What Is A Sleepy Feeder?
A sleepy feeder is a baby that falls asleep soon after the feeding is initiated. They tend to have trouble waking back up to feed efficiently. This is referring to after the first 24 hours of life. Many mamas notice baby will latch and begin sucking, then falling asleep and “flutter sucking” instead of deep, active gulping (this is important for an effective feeding!).
Did you know that this is completely normal the first 24 hours of life--which is why we give the guideline to “wake baby every 3 hours to feed” while you’re in the hospital? Once your baby is past the first day of life, they should become actively awake for effective feedings. A sleepy baby is not an effective eater. This can slow down weight gain for your baby, as well as milk supply (if nursing) for mama.
So what can you really do?
Skin to Skin - Skin to skin is incredible in regulating both mama and baby. Being skin to skin can help familiarize baby, as well as increase milk making hormone production in mama (both necessary for an effective nursing session). You may think, “well, that seems silly, they’re just going to want to sleep on me”— and they may! However, it is worth trying first, as for some babies, this can actually help wake their senses, knowing that they’re next to mama and their milk. Babies may go through a process of crawling to breast and latching, which can take a little bit of time in skin to skin.
You can run through your typical “wake up” checklist :
>>> Change baby’s diaper and get them naked for skin-to-skin time
>>> Run a cold, wet washcloth or baby wipe over baby’s neck or back to encourage them to wake (only try this for a short period, as we don’t want to make them exert more energy by being cold).
If you notice these are consistently not working, they may be exerting more energy than actually waking up during these tasks, which can make them sleepier! Here are some other helpful tools for sleepy feeders!
Breast Compressions: If nursing, use breast compressions/massage to encourage milk flow in mama and active swallows in baby. This is done by creating a “C” shape with your hand, then pressing gently into the breast toward the chest wall, then gently squeezing down.
Switch Nursing: Offer one breast, then when baby tires out—sit up and burp them, then offer the other breast. This is a bit different than regular nursing, as we typically like to ensure baby empties one breast before switching to the other side. However, with sleepy feeders, switch nursing can keep baby awake more during a feeding because there is consistently a faster flow of milk.
Laid Back Breastfeeding: Reclining or side-lying to nurse encourages sleepy feeders to eat, as they don’t have to put in as much work or exert as much energy to nurse when laying down next to mama. This also helps familiarize them with their environment and regulates them.
Chin Support: placing your or partner’s forefinger under baby’s chin and gently pushing up while latched to breast or bottle to “remind” them that they were sucking. This is effective for some babies!
Mamas, there is much more information on this topic in my Instagram highlight “sleepy feeders”. Be sure to check it out to hear me talk more in-depth about sleepy feeders + what to do if nothing works!
