Is it normal if my baby falls asleep while nursing? What should I do about it?

A lot of mothers notice that their babies fall asleep while nursing, and of course, that leaves you wondering, "Is that normal? Does that mean they're done? What do I do?" And it's normal for a baby to suck regularly, stimulate a let-down, and after the first let-down happens, then they just kind-of drift off to sleep, because nursing is comforting to them. But if they only suck and eat during the first let-down, then they miss out on the creamy hind milk that comes later, because it's normal to have 2, even 3, or sometimes more let-downs during a nursing session. So you want to shoot for at least about 15 minutes of rhythmic sucking total on one side, and then burp your baby, move them to the other side, and then go for another 15 minutes of rhythmic sucking. But to get a total of 15 minutes of rhythmic sucking, it might take a while, because they fall asleep. So there are a few things you can do.

Gently rub your baby's back, you can rub their feet, that kind-of irritates them and makes them squirm a little bit and may keep them sucking. You can also encourage continuous sucking by gently squeezing the breast tissue, and this moves the nipple around in their mouth a little bit and gets them to suck again. if that doesn't work, then just break the seal, take your baby off the breast, and put them on the floor. This worked for me every time with my babies, because then they wake right up and realize that they're not in your arms, and then they fuss a little bit, and you can latch them back on and continue nursing them. You may also find that changing your baby's diaper mid-feeding is helpful. It wakes them back up.

And one other suggestion is feeding your baby in the football hold instead of the cradle hold. This is where their legs are wrapped behind your body and their face is in the palm of your hand right in front of you with their body wrapping around you. And this is comfortable for them, but not as comfortable as being cradled, and so, often, they stay awake more for this. If you're still having problems with it, talk with a lactation specialist or your pediatrician. And if you have more questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at   / intermountainmoms  , and recommend us to your friends and family too.