comfort sucking HELP!!!

[shimster]

Hello

My DS is now 11 days old and feeding well but is prone to comfort sucking. He will root about and cry for the breast. He will latch on but then only suck for a couple of minutes before falling asleep.

If I put him down he will wake after a couple of minutes and again show signs of hunger. What can I do to stop this?

Advice much appreciated.

Ok, will start with some questions for you to try to see the whole picture!!

How often is he feeding in 24hrs? Does he have plenty wet/dirty nappies? How long does he go between feeds? How was the birth?

Babies can go into sleepy mode to conserve energy if they are not getting enough milk. There are various things that you can try to help get some more milk into him if this is what you think might be happening.

Switch nursing may be helpful. This is where you switch the baby to the other side once they have fallen asleep. They usually wake up enough to have another go and he will hopefully suck long enough for the milk to let down on the other side. You can switch him back and fore several times if need be.

Breast compressions may help too by keeping the milk flowing when the baby has stopped doing the long sucks that get the milk out (nutritive as opposed to comfort feeding)

People often say to strip them naked and tickle their feet, but I don't think I would like that much if I were a baby!!

I would also suggest calling one of the breastfeeding helplines for some RL support too.

Thank you so much for your advice. I haven't kept a count of how often he feeds in 24hrs but i will start.

He has plenty wet and dirty nappies. Gaps between feeds varies and sometimes it is only the comfort style feeding with small gaps which is useless. He does seem to latch on well with deep sucks.

The birth was meant to be at home but when my waters broke there was a lot of meconium so we had to go to hospital. Things moved quickly but forceps where briefly needed at the end. 5 minutes of resuscitation was required because the mec was in his lungs. No lasting damage.

I think the switching and breast compression could be very useful.

Thanks

I had a similar problem with DS, he just would not sleep. Gave him a dummy at 5 days even though BF and made a big difference. In our case didn't affect BF at all, and HV/midwife didn't think it a problem to give a dummy so early. It's important you get some sleep so may be worth a try!

Watching this thread with interest, as I, like shmister, have an 11-day-old baby boy who loves to suckle but doesn't like to latch on properly.

I had considered trying a dummy.

A dummy is not a good idea if the baby is not getting enough milk. Some babies just don't "demand" and will be happy enough with a dummy instead of milk.

Ideally this early on, all the sucking should be done at the breast to stimulate supply.

A newborn wanting to be at the breast and comfort feeding is normal!!

At this very early stage, it's quite possible the baby is sucking to help stimulate your supply. I really wouldn't substitute it with a dummy or you'll lose that effect.

The other thing is, even if he's doing it to reassure himself before falling asleep, that seems fine to me...

MY baby comforted alot at the breast i thought she was never going to last longer than two hours but i let her suckle at the breats till she fell off and let her sleep, i was in no rush to do any thing else tho. She would only feed for 5 mins to begin with but she had great weight gain every week. Its great bonding and baby will soon grow out of it. It will help with milk supply, i gave her a dummy early, didnt stop her from feeding!! Don't give up, its so convienient just stick them on where ever!!!

I know there is a risk with giving a dummy, but I think it is important for people to consider this option in relation to comfort sucking. The first 2 nights at home my DS would not sleep until 6:30am when absolutely knackered, he continuosly fed/comfort sucked and I was at the end of my tether. Lack of sleep can affect milk supply also, and at this point I felt I needed the sleep. DS went to sleep with dummy, and I had great milk supply. My HV is very good, and she said she has only seen one case of a dummy affecting BF ever. As long as you feed regularly I think it is unlikely it will have a great effect and may be better than lack of sleep and the amount of stress otherwise.

ClaireGJB - I understand what you are saying, but it is important for shimster firstly to establish whether her baby is sleepy because of insufficient milk intake before going down the dummy route.

And it is not true to say that lack of sleep affects milk supply.

Anyway, shimster, how are you getting on?

HV came out yesterday and she is very happy with feeding. DS is latching on well and almost back to birth weight. HV observed feeding and seems to think letdown reflex is working well. She recommended following his lead which I am doing but we are also using a dummy to settle him to sleep which seems to be working. He is very happy to let me know when it's milk he wants. We are using it sparingly until my milk supply is established.

My story mirrors ClaireGJB's. The dummy was my life saver. I was in complete agony and totally exhausted - no good for me or DS.

Glad you've worked out a solution shimster