Bobbing and eating from breast

solidstars

solidstars

Registered User
i don't know if this is a problem... but occasionally my son likes to suck, turn and look at me, then smile, then suck again. it seems like he's communicating something to me?

this repeats over several minutes. i'm not sure if he's playing around with me? should i stop this behaviour? i can't decide whether to let him go on and he'll finally settle and continue eating, or whether i should discourage this and say 'no' or whatnot...

i feed him on the nursing pillow so he moves his head back himself? sometimes it's not 'suck look smile suck' but it's 'suck look swipe-mouth-on-breast and look again'
 
Dear Solidstars,

You don't say how old your baby is but I'm guessing that he is still quite young.

This behaviour is very normal. It actually sounds like the infant feeding reflexes the baby has which help him find and latch to the breast himself. Babies can actually do just about all the work for you if you have the baby in the right position.

The best positions to see how helpful these behaviours are usually positions with the mother in a reclined, laid back position (with head, shoulders and neck well supported) and the baby lying on top of the mother.

In these positions the baby's arm and leg cycling movements and the baby's head bobbing movements aid the baby to breastfeeding - whereas in the traditional sitting upright position they hamper breastfeeding.

If you'd like to watch a video of a baby latching please look at Breast Crawl - Initiation of Breastfeeding by Breast Crawl - Emotional Development, Mother-infant Attachment, Bonding
This is actually a baby who has just been born but babies continue to be able to latch themselves if in this position as they grow older.

There are also more pictures at http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/pdfs/Poster for web site-locked.pdf which give the general idea.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
thanks sarah, he's 3 months old... i feed him on a u shaped nursing pillow so he is lying on his side towards me (but now he knows how to flip back himself so he is lying on his back on the pillow)

the problem is he's not latching after his head bobs but it seems like he's playing? he smiles really sweetly up at me like i approve of his bobbing? the problem is i'm not sure if i should discourage this 'swipe mouth on breast and look away' behaviour?
 
My baby does this too, and I love it. He`s just communicating, the same way we do when we eat:) But my baby eventually gets into action and starts proper feeding shortly after playing a bit.
If he`s only playing though, and not eating, he might not be that hungry, and maybe just wants so mama time with a bit of a nibble.
 
Dear solidstars,

As your baby is older and has just started this behaviour I'm with Shenzhennifer and think that it is just a sign of your baby growing up.

During the first three months most of the breastfeeds finish with the baby falling asleep. And during the next three months they often finish with the baby playing and interacting with the mother. Often the baby will start to play with your face, e.g. "Eyes - let?s pock them". It can be a good time to start wearing chunky necklaces as this diverts their attention from your face.

You will find that over the next couple of months the baby is very easily distracted and sometimes will only fed for a minute before finding something else more interesting. It can make breastfeeding in public quite difficult. One place that I found was a good place to feed when my son was this age was the cathedral. It is cool, dark and quite.

I don't think it is necessary to discourage the behaviour unless he hurts you or you begin to find it too annoying. Having the baby pull off and give you a huge smile is one of the pleasures of being a breastfeeding mother.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
Thanks Sarah! That explains alot of things, these few days he's started to spend less and less time on my breast and more and more time looking around!

Now i'm just concentrating on making sure he's had enough and is full!
 
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