How to Keep Your Newborn Awake To Breastfeed
Newborns are biologically programmed to fall asleep at the breast. This is normal baby behavior.
Newborns are also biologically programmed to eat at the breast.
Great…two very different activities at the same location. What can go wrong? Well…
Sleepy babies can cause breastfeeding difficulties if they are not staying awake at the breast long enough to eat a full feeding, or if they are not waking frequently to empty Mom’s breasts (which is key to setting a robust milk supply).
Keeping newborns awake while breastfeeding is necessary to get them to eat enough.
Why are newborns so sleepy?
Sucking. Sucking is soothing and relaxing for babies, helping them drift off.
Warmth & white noise. Breastfeeding babies are cozy, cuddled up close to you. They can hear your heartbeat like they did in utero. It is all very comforting and relaxing and makes them drowsy.
Hormones. Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a hormone that plays an important role in digestion and is released by a baby’s gut when they start to suck. It makes them feel full and sleepy. Younger babies tend to have higher concentrations of CCK.
Bilirubin & jaundice. Bilirubin is a waste product that our body produces. It is processed by the liver and removed from our bodies in our poop. In utero the placenta does this job, and after birth the liver takes over. Babies have higher levels of bilirubin in the first few days of life as their liver is kicking into gear and higher levels cause the skin to be yellow. This is called jaundice. Higher levels of bilirubin also make babies sleepy.
If you are a new parent and struggling to keep your baby awake while breastfeeding, you can see you are fighting against several normal physiologic processes.
Thanks evolution…sure would have been nice for you to help make our lives easier in the first days and weeks of figuring out how to breastfeed! But don’t worry…you’ve got this! Generations of parents before you have figured out how to make it work and perpetuated our species…so can you!
Here are 10 ways to keep your baby awake at the breast while nursing:
Tickle their chin, under their arm, their feet, etc.
Stroke their cheek while they feed
Change their diaper
Sit them up and burp them
Tap on your breast while they are latched
Switch sides and feed on the opposite breast
Change to a different feeding position
Compress your breasts or massage them from the chest downward toward the nipple to squeeze some milk into baby’s mouth
Get the baby naked. No cuddly warm blankets and clothing.
Blow air on their face
Different combinations of these techniques on different days, at different times will work better than others. Basically try it all and try it a few times. Don’t write something off as not working when you just tried it once.
(This is actually pretty good advice for lots of parenting things…when offering food to your child, helping your 2 year old stick with nap time, etc.)
Sometimes your baby is difficult to wake up
This will happen. If your baby is passed out and you cannot rouse them, hand express or use a brief pump session to remove milk if it’s been 3 hours since you last fed them. Then wait for your baby to wake or shift into a lighter sleep stage where you can try waking them again and maybe have better luck. Until your baby is back to birth weight, wake baby up to eat if they’ve been asleep for 3 hours.
With your pediatrician, monitor your baby’s weight gain and output (wet and dirty diapers) to make sure they are getting enough to eat.
And don’t worry - this baby season will soon shift and you’ll be on to the next challenge. So enjoy the sleepy newborn cuddles too 😍