Understanding why breastfed babies ‘pop on & off’

Breastfeeding mumma’s have you ever experienced the ‘popping on & off’?

Have you ever been told, “it’s because you don’t make enough.”?

Popping on and off may be different at different feedings, there can even be more than one reason for popping on & off during one breastfeeding session!

We can often be left confused, ‘do you want the boob or not?’ Let’s say you have narrowed it down & there is no reason why you wouldn’t be making enough, you wonder why else your little babe would be popping on & off.

Maybe you have an older baby over 6+ months who have started popping on & off. You will probably still get told, “you don’t make enough milk”. I mean after 6 months you don’t just wake up one morning with no milk.

During the last few weeks, I have noticed little Miss A’ popping on & off, this is new to her. She wants to be cuddled, rocked, hummed to. She also wants to ‘sing’, thrash around & bite.

I’m not new to this phase, I know this phase well (Miss A is my fourth breastfed) & while it’s time consuming & possibly even a little irritating, there are a few reasons why babies do this & those reasons don’t include “you don’t make enough milk” 🥱

I will start with the ‘not enough milk’ statement, not enough milk doesn't necessarily mean you have low milk supply, it could just mean the baby is not getting as much milk as she would like at that moment- if a baby is popping on & off for this specific reason they tend to bury their heads into the breast, then yank back with the nipple still in their mouth before popping off & crying.

-Too much milk; when a baby is getting to much milk to quickly she may back off the breast & pop off- if a baby is popping off for this specific reason they will start with a deep latch then begin slipping away to a shallower latch before popping off.

-Positioning, if you moved the breast away & not the baby you can unintentionally be asking the baby to hold the weight of the breast in her mouth. You may have latched perfectly, yet baby will be uncomfortable in the new position, expect a pop off!

-Distractions, dad speaks, sister shouts, phone rings, the cat meows, a baby must pop off to see what’s going on. Try moving to a quieter area (yes, I know this is not always possible. I personally ask my kids to read/ colour quietly).

-Personal problems, it’s simple when you think about it. A baby with a personal problem usually appears physically uncomfortable when feeding, pulling knees to belly etc. they may moan or cry, they may grunt & bear down. Unlatch baby & figure out what the problem is; burp? New nappy? New position?

Try to re-latch after discovering the problem.

I found during the evening yesterday in the span of approximately 20 minutes little Miss A’ was distracted, she had personal problems & she had positioning problems. After I attended to all the needs I discovered, little Miss A’ slept comfortably.

Before telling a mum that she doesn’t make enough milk consider the other options mentioned above. It’s more likely the milk flow is not ‘enough’ for the baby at that moment.

I understand the fact that other reasons in which I have not mentioned above do alter a breastfeeding journey. I respect every mother who chooses to make an informed decision based on feeding their baby.

Popping on & off should not be confused with the newborn who is still learning to latch during the first few weeks of life, nor should it be confused with the non-latcher who isn’t really latching at all.

I would agree that I should not be advising ‘non-latching newborns’ as I hold no experience of my own, if you are struggling with a non-latching newborn right now, please seek help.