Coping with a sleepy newborn

It’s common for newborns to be sleepy, especially if they are born a bit early or develop jaundice. Being sleepy means they might not feed very frequently, so they become even sleepier.

Although the amount of colostrum newborns require is relatively small, they need to feed frequently, as regular removal of colostrum and then mature milk) from both breasts from Day 1 is essential for creating a good milk supply. Most mothers can produce more than enough milk as long as both breasts are stimulated a minimum of 8 times in 24 hours.

Things that can help if your baby is sleepy:

1) Skin to skin:

• Skin to skin stimulates your baby’s neonatal reflexes which are designed to help them latch, particularly in the baby-led position.

• Skin to skin stimulates your hormones, encouraging milk production.

• In skin to skin, you’re more likely to notice your baby’s feeding cues which can be missed if they’re in a cot or Moses basket.

2) Strip your baby down

• Being hot makes babies sleepy; your body’s warmth is like an extra layer of clothing. In hot weather, a nappy is all they need; if not so warm, a vest is usually sufficient. Hats indoors are never needed.

3) Expressing colostrum and finger feeding

• In the 1st couple of days, it can help to hand express some colostrum into a syringe & finger feed that to your baby. 1ml or 2 ml of colostrum is often all it takes for a baby to perk up and latch.

  Hand expressing video: https://med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/breastfeeding/hand-expressing-milk.html

• Finger feeding video: https://youtu.be/N-wcjrR_If0  

4) Breast compressions and switch feeding

• Compressing the breast during feeds helps send down more milk and keep the baby feeding actively, as does switching them back and forth between breasts.

  How to do breast compressions: https://youtu.be/60R7pd-HCtE

5) Waking baby

• Newborns sometimes lack the energy to wake up for feeds. It’s therefore essential to wake them if they are sleeping longer than 2.5 to 3 hours. This is to ensure they are feeding a minimum of 8 times in 24 hours – more often is better.

If your baby isn’t breastfeeding at least 8 times in 24 hours (a minimum of 10 feeds would be better), hand expressing while you’re still producing colostrum, (and then double pumping with a hospital grade pump once your milk comes in), every couple of hours during the day and every 3 hours at night, will provide the stimulation necessary to establish your milk supply and allow you to feed your baby with your expressed colostrum/milk while you wait for them to become more alert.

When giving your baby a bottle, it’s essential to practise paced bottle feeding. Paced bottle feeds will help prevent overfeeding and will help protect against the risk of your baby developing a preference for the bottle:

Paced bottle feeding video: https://youtu.be/OGPm5SpLxXY