Do You Wake a Sleeping Baby to Feed??

I would let her sleep and set her own night schedule for now. It would be different if she were under weight or had some health issues and had to eat at specific intervals but seeing as she is healthy I would just let her sleep. her sleeping schedule will change a lot over the first year.

I vote no way! You could always try it and see if it works, but in my opinion this would be a bad idea because as you said, you may get her body accustomed to waking at that time to eat. I just really don't believe that this theory works!

I demand fed and learned to sleep when my boys did. I never woke them, and I don't think there's too much you can do to change them at that young age.

She will be adjusting and readjusting her sleep habits for a while, eventually she will sleep longer. I wouldn't wake her.

Here's a funny story though.

My first was a preemie. I had to wake him every three hours for 2 months to get him to eat from his tiny baby doll bottle. So when the next one came along I woke her every three hours for 2 weeks. At her checkup when I asked when I could let her sleep longer the dr. looked at me like I had two heads and said tonight!!

Nope. Your child will wake when she is hungry and her sleep patterns will be changing for a while.

Follow her lead when possible.

My kids tend to go through a growth spurt around 3 months...maybe it's a growth spurt? 2 1/2 - 3 months is also when I start letting them cry it out (if you don't agree with crying it out - that's totally fine - if I KNOW they're not really hungry...I let them cry for no more than 5-7 minutes...all mine have been sleeping through the night starting around 3 months). Anyway...to answer your question, I had to wake my first, as she was a premie and wouldn't wake herself up - but other than that - I let them sleep. For me (and I'm totally jealous of those of you that can wake them up before bed time and 'top them off' and it works)...it always seemed to backfire if I woke them up :/.

At that age I always fed my babies on demand. Every baby is different and has different needs. And even if she just needs comfort there is nothing wrong with that at her age! The schedule will change as she has growth spurts and as she gets older. It is tiring but it is over so fast. Just treasure that snuggle time! You are not going to "ruin" your baby's sleep habits. It's amazing to me that people feel a three month old should soothe itself back to sleep because Mom and Dad are entitled to their 8 hours of sleep! Don't let people talk you out of feeding or soothing your baby when she needs it. Give her what she needs!

Nope. I was told never to wake a sleeping baby. He/she will wake up when hungry.

I found that when they went to around 1:00 they then started sleeping until 8ish. In other words the natural evolution to only one wake up a night. Granted they were only a few weeks old but god blessed me with good sleepers. :)

I never woke a sleeping child, no good could possibly come from that. :p

I had four, we all survived. :)

J.:

CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby girl!!

No!! I would NOT wake a sleeping baby. Keep in mind that as she gets older - she will go to bed later...so instead of waking her - trying keeping her up for 30 minutes longer...stretch it out a 5 to 10 minutes a day...

It will all work out!!

I would do a "dream feed" which is picking the baby up while they're sleeping, feed them, while still asleep, then put them back to bed. Never waking baby. I did this with my daughter, about 10pm and it would hold her until morning, she started sleeping through the night about 3 months old. Even then, she would get up hungry from growth spurts every once in a while.

Wow, really? Just have to comment because of the number of times it's been said that at 14 pounds babies no longer "need" a night feeding. My 1 year old still gets up twice a night and he's 25 pounds. Just like adults not all babies eat as much at once, and growth spurts can mean more frequent wakings for food. I'm pregnant with number 5 and I've never had a doctor tell me to not feed a hungry child simply because it's 2 am.

That being said, chances are waking her won't get you more sleep. It'll just mean she gets up 3 times instead of 2.

I will tell you what my ped told me when mine were 14 pounds - they don't need the night feeding. They just want the night feeding. They are used to it and will wake because that is what they have learned to do. And they will guzzle it down like there's no tomorrow because it is comforting and they like it. So you can tell that I disagree with your reason for why she does it.

You are putting your baby to bed very early. If you would push up the time to 9:00, you could get her down to one feeding a night. At some point she can go all night without a bottle, if you are willing to let her learn to self-soothe. For now, start changing her bedtime.

Dawn

i am guilty of waking up my son who's 5 months old for his last feeding at 9:30pm....he sleeps up until 6am. it's the best thing i've done! go for it, don't feel guilty, your baby won't suffer...=)

No-not if they're thriving-only if they are underweight

I think a 2 1/2 month old still needs to wake to feed, even if she's 14lbs. I never never never wake a sleeping baby to feed. When she wakes up she will be hungry enough.
L. (mom to 3)

I absolutely never wake a sleeping baby. She's probably going through a growth spurt, hence the extra feedings, and will go back to "normal" afterwards.

wow! I was bamboozled by your comment that at 14lbs she doesn't really need any of the night feedings.....wow! Both of my pediatricians were adamant about "how hungry" both of my sons were at that age/weight. I was told that I had "big boys" & I had to keep up with the feedings.....if they were awake!

Now for the full story: there's 9 years between my sons. We moved in between, & that's how they ended up with different doctors. Both boys were big eaters. Both drs put them on cereal at 1 month....which is completely unheard of in today's world. (& they both survived/thrived.... the cereal was a Godsend!)

If they were sleeping, then NO I did not wake them....unless I was ready to feed them. 7/8pm for her bedtime seems early. What would happen if you moved bedtime back to 9? Would she sleep until 3-5am? Giving you a good night's sleep, & hopefully not need a bottle again until breakfast time. :)

We started a "dream feed" with my daughter around 2 months, which was a feeding every night at 11 that she basically would sleep through and then put her straight back in bed. I'm sure other people have different experiences, but she would then sleep until 5am and then 6am by around 3 months. Eventually we had her sleeping 7 to 7 with the one feed before we went to bed, and it was great. We phased it out at 6 months and she did fine. Wouldn't hurt to try it. Good luck, whatever you end up doing.

I would change my daughter's diaper. I fed her on one side, changed her then fed her on the other side. I would also "bug" her while she ate, lightly tickle her feet, rub her hips briskly. Nothing to hurt her, just enough to keep her awake and actively sucking.

I was completely of the NEVER WAKE THE BABY school. But - we fed my son his 'last' bottle at 11:30 pm - 12 am.

Hello!
When my kids were that age, id wake them before I fell asleep to "top them off". It made me feel like it was going to help them sleep longer...and it did.
So my opinion is yes, do it!
Btw, congratulations on your new baby!!!

What you are describing is called twilight feeding and I would not consider it waking a baby. If it serves the family well to get her to sleep in I think this is a good thing. 5:00 a.m. wake ups are painful.

Every early morning waking put less and less in the bottle or less breast feeding to encourage more self regulation. Do not wake a sleeping baby. This phase will pass in a couple of weeks. Don't unknowingly keep feeding her because you think she's hungry. Most babies are fine after you ignore them for a night. Wait till 3 months. Both my girls never were fed at all during the night. As newborns they slept 12-5am and then they kept adding an hour each week to their sleeping. By 5 weeks they were sleeping 10-12 hours w/o waking. Play around with it. You won't ruin her.

if my now toddler would have slept in the first place, there's no way on earth I would of woke her up for anything! Period.