Baby breastfeeding only five minutes at a time, stops, then cries again very shortly after to be fed again?

Question

and she falls asleep and WONT wake up and WONT latch back on .. how do i get her to eat a good 15 to 20 minutes at a time so i cna go longer between feedings? Fyi: she is 7 days old. thanks

Answer 1

Hi there honey. I want to say first off, what ever you do, do NOT supplement with formula! That is the very worst thing that you can possibly do. One ounce of formula can undo all the wonderful benefits that breastfeeding does. Stay away from formula at all costs, you do not need it and neither does your baby. If you have any in the house, throw it away! Do NOT be tempted by those who say she needs even one drop of it! She has you and you have all the milk that she needs.
Okay, having said that, back to your problem.
I have to say I basically agree with the second lady that responded to your question. At one week there is little that you can or should be doing to change what your baby is doing!
What I would suggest is that when she IS awake and nursing you can try some things to gently encourage her to stay awake a bit longer. Uncover her just a bit more, (not enough to make her cool!), just enough so that she is not all cuddly warm.....play with her feet, talk to her, that sort of thing. Be sure to change her diaper when she wakes up, that will also help to make sure she is good and awake.
After about ten minutes ( and that is as much as you can really expect, cover her all up again and let her drift off to sleep.
Right now she needs to eat when she wants to and sleep when she wants to. It may be darned inconvenient but that is the way of it. Remember that the more often she nurses the more milk you will have so it is a good thing.
I hope that you are not missing out on your sleep at night. That is totally unnecessary. When she wakes up that first time at night, snuggle her down in bed with you and let her nurse while you lie down and the two of you will drift off to sleep together. If you are not real good at nursing lying down, leave on a small night light so that you can see what you are doing. Let her nurse off and on all night, it is the best thing in the world for your milk supply. Remember to change sides and change diapers every once in awhile and you will be all set. Pretty soon you will be doing those things without even waking up....and so will she! Night time nursing is, in my opinion , the biggest convenience of breastfeeding. My babies and I slept all night practically from day one. What a blessing. Do just the opposite of the things you do to keep her awake during the day, let her stay half asleep and she will never really wake totally up. The two of you will go right back to sleep.
BTW, your baby is still so tiny, she is brand new to the world and nursing and digesting her milk is still a new experience to her. Her little tummy is so tiny and she needs to eat really often. This will begin to change with each week that goes by and pretty soon she will be going that typical three hours between feedings ( well, maybe two hours between feedings).
Remember how much easier breastfeeding is than bottle feeding ( let me tell you! I have done both!) and she will start going longer between feedings. Right now your breasts need that constant stimulation and she needs to eat that often!
You are doing a fantastic job. You are a wise and wonderful mother for having the love in your heart and the brains in your head to breastfeed your sweet baby! You are giving her the very best start in the world that she could ever, ever have.
Just keep doing what you are doing. Make sure that you eat and drink when the baby does ( yes, really) and take good care of yourself like you did when you were pregnant.
Love and Blessings
Lady Trinity~p.s. pick up a copy of "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding", it is the best $18 you will ever spend. It is written by the La Leche League.

Answer 2

At this age you cannot make her do anything, and you're not supposed to.

You will be nursing completely on demand for the first month to 6 weeks. After that she will slowly fall into a better routine.

Most newborns do NOT eat for 15-20 minuets, they just dont have the stamina and strength to.

She is doing exactly what she should.

Answer 3

This is really normal. Remember, she is just a newborn and they wear out quickly. What to do? I would tickle my baby's back a bit and wake her that way. I also would undress her to get her to wake up. If she was really tired, nothing worked. This is how my son was and we just learned to except it and he and she grew fine.

When she is awake- nurse often and on demand.

It is a lot of work sucking the milk from the breast and this is why your baby becomes so tired- aside from the fact that she is a newborn.

Good luck to you and congrats on your little person!

Answer 4

you could start up off relactating in case you nurse lots, on call for. He would have nipple confusion as he's been off the breast for a whilst and it incredibly is a distinctive variety of suckling from breat to bottle. so it incredibly is incredibly useful to additionally pump your breasts. this would take lots greater attempt then it might have in case you will've in basic terms caught it out for that first month (that's frequently tough for many). advance on the breast feedings. First have him nurse and then whilst he's accomplished supply him formula. Pump a minimum of each and every 2 hours if he would not drink quickly from the breast... that's greater of a soreness yet you will could do what works on your difficulty.

Answer 5

You need to see a lactation consultant. It's probably time for your 1 week appointment with the pediatrician, ask for an appointment with the lactation consultant ASAP. If your pediatrician doesn't have one, call the hospital where you had her and ask for a referral.

A baby who doesn't get enough nutrition will sleep really hard because she doesn't have the energy to be awake. That happened with my daughter. I had to supplement with formula because she couldn't latch on correctly. Working with a lactation consultant really helped and she finally got it.

Good luck, mama. You can do it!

Answer 6

my son NEVER ate for more than 5 minutes....and i breastfed him for 7 months...

my best guess is she might need to get a good burp or two out....try getting two out of her, or one really good one and then feed again......