The Distracted Eater

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Stella has recently reached the age of extreme distractibility while nursing.

Instead of latching on and chowing down, she's on and off and smiling and cooing and looking to see who just walked in the room and what not. Pretty much anything, even a shadow, is distracting to her (and other little babies her age too).  It's darn cute, yes, but it can also be pretty annoying.

Instead of taking 10-15 minutes to eat, it may take 45 minutes (and voila, dinner is burned!). Instead of pulling off nice and calmly, she may pull off distractedly with her mouth still very much latched on (um, ouch!). And instead of getting

Bottlefeeding Index

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• How long do I let baby go without a feed at night?
• Tips To Keep Sleep Newborns Awake During Feedings
• The Distracted Eater

Tips to keep sleepy newborns awake during feeding

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Ah, I remember this only too well. My oldest son was the sleepiest eater. He'd wake up starving but after a short time of eating be off to dream land. Then I'd wake him up, he'd eat furiously again, but be asleep once again in just a couple minutes (if not a couple seconds!). This went on for 3 months. Apparently my breastmilk had a lot of sleep inducing chemicals in it. That or my son was extremely soothed by sucking.