Sleepyhead baby - help please

[Sam1975]

Hi, my little son is 7 days old and according to the MWs latching on very well. However, I am concerned that he seems to fall asleep very quickly (after 3 - 5 minutes) and only lazily sucks on the beast from then on for about 40 minutes on / off - interrupted by little naps in between. Whilst I love to see him so relaxed, I am afraid Im another mom who is worried that he won't get sufficient milk and have therefore tried to keep him awake by changing his diapers in between, winding him etc but without any success. What else can I do to encourage him to actively breastfeed and should I really be worried? Many thanks!

Congratulations Sam. Being sleepy is very normal behaviour for a newborn. One of the only ways to tell if he is getting enough is if he is producing wet and dirty nappies.

If you are worried at all though I'd call one of the bfing helplines.

Hey, from the very beginning my dd always fed for a maximum of 5 minutes, ok so she fed often, but eventually we worked out that she is just wh efficient feeder

Your right to worry, get it checked out, but if everything else is fine, you know you may just have a guzzler!

If you are OK and enjoying these long sleepy-feedy cuddles with your son then it really isn't a problem at this stage. Has he started to gain weight? Is he producing wet nappies? Does he seem content? If so I'd just enjoy it.

Even if he continues to be a sleepy-feeder that isn't a problem in itself. It only becomes a problem if you are struggling to cope with very long feeds and trying to get other things done. But you really shouldn't be trying to do anything whilst your baby is 7 days old.

Sam - what does the midwife say? If she can weigh him and check his nappy count for you, then this should be reassuring.

There is nothing wrong with a baby who sleeps at the breast in the way you describe and no need to make him stay awake....as long as he's thriving, and of course you should check this out. Sometimes babies look as if they are transferring milk and they aren't, so it would be perfectly ok for you to get reassurance on this.

Mine was the same - hour long feeds every two hours I spent a lot of time on the sofa in the first month.

Mine was also quite jaundiced so I was having to wake him every two hours for feeds - this was quite an effort in itself involving stripping him to his nappy, changing him, tickling him, washing his face etc. He produced plenty of nappies though and within two weeks was back to his birthweight.

both my dds have been snacky feeders (little and often) and maintain 91st-98th centile feeding this way.

Many thanks everyone for your reassuring comments. He was weighed yesterday and had lost 6% of his birth weight, but MW said that as long as that is not more than 10% its ok and he should be starting to gain weight in the coming days. Nappy count has been ok with lots of wet + dirty nappies (4/5 of each per day), so I guess I will keep an eye on this but stop worrying at the moment.
Veronica - Im definitely enjoying these long and cuddly feeds at the moment - guess sleep deprivation hasnt hit me yet and I am still absolutely amazed when holding this little fella!!

Sam 6% is fine and normal. Glad you are enjoying your LO so much, you are doing brilliantly