Baby falling asleep on boob, cannot wake him up!!

[littlestressy]

I've posted on here previously and got some great help and advice so any more would be really appreciated.

My DS is 4 weeks old and EBF, he has 6 feeds in 24 hours but feeds are taking a very long time. He latches on very well and sucks vigourously but will fall asleep after only 5-10 mins. I tickle him, blow on him, wipe him with wet cotton wool and undress him right down to his nappy to make him wake up and continue to feed but I always have to take him off the breast and wait for him to fully come round so that he will continue to feed effectively (then only to fall asleep again after 5-10 mins, the cycle continues).

I'm worried he isn't getting enough of a feed with all this falling asleep and not enough hind milk, he has had a number of green poos in his nappy today which apparently can be a sign of too much foremilk.

Any ideas on how to keep him awake through a feed so that he can really take the milk and drain my breasts?

Is he gaining weight and generally well?
6 feeds in 24 hours isn't very many for a 4 week old (though it may be fine). If you feed him just after he's had a sleep does he do a bit better?
My DS was the same and I did loads of foot tickling and jaw stroking, not sure it made a huge difference! I think you just have to go with it*. Things change very quickly as they get older and these frustrating slow feeds will be a distant memory.

*Disclaimer: provided he isn't unwell/not thriving

I am no expert however I would really stop worrying so much about the colour of his poo and about the whole hind and fore milk.

You said you have to 'take him off the breast' Is he really asleep? If he is fluttering he is still feeding.

One thing you can do is switch breasts after 5 minutes or just before you think they are about to fall asleep. Do this a few times over so baby drinks plenty from both.

Good luck :) xx

DD was like this to start with. A woman at the breastfeeding support group suggested gently tugging the top of her ear upwards when she stops sucking. Was at least as effective as everything else I was doing but meant I didn't have to strip her off etc.

my dd was like this and then developed a temperature - cd you check that your DS is well? It is a bit of a sign that baby has no energy to feed.

littlestressy, it's normal for babies to nap after 5-10 mins. They normally don't need to be woken up with all that wet cotton wool etc. They wake up and feed again in their own time - just as your baby is doing.

Please don't worry about fore and hindmilk or green poo. There is far too much anxiety about both these aspects of bf. 'Draining' breasts is another thing people don't normally need to worry about :( :(

The only thing I would say is to echo the question - is he growing well? 6 feeds is usually only about half of what babies of this age would ask for, but maybe he is having far more than 6 because of the 'episodic' nature of his feeding, if you count the number of times he is visiting the breast and feeding :)

If he is healthy and growing, you can just go with the flow :)