Many mothers, seeing their newborns fall asleep while they feed, worry that they are not eating enough. However, the truth is, for most babies, falling asleep while feeding is completely normal, and parents have nothing to worry about.
Sleep after feeding
Possible reasons
A breastfed infant is physiologically prepared to fall asleep after or during a meal. The hormones contained in breast milk provide excellent relaxation for the baby and promote sleep. That is why it is very common in babies up to three months old.
Important! Most babies close their eyes and stop sucking for a few minutes, but this does not mean that they are finished eating. From time to time, the baby begins to suck again, when he is completely asleep, he will release the nipple from his mouth.
There are several reasons that the baby falls asleep during feeding:
- The baby spends a lot of energy sucking. This is a huge job for him. Therefore, the newborn falls asleep during feeding, just tired and recuperating. This happens especially often when the mother has low lactation, and milk has to be obtained with difficulty;
Feeding the newborn
- When a baby is too often applied to the breast, he simply does not have time to get hungry and does not actively suckle;
- Diseases that cause a general weakening of the body contribute to the fact that the newborn eats sluggishly and quickly falls asleep;
- Very often, with mixed feeding, the baby does not want to suckle, as it is more difficult for him than eating from a bottle with the formula; after several attempts to take the nipple, the baby falls asleep.
In healthy newborns, a common cause of falling asleep at the breast is improper feeding technique, less often excessive environmental stimuli (for example, bright light, forcing the baby to close his eyes).
Correct feeding technique
Should I wake up the baby
The actions of mothers should be determined by what reasons make the baby sleep often while feeding. Most often this does not pose any threat to health, in some cases it is necessary to take measures to encourage the newborn to actively suckle.
Is the baby's sleepiness normal?
For newborns in the first months of life, the feeding process is extended over time. When the baby begins to suck vigorously, it stimulates the ejection effect, which forces milk into the ducts and to the nipple.
Within 2-3 minutes, the baby actively sucks and swallows. Then he gets tired and begins to relax, the desire to suck may subside. The absorption becomes infrequent and less vigorous. The baby accumulates a small amount of milk in the mouth with short suctions and then swallows.
It can stay in this slow mode for much longer. Then he begins to suck again vigorously, and another ejection of milk occurs. At some point, being in the “lazy suction” mode, the baby falls asleep. As you grow, the slow suction cycles shorten and the whole process gets faster. If breastfeeding is still maintained a year, then the child rarely falls asleep during it.
Important! It is perfectly normal for a baby to fall asleep while feeding on HB after it has filled its stomach. When he falls asleep immediately after latching to the breast, it can lead to problems with lactation and the fact that the baby will not gorge.
Do I need to wake up
Survival instinct exists in all children, and there are no such "lazy" babies who will bring themselves to exhaustion by simply not wanting to suckle. If babies get very tired and may fall asleep hungry, then there is a physical problem, for example, a short frenum of the tongue or difficulty in sucking milk due to a small amount of milk in the breast or improper nipple gripping technique.
It is not recommended to wake up children in the following cases:
- Before falling asleep, the baby sucked vigorously for 10-15 minutes. This amount of milk fed him enough;
- The baby has no problems with weight gain, he is cheerful and active, develops normally;
- The kid is unwell, has a fever;
- The child has recently eaten and is not hungry.
Important! Newborns get tired quickly during the first weeks of life. They just need to be applied to the chest more often.
When is the best time to wake up the baby:
- The baby sometimes falls asleep only when feeding. This contributes to the formation of wrong habits that prevent healthy sleep, it will be difficult to wean it later;
- The kid does not gain weight;
- The infant always falls asleep immediately after latching on to the breast.
Correct actions
In order for the baby not to fall asleep before he has taken a sufficient amount of milk, the following actions will be enough:
- You should not feed your baby too often. Let him get a little hungry. Then he will eat more vigorously;
- When the baby falls asleep, an attempt should be made to pull the nipple out of his mouth. This movement will cause the baby to actively suck milk from the breast or finish the formula from the bottle;
- The change of breasts for feeding helps the baby to wake up well. However, you should not do this often, since the first milk is too watery, the subsequent one is more nutritious;
- You can apply pressure to your chest for quick milk flow. The infant will be forced to swallow and wake up;
- No need to feed a baby wrapped in a blanket or in an overly hot room. Warmth during feeding increases drowsiness;
- Seeing that the baby is about to fall asleep, you can gently stroke his arm or leg so that he wakes up. If the baby has let the nipple out of his mouth, you need to move it along his lips, squeeze out the droplets of milk;
- During feeding, you need to talk to the baby, you can sing a funny song to him, try not to lose eye contact with the baby;
Contact with the baby while feeding
- If the baby gets tired quickly due to the small amount of milk in the breast, it is necessary to feed him from a bottle, otherwise he will fall asleep without having eaten.
Important! The feeding time for each child is individual: one needs 10 minutes, the other needs 20.
Wrong actions
If the newborn nevertheless falls asleep on the chest, and measures to prevent this have not led to anything, then what cannot be done is to take abrupt actions when trying to wake him up. Loud sounds, attempts to shake the baby, sprinkle water on the face, etc. are contraindicated. The child will simply be scared and cry, and attempts to feed him will be unsuccessful.
Whether to raise a sleeping child
It is usually recommended to let infants spit up immediately after feeding, lifting them vertically. If the child eats greedily, hastily, and may gag, the risk of excess air entering the digestive tract increases. What to do if the baby falls asleep while feeding?
In such a situation, mothers often try to wake up the baby in order to hold him in a column and allow him to regurgitate, as he can choke on the regurgitated masses in a supine position. However, this is not always necessary.
If the baby has already managed to fall asleep, there is no need to wake him up. You just need to put it on its side in the crib, putting something under your head in order to slightly raise it. In this position, even if the baby spits up, the regurgitated masses will not enter the respiratory tract.
The baby sleeps on its side
It is necessary to observe the child for 15 minutes. If at this time he wakes up, then you need to pick him up and walk with him, holding the baby upright. After spitting up, you can put it back in the crib. You do not need to raise your head.
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky
Pediatrician E. Komarovsky believes that falling asleep while feeding does not promote healthy sleep, and it is better to wean the baby from this habit. To do this, he recommends adhering to certain feeding hours, not giving breasts on demand. Then the baby will actively suck, and fall asleep only in the crib.
However, many pediatricians are against this opinion, who believe that it is better to allow the baby to fall asleep on the chest than to deny him food. Subsequently, it will not be so difficult to teach the child to fall asleep in the crib.
Falling asleep near the chest is a topic that causes a lot of discussion. However, for a newborn, this is completely natural and even necessary, especially in the first months of life, since it satisfies not only hunger, but also the need for intimacy.
