula. He would finally be good. What can I do to fix this, I have just given up and express only but now I see a decrease in milk so I have been giving more and more formula. I don't want this to continue. Thanks in advance.

I agree with the others about not supplementing with formula. Your body needs to know the milk is needed in order to keep making it.
The sleepy phase is the most frustrating thing but it doesn't last forever.

Some tricks to keeping him awake while feeding:
undress, change diaper, tickle feet, wipe with a damp cloth, blow on him (especially effective after the damp cloth, lol). All of that didn't work for more than a second with my son, but what really worked for us was tickling his ear... I had to catch him as soon as he stopped sucking for more than a second but it would prompt him to keep sucking... if I waited too long he was out and I couldn't do anything to wake him up.
Keep trying things... you don't have much longer to go to get past this phase, hang in there!

 

[Bex84]

I would agree with everyone else, my LO used to fall asleep, I used to undo poppers on sleep suit and tickle her feet, I would just feed off one breast and if she wanted she could have the next, then the next feed I would swap. Once your supply is in it gets better. My LO could feed every 20 minutes to an hour to start with. It does settle down. My LO will still fall asleep at the breast but feeds more efficiently and she doesent do as often now, she will usually feed till full then fall asleep.

 

[membas#1]

what we found that worked to keep LO a bit more awake for feeds is if I caught her nodding off/stop suckling I would stroke her cheek or under her chin, this would stimulate her sucking response. good luck

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I used to rub my thumb on the back of Alex's head. It reminded him to keep eating

 

[Maid Marian]

I used to rub my thumb on the back of Alex's head. It reminded him to keep eating

aaaaawww!!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Yeah I'm broody as anything. DH's friend's sister just had twin boys and they are sooooooo tiny and sweet! I love my wee man, but I think I want another tiny baby.

 

[Eliza_V]

How come I haven't been added to the list yet? I expressed my interest in the other thread

 

[Ozzieshunni]

She is updating the thread now on paper and then will post when everything is sorted out!

 

[cheese lover]

I also would kinda wiggle my nipple in her mouth as soon as she hesitated in suckling. The sucking reflex is started by hitting something on the roof of their mouth so sometimes you can get them to start sucking more by hitting that point.

 

[Jennifaerie]

I tend to blow on LO's head to wake her up... she doesn't tend to fall asleep anymore.

Update from the other day - I'm feeling more positive now the doc has diagnosed LO with reflux. I'm using a breast shell to catch any leaks from the non feeding side and then mixing her gaviscon with it and giving my syringe. She loves it and it tops her up a little after her feed. She slept 5 hours in the night last night and is starting to get onto a routine of roughly 3 hours.

 

[mommax3]

Good morning ladies I have a question. My daughter is 3 weeks old tomorrow and she eats every 2 hours and is gaining weight like a champ! I started to notice that after she eats she is very content but a few mins. later she is arching,streatching,groaning and whining not a full out cry. but it leads me to believe she is in pain. she then farts and poops a little for the next half hour and then is at peace. I burp her and I watch what I eat, what could be her problem is there anything I can do? I feel soo bad for her and on top of that by the time I get her back to sleep at night im only getting like an hour of sleep at a time. oh yeah also her poop is yellow like I have read its suppose to be but instead of being seedy its like a gummy texture does anyone know if this is ok?

 

[Maid Marian]

by the time I get her back to sleep at night im only getting like an hour of sleep at a time.

Do you co-sleep? With a hungry baby it's often the only way you get a decent sleep

 

[cheese lover]

Good morning ladies I have a question. My daughter is 3 weeks old tomorrow and she eats every 2 hours and is gaining weight like a champ! I started to notice that after she eats she is very content but a few mins. later she is arching,streatching,groaning and whining not a full out cry. but it leads me to believe she is in pain. she then farts and poops a little for the next half hour and then is at peace. I burp her and I watch what I eat, what could be her problem is there anything I can do? I feel soo bad for her and on top of that by the time I get her back to sleep at night im only getting like an hour of sleep at a time. oh yeah also her poop is yellow like I have read its suppose to be but instead of being seedy its like a gummy texture does anyone know if this is ok?

It might be reflux or a cow's milk protien intolerance. Are you eating/drinking dairy products? Someone with more experience in this area should respond soon.

 

[mommax3]

I do co sleep and I have cut out the dairy and its still an issue

 

[Maid Marian]

I do co sleep and I have cut out the dairy and its still an issue

Maybe soya?

 

[mommax3]

what is soya?

 

[Maid Marian]

what is soya?

Good read: https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html#suspectfoods

 

[mommax3]

thank u very helpfull

 

[sailing_girl]

Good morning ladies I have a question. My daughter is 3 weeks old tomorrow and she eats every 2 hours and is gaining weight like a champ! I started to notice that after she eats she is very content but a few mins. later she is arching,streatching,groaning and whining not a full out cry. but it leads me to believe she is in pain. she then farts and poops a little for the next half hour and then is at peace. I burp her and I watch what I eat, what could be her problem is there anything I can do? I feel soo bad for her and on top of that by the time I get her back to sleep at night im only getting like an hour of sleep at a time. oh yeah also her poop is yellow like I have read its suppose to be but instead of being seedy its like a gummy texture does anyone know if this is ok?

I had similar issues at the beginning and had to cut so many things out of my diet before I could figure it out. I'm a huge raw vegetable eater but it turned out my LO wasn't a big fan. I'd recommend keeping a food journal of everything you eat. I cut out all processed foods first and that made a difference but I was still finding that she was gassy when I ate raw broccoli and cauliflower (I know that this is often a cause of gassiness but my midwife told me that anything you eat during pregnancy without issue, you would should be able to eat while breastfeeding...she was wrong ). So yeah, try and eat super clean for a while to see if you can get it under control and then slowly introduce things back into your diet. It makes for very boring eating for the first bit but it's worth it to have a happy baby! Good luck!

 

[TigerLady]

Has anyone had problems with having their period very early on, despite EBF? It is REALLY effecting my supply and he is virtually starving the week before my period, and once my period comes, my milk comes back. Any tips?

Mine came back really early, too, with my DS. I just powered through it and so did he. But he was always way off the charts for weight so I didn't need to stress about slow weight gain or loss.

Maybe eat extra oatmeal and protein during supply dips and see if it helps.