Still Need to Wake up a 5-1/2 Week Old During the Night to Feed?

I have a six year old and a 14 mos. old. Both of my kids slept through the night early. If they don't wake up don't wake them...hard habbits are hard to break. I work full time too:) If you find they are waking up all of a sudden before bed time do a table spoon of cereal (that is in not much)-this doesn't usually happen untill aroud 3-4 mos. anyway...I also had kids that I had to supplemenet with becuse they ate a TON! I went with what my kids needed and they are happy and healthy! My kids ate about 6-8 ounces by two months (and slept through the night:). Again, I went with the flow:)

L.

ooh, I would not wake him. Just wait until he wakes up on his own. If he gets that hungry, he will let you know! Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

I am with the others.....except for one thing......not NEVER wake a sleeping baby. I completely agree that unless he is not gaining, or underweight now....there is NO reason to wake him at night. But we did a "different" thought process than some of the other moms. We followed the Baby Wise books which is a waking your baby every 3 hours during the day to feed (obviously gradually increasing with age) to "teach" the baby to sleep during the night. Basically it allows the baby to get the "required" amount of food and stimulation during the day, so they don't feel hungry/playful at night. My oldest slept through the night at 3 1/2 weeks and my youngest at 5 weeks. Not that I'm saying this is what will work for every family, it's just that it differs from some of the others in the sense that it is parent demand feeding, instead of baby demand feeding--which for some (like myself) made it easier because I knew when my children were going to eat. By the time my son started solids he was eating at 8, noon, 4 and 8. I had a nurse come to my home a few days after I brought my 1st home (had a bad tear from delivery-so they ordered a follow/up) and when I told her I was not waking him at night to feed she was "appalled" but then she saw that he had gained a beautiful amount of weight and she apologized. It's just a different way to do it and for us it worked.....but what I'm saying is the hospitals done know your baby--YOU know your baby....if your baby is healthy and gaining.....let him sleep :o) Congrats!!!!!

No. When I had my first son, they told me this at the hospital and I made sure he ate every three hours. When I had my second at a different hospital, they told me from night one that he should dictate his feeding schedule, as long as he was gaining weight and was healthy. So, I let him and I am glad I did. He ate every 6-8 hours and by week 4 he was sleeping 9 hours straight at night and was fine. As long as your little one is gaining weight and is healthy I would let him dictate his feeding schedule. Enjoy the extra sleep, as you will need it once you go back to work. If your son is hungry, he will eat. And, at 6 weeks he will know when he is hungry.

I would say if he is eating whenever then let him sleep. Was he ill or a premature baby? I ask because I did have a premature baby and they said that at first.Once he was gaining weight it did not matter he started setting his own eating schedule. But if your son is gaining weight and wants to eat when he wakes up, for goodness sake get some sleep too girl!

No, he's fine. I am on my second kid, who is 2 mos old this week, and she will sleep 7 hours at night. Awesome. She's fine, and yours will be too. My brother started sleeping through the night on his first night, from day one in the hospital. He was fine. Dont worry, enjoy your sleep! :-)

I had to do the same thing with my daughter because she didn't gain as much as they had liked. But I only had to do it for about 4 weeks. I took her in at least every week to have her weighed and they saw that she was making progress and then they just had me feed her often during the day but let her wake on her own at night. I would have his weight checked and make sure he's on the right track but I'm sure by now, he will wake if he needs to feed.

Hi!
I had a premie and did wake her at night--every 3 hours to eat at the beginning as they told me. After she gained enough weight I started feeding her every 3 hours during the day--even waking her to eat then, but them let he sleep at night until she woke up. That way I made sure she ate enough during the day, but we could all sleep a little longer at night. Having to wake at night like that gets to be too much!

L.

I say, No. As long as he is gaining weight appropriately, I wouldn't worry. My daughter slept 6 hours at a time at that age and 8 hours a night by 8 weeks (i was not so blessed with my second child) and she was and is totally fine. Just make sure he's getting as much formula/breastmilk as he wants at his first feeding and keep him well fed throughout the day and rest easy yourself. I believe if you keep waking them you disrupt their natural instincts/abilities to put themselves to sleep and stay sleeping.

NEVER wake a baby up to eat....they will wake when they're hungry! Waking them up is never a good idea...I know how you feel though. I was constantly worried and checking on my girls when they were infants...but really...don't wake them!

Simply put, my mother said "never wake a sleeping baby" because you want to establish good sleep patterns. From day 1 I let my daughter sleep and fed her when she woke. She was a good size and never had problems gaining weight, so I wasn't too worried. I say go with your "gut" feelings. Only wake him if you think it is absolutely necessary!

It's been a while since I dealt with night feedings, but I always followed the advice, "Don't wake a sleeping baby." Unless your son is underweight or has medical issues for which you are under specific feeding orders, GO FOR IT and try to get more than 4 hours of sleep in a row! Maybe you'll be one of those lucky Moms whose baby sleeps for longer stretches during the night. Good Luck!!

Never wake a sleeping baby and they will wake when they are hungry. I have three kids, the only one I had to that with was my last one and that is becasue she was a premie, she was 5 weeks early.after she started eating and gaining weight I didnt have to wake her. I would say I didnt for a couple weeks to about a month. If his weight gain is good, I would let him deicde when he hungry. Get sleep when you can

Hi L.,

No, you do not need to wake your son up to eat. I have 5 children and I never did wake them, not even in the hospital. If they will sleep through the night, that is great. If you wake them, then they will think they will adjust to that schedule but if you let them sleep then they will adjust to the sleeping schedule. If my children were not up by 9am then I would wake them but other wise I let them sleep. It will not hurt them.
Good luck,
J. J.

Hello,

Is your son underweight? If so, then I would consult your doctor to find out at what weight may be "safe". Once you get your son used to waking up all the time to eat, he will internally think that ever 4 hours he will need to wake up, even if not hungry.

Talk to your Doc. If you say he was way to small...ask

I'm also on the don't wake a sleeping baby boat. I received the same advice in the hospital and didn't heed it from day one. My girls were all fine, gained weight appropriately, and were all completely sleeping through the night by 6 weeks old (at least 10-12 hours) and still have great sleeping habits. Hopefully my method will work for #4 on the way! Unless he was a preemie or is not gaining weight, let him sleep and get some rest yourself!!

what does his pediatrician say?? usually no but I dont know if there are special circumstances. A baby needs 24- 40 oz a day. Is he getting a lot of oz during the day?? Does he have plenty of wet diapers and seems to be growing??