If you are like most mothers that breastfeed, you have a small challenge–a baby that enjoys falling asleep during feeding time. Does this sound familiar – if so, you are not alone in that most babies love the comfort of snuggling close to mom, doing what they do best, eating and sleeping. Breastfeeding time is the most relaxing for a baby, creating a time and environment of tranquility. However, sometimes babies become so relaxed they doze off.
While this might not be a huge problem, you do want to teach your baby that breastfeeding is mealtime. Otherwise, you could end up with a baby waking every hour in the night simply to latch onto a nipple and fall asleep. Yes, you want breastfeeding to be a positive experience, one where your baby feels warm, loved, and safe. On the other hand, this habit becomes a bigger issue once you start sacrificing your need for rest.
If you find that your baby falls asleep only occasionally, you should not worry but if this becomes an ongoing routine, you are setting yourself up for problems. The easiest time to train your baby about breastfeeding is while young because the older they become the more difficult the training. Training a baby about breastfeeding and you being willing to awaken the baby takes a little bit of patience. You want to learn the child’s eating behaviors so you notice the time when he or she becomes sleepy. With this, you can start releasing the suction and placing the baby down in the crib, starting a positive habit.
The goal with keeping your baby awake during breastfeeding is to notice prior to him or her falling asleep. The reason is that by releasing prior to sleeping, you are teaching your baby to put him or herself to sleep. One of the easiest ways is to place your rocking chair near the crib. That way, the distance between feeding and sleeping is just a few steps. You may notice the baby whimpering but if spoken to softly and then left alone, he or she will go to sleep.
Keep in mind that each baby and mother is unique. Therefore, you will need to find a rhythm that works best for the two of you. If your child is already in the habit of sleeping while breastfeeding, the process of breaking the habit will take time. After releasing the baby, you could have some soft music playing in the background and gentle lighting. To give you an idea of why this could quickly turn against you, consider that a newborn baby will feed between eight and twelve times in a 24-hour period. Just imagine never getting the baby’s belly full because he/she were too busy sleeping. It happens and if not handled, can become a huge drain on both mom and dad.