Are you thinking of “What To Do If Baby Falls Asleep While Breastfeeding But Still Hungry”? You will find the answer here.
Having a new baby often comes with diverse warnings about the way you and your baby will sleep. It might however come to you as a surprise, when you realize that your baby rarely does anything but sleep, for the first four or five weeks of their life. As a matter of fact, more newborns have a marked propensity to sleep almost throughout the day, than those who do not.
And really, this is no terrible thing. The issue begins when your baby becomes so engrossed with sleeping that it starts to affect their feed. This issue becomes even more pronounced for babies who are breastfed or chest-fed – who need to always go all out to get milk.
If your baby falls into this category, and you want practicable solutions to it, then this is your lucky article! Below are what to do if your baby falls asleep while breastfeeding but is still hungry.
1. Remove snuggly clothes from the body, but leave the diaper:
One of the many ways to prevent your baby from falling asleep while breastfeeding is by removing snuggly clothes from her body. In a comfortably warm cloth, you can always trust that your baby won’t find sleeping in the middle of feeding, any difficulty at all. Warmth is so conducive. And to keep your baby up at the right time, you need to find a way to alter it.
Meanwhile, do not forget that the snuggly clothes are the only things you need to remove from her body, and not the diaper.
2. Tickle the Feet:
Babies are humans, and hence have senses that respond to gestures. Another way by which you can get your baby off from sleep during a feed, or keep them from even sleeping at all in the middle of it, is by tickling their feet. A soft stimulation of your baby’s senses can go a long way in waking them up. Do that by tickling their toes, moving your fingers up and down their arms, or whirling your finger around the top of their head.
3. Use a Cold Wipe/Wet Towel to Wipe The Feet:
The next time you notice your baby sleeping in the middle of a feed, here is what you can do – use a cold wipe/ wet towel to wipe their feet. Sleeping is more of a reflex action than a voluntary one, and so you need to recognize that your baby does not have to want this. It just happens. And a cold wipe or wet towel in their feet can rejig them back to consciousness.
Keep in mind that this approach should be done gently, as this is how you get effective results.
4. Do a Diaper Change In between Breastfeeding:
Did you find your baby sleeping during a feeding session? Here is what you can do: Do a diaper change in between breastfeeding. Anytime your baby sleeps in the course of nursing, you need to know that this is a function of convenience. Your baby feels comfortable and convenient and hence falls asleep. This convenience and comfort, for the time being, is what you interfere with. How? By changing their diaper in between the feeding.
This jolts them back to life, literally.
5. Wiggle the Elbow (known as chicken wing method):
Wiggling your baby’s elbow is another effective way to keep them active throughout their feed time. This method may come across as ridiculous or funny. But remember it is not exactly about the procedures or process, but rather about the results. Wiggling your baby’s elbow will get their nerves working, their body system active, and will transport them back to the plane of consciousness. Anything to keep your beautiful little one awake!
This wiggling thing should be done with caution, and very gently, though. If it does not seem to also work at a particular time, that does not mean you should not give it a try again.
6. Slowly pull away the breast and if the baby is not quite asleep he will relatch:
If you do not want your baby sleeping in the middle of a feed, here is another procedure you should consider giving a shot. By now, the breast is already in your baby’s mouth, and s/he has fallen asleep with it still in their mouth. This pattern is already registered in their head. So, a sudden withdrawal will normally wake them up, because yes, they will feel it!
7. Compress the breast to increase the flow of milk:
A slowdown in milk flow can bore your baby, and make them sleep. It is not that this slowdown is exactly bad. It is just that not all babies find it energetic.
If you find that your baby falls asleep when you are nursing her, you can opt in for this procedure known as breast compression. And here is how to do it – using your free hand, cup your breast at the side such that a C shape is attained with your hand. After this, then squeeze. Your baby’s suckling should become active, and even more than the previous times.
Conclusion
Now, you know what to do if your baby falls asleep while breastfeeding but is still hungry. So long you are a first-time mom; I do not think you can outgrow tips about parenting, child nursing, and baby behavior. Your baby might exhibit some behaviors that you may find surprising – but actually is not or should not be. One of those behaviors is falling asleep while breastfeeding but still hungry.
Of course, if your baby falls asleep while breastfeeding but is filed up, there should not be an issue. But in a case where they are actually still hungry, something has to be done.
In this article, we have discussed many procedures by which you can keep your baby awake when s/he is feeding, and we hope that you will employ them and be proud of the results that follow.
On a final note, do not be hard on yourself about this. It is a matter of time, and you will get through this.
