A baby will unlatch naturally when she's finished breastfeeding. You shouldn't ever have to take your baby off your breast. Whether she falls asleep or just pulls away, she'll know when to unlatch when she's ready.
Stop Nursing Before Baby Falls Asleep Completely
If your babe is attached to your nipple (literally), you'll need to start by unlatching before he falls asleep. Try gently inserting a finger, and breaking the latch once his sucks become more like tiny flutters and he's no longer swallowing.
You may not need to do it often since your child will likely release the suction on their own most of the time. But, on those occasions when you have to do it yourself, using the right technique will help prevent unnecessary pain and damage to your breasts and nipples.
To unlatch from the first breast, wet your index finger and slide it between your nursling's mouth and your nipple to gently break the suction, and then pull back. If your baby doesn't wake up at this point … congratulations, you're done!
Watch for signs that your baby is full (slowing down, spitting out the bottle or unlatching from breast, closing the mouth, turning away from the breast or bottle) and stop the feeding when these signs appear. As babies grow, they begin to eat more at each feeding and can go longer between feedings.
Listen for a swallowing sound, and check if his throat moves with each gulp. If you see it move, then he's swallowing milk, but if it stays still, then he's only moving his mouth to comfort suck.
The best thing to do is to insert a finger into baby's mouth, just enough to get air in there and break the vacuum. Then you can easily pull baby off of your breast." Latching issues are pretty common and occur for a number of reasons, including a lack of lactation support during the early days after childbirth.
A child might still enjoy breastfeeding to sleep for two or three years or longer because it would still be developmentally normal to breastfeed until then, but it definitely won't be “forever”. It takes only a short time in your day to settle your child to sleep this way.
Besides helping to build up a healthy supply of breast milk, alternating breasts in the same feeding can keep a sleepy baby nursing longer, provide more breast milk at each feeding to a newborn who needs to gain weight, and maybe even help to keep your breasts from becoming too uneven.
Here's how: Reduce the time your child feeds by 2-5 minutes every second night. For example, if your child usually feeds for 10 minutes, feed for 8 minutes for 2 nights, then 6 minutes for the next 2 nights, and so on. Re-settle your child after each shortened feed with the settling techniques of your choice.
Many newborns nurse about 10 to 15 minutes on each side, but they may take much longer. A range is normal. Older babies may take five to 10 minutes or less on each side, but again – it varies. Be sure to alternate breasts so that they get roughly the same amount of nursing time.
It may only take your baby about 5 to 10 minutes to empty each breast and get all the milk they need; however, this is different for everyone.
Since the breast is continually producing milk, your baby may be able to drink again on that side. Sometimes babies pull away from the breast and fuss because the milk is flowing too fast. If this is the case, you may find that your baby pulls away soon after starting to feed and just as the milk is letting down.
For very young babies, this may mean waiting 20-25 minutes through the first half of their sleep cycle. Move slowly. If you think you are moving slowly, move even more slowly.
Take heart that when sleepy babies feed, they're usually so relaxed that they're less likely to intake extra air. If you find that he isn't fussy, wiggly, or restless at wake-up time, he may not need to burp each time. In short, it's okay to put him to sleep without burping.
Night time feeds
Once your baby is a few weeks old, if they're gaining weight as expected, and they fall asleep after the first breast in the middle of the night, in most cases, it will be fine to wait until the next feed to offer the second breast.
If your baby is not satisfied with the first breast, offer the second breast. Try nursing on only one breast at each feeding, if possible. Over time, you may notice your milk supply and "let-down reflex" (the milk ejection reflex) get easier to handle.
Switching breasts and changing breastfeeding positions can help to keep a sleepy baby awake for a longer period of time. Mothers are usually advised to breastfeed well on one breast before offering the second breast to ensure that their babies get the calories they need to grow.
The number of times an individual mom will need to empty her breasts to maintain long-term milk production has been called her “Magic Number.” If a mom is not nursing enough times in a 24-hour period to meet her Magic Number, her body will eventually down-regulate milk production and her supply will be reduced.
During the newborn period, most breastfeeding sessions take 20 to 45 minutes. However, because newborn babies are often sleepy, this length of time may require patience and persistence. Feed on the first side until your baby stops suckling, hands are no longer fisted, and your baby appears sleepy and relaxed.
Sometimes your baby will seem to be hungry all the time because he's having a growth spurt (that's when he's growing more quickly so he needs to feed more often). The more milk your baby takes from the breasts, the more milk your breasts will make.
Laid-back breastfeeding is where you to use a comfortable, reclined position to feed your baby. It's really a relaxed approach where breastfeeding is seen as a relationship between you and your baby, with no need to follow a series of instructions.
Comfort nursing is the name sometimes used to describe breastfeeding for reasons other than for food such as breastfeeding a baby to sleep, calming a crying baby or because baby enjoys sucking. Babies will still get a little milk while they are comfort nursing and it's a great mothering tool.