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Babies typically have their
own styles of nursing. Some are snackers, and some dawdlers, and some are
take-charge, let-me-have-at-it, all business! Sometimes, however, when a
baby is nursing as often as you describe, he's not nursing efficiently and
isn't getting enough to sustain him for longer.
A few things for you to
try/consider:
1. Make sure your positioning is good. He should be at breast height
(use pillows as needed), and lying on his side so that his ear,
shoulder, and hip are in a straight line. He shouldn't have to turn his
head side to side or front to back to reach your nipple. One of his
hands should be on each side of the breast.
2. Check latch-on. Once you have him in a good position, tickle his
lower lip and wait for him to open his mouth WIDE like a yawn. Quickly
bring him into your breast with that open mouth. His tongue should be
down, and when he's latched on properly, you may be able to gently draw
back the corner of his mouth and see his tongue cupping your breast. He
should have an inch or so of your areola (the dark area) in his mouth
so he can compress the breast.
3. Support your breast during feeding. Depending on how big you are,
the weight of your breast may still be too much for him to handle on
his own. Lift your breast, cupping your hand under the breast, thumb on
top, fingers underneath, holding it back from the areola so you don't
interfere with his latch-on. Often this one maneuver improves a baby's
ability to get a good meal more than any other adjustment.
4. Feeding on one breast per feeding is okay and allows him to get both
the initial foremilk that is high in volume, low in fat and initially
satisfying, and the hindmilk that is high in fat and calories and will
help sustain him longer.
5. Breast compression can help. The idea is to wait until he stops
sucking, and then you gently squeeze your breast in and towards the
chest wall. This can squirt some milk in his mouth, and that will
trigger the suck-swallow reflex. When he stops again, compress the
breast again, moving your hands to a new position each time.
6. If he continues to fall asleep after just a few minutes, you might
try switch nursing: When he falls asleep on one breast, gently remove
him (stick your finger in the corner of his mouth to release the
suction) and try the other breast. You can do this a few times, if
necessary. This is a short term strategy, though, just until he becomes
more efficient at nursing.
7. Often, it helps to have either a La Leche League Leader or a
lactation consultant (preferably one with "IBCLC"--International Board
Certified Lactation Consultant--after her/his name) watch you while you
nurse. Often a minor change in positioning makes a major change in how
well baby nurses.
Hope this helps!
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