Wake My 2 Week Old for Feedings in the Night?

Hi K. My daughter had a baby boy on the 3rd of November and she's also breast feeding him, and his peditrican told her to wake him up to feed him. So do as her peditrican tells you because he knows what's best.

if she's not eating well why wake her. let her go for 3 days without waking her and observe her observe her eating and sleeping habits. Than proceed

K.:

if she is gaining and growing appropriately I do not think there is any reason to wake her at night,

warmly,

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

My daughter slept through the night from the first day home (I breastfeed). She slept curled up against my belly. I wouldn't believe it possible but it did happen to me. :) I view 10 p.m. to 4-5 a.m. as sleeping through the night. I would only wake your baby if she didn't regain weight like she should.

Hi K. M
1st of all Congradulations on your Daughter!!!
welcome to the most wonderful journey of your life!!!
Motherhood is the Biggest Blessing.
Now that your sweetie pie is almost back to her good weight, I would not wake her she will wake when she is hungry and ready to eat. Let her sleep not only does she need it so do you!! If her weight should start to change then that is differnt. I doubt it will though.
Best Wishes to you and your family for a Happy, Healthy New Year!!
Valere

congratulations on the new baby! I wouldn't wake her. When she's hungry she'll let you know. Plus I'm sure you could use a few extra hours of sleep :)

Didn't read the other posts, but your baby is a good size and I would not wake her during the night if she is sleeping. I have 3 children, all dif sizes, and did not wake any and all 3 are good sleepers through the night. They never got up in the nioght to east after 4 mos old. My sister woke her baby after 3-4 hours and she is now nearly 2 and gets up to eat! Don't wake a sleeping baby, when she is hungry she will let you know. Happy Holidays!

if your child is eating well, gaining weight and having wet diapers I would let them get a good stretch in at night. I used to wake my daughter and well she slept better then than she did for a year after that, so enjoy it while you can!!!

Hi K.,
Congrats on your new little girl. And way to go for breastfeeding. If I were you, I would not wake her. She"ll eat when she's hungry.
S.

Hi K.! Congrats to you and your husband on your gift from God! Although all 4 of my children are now grown, I do remember the joy of nursing. I personally did not wake my babies to nurse. As a matter of fact, they were only nursed as I was a stay at home mom. I think your baby's extended sleep periods attest to the quality of your milk and her satisfaction. Just keep an eye on her to make sure she's breathing properly and get you some rest while she is resting as she will be famished when she wakes and will need your undivided attention. Just another tip, my mom advised me to always be 'present' while nursing, i.e. no phone conversations, engrossed in t.v. etc. God bless and again CONGRATS! Tracey B

If she's gaining weight fine now, don't wake her. You don't want to create a habit of her waking. Before long, this will happen, then you will have to worry about breaking this habit. If she is a healthy weight now & growing appropriately, which it sounds like she is, do not wake her. Let her sleep & as other people said, she will wake when she's hungry! Night waking is a hard habit to stop. Good luck & congrats!

T.
www.mydiaperbabycakes.com

K.! Sorry, I can't weigh in with my opinion on whether or not to wake little Rose for a meal since my kids never slept more than a couple hours at a time when they were that young. But I did want to say CONGRATULATIONS! I remember reading your post about possibly being induced. I hope your labor wasn't too traumatic. Sounds like all is well, and I'm glad to hear you are enjoying motherhood!

Congratulations on the new baby! Just in time to make the holidays even more special for you and your family!

Our baby never lost any weight, but at our 2 week check-up she was growing faster then she was putting on weight. Our doctor also recommended we wake her to feed her and made us come in for a 4 week check-up to make sure she was gaining enough weight so there wouldn't be a problem at the 2 month check-up.

Our baby was (and still is) such a great sleeper (she came home sleeping most of the night, which caused the lack of weight gain problem). Before we had her, said we'd never wake a baby to feed, but when it came down to it - we listened to our doctor.

The funny thing, during these extra night-time feedings, she never really woke up. We got her out of her bassinett without waking her, changed her diaper, then gave her a bottle. Because she never really woke up, the feedings were quick and we were able to put her back to bed right away. The nice part, in the morning she wasn't starving and never woke up screaming. I loved the sleep-eating. These extra feeding don't last long, just a few weeks until they gain an appropriate amount of weight.

I recently learned that 12 lbs is the magic number to where the babies start to sleep most of the night. Ours daughter is 3 months now and has been averaging 8 hours or more.

Good Luck on your decision! Happy New Year!

Ask your doctor if her weight is okay, then let her try to sleep longer intervals during the night. Keep feeding her every three hours during the day though.

Yes, you should continue for at least another 2 weeks (or what ever your pediatrician recommends). Our daughter was the same way - could sleep through an avalanche! We also had to wake her to make sure she ate often enough and people also told us we were nuts! Most people have babies that if you wake them, it takes a long time to get them to sleep afterwards (like our 4 month old son who is polar opposite of our daughter). When you have a "good sleeper", they go right back to sleep so it is not an issue. Yes, at that stage they really do need to eat every 2-3 hours. Count your blessings that you rally do have an angel who will sleep, or eat when you want her to! Congrats and enjoy the "ride" of having a child...it is better than Disneyland!

If this baby was very small, I'd say yes, wake her. But she's over 8lbs. My first two kids were back to birthweight by their 1 week appt. My 3rd was a little slower to gain and it took her a good month to get back to birthweight. I did wake her to feed her, but it was really no big deal since we were co-sleeping anyway. At that weight, I would not wake her. My first born slept 8 hrs straight his first night home from the hospital!

Hi K.,
Congratulations on your baby girl. My son was born early almost 4 weeks (5lb 10 oz) and his Ped recommended me to "dreamfeed" him. We did it just for the first 2 months and it worked wonders. I would just pick him up and he would nurse still asleep, no fuss or crying. I wouldn't go beyond 2 months or maybe even less if she is gaining weight because this could backfire: she may actually get used to eat at night and she may wake you up to feed (just our of a habit not real hunger).
I would also try to provide her a calm setting to nurse so she focuses on the feed (this will come handy when she starts to turn her head). Last but not least don't rush to switch breasts, let her get most out of one side and the switch to the other, this way she will get the most amount of caloric milk (which comes in the end of each feed). I used the Itzbeen timer that helped me keep track of the length of the feedings.
Good luck, happy new year and blessings to your family!

Every 2-3 hours during the night is a bit much if she is gaining weight and nursing is going well in general (lots of gulping). I would at least cut it back to every 4 hours. I didn't wake my son at night (thinking demand knew best) and it really affected my milk supply. Being a first time breastfeeder - I didn't know any better. If I had to do it again, I would wake or pump every 4 hours.

The first month is really important in helping to establish your milk supply. Some women's milk supply is more sensitive than others. Mine is very sensitive to my son sleeping for long periods of time, so I either nurse or pump every 4 to 5 hours (however I can make it for one 6 hour stretch a night, but chose not to). My son is now 6 months and is exclusively breastfed and I feel like had we gone with nature (letting him sleep/not pumping), my supply would be long dried up by now.

Hi K.,

As long as she continues to gain weight and is eating 10-12 times per day, it's certainly not a problem for her to sleep 4 hr. chunks at night. I'm not sure I'd let her go much more than that until she's a bit older and you're sure that she's gaining weight. But if she's not fussy and eats enough and is gaining weight, maybe sleeping longer chunks is a good thing.

Best,
R.

I personally would not wake my baby at night as long as she was beginning to gain weight again. Get a few hours of sleep while you can!

I agree...don't wake a sleeping baby! you are doing good and Rose is gaining her weight back.
Congrats!

J.

Congrats!! If she is gaining weight and doing well during the day then why wake her? You are blessed that she is sleeping so enjoy and sleep also. I hope that my baby sleeps through the night right away!

You're so lucky! No. I wouldn't wake her either. My first was just like that. I would get all worried cause when I'd try to wake him during the night to feed he would just want to sleep. Our pediatrician told us to be thankful for having such a good sleeper and if he was eating 8-10 times a day (as an infant) that it was fine to let him sleep. Besides, the fact that your little girl is nearly back to her birth weight is an excellent sign. Sound like she's getting plenty during the day and doesn't have the need right now to feed at night. Take her direction on this for now. Good luck!

My milk never came in and she dropped from 8.7 to 7.11 within the first few days. My OB (at DuPage Medical Group) told us to let her sleep at night (after like 10 or 11 pm) and make sure she was eating every 2-3 hours during the day. We did that and never had an issue with confusing day and night or anything.

Good luck!

Congrats!!! Don't wake her unless she starts loosing wieght or not gaining at all. She will make up her feedings during the day. She must need her sleep or she would be waking up. If it's one thing I have learned over the past 6-1/2 years with my two girls is this: Ped. Doctors do not know everything and different Dr's will tell you two different answers to the same question. Use your mommy instinct and you will do just fine. :)

My philosophy was always don't wake a sleeping baby... if she is hungry she will wake up to eat! Get your sleep and feel lucky that she's a good eater and sleeper. Enjoy every second as it goes by so fast! Congratulations!!!!

I would wait until she is at least a few months before letting her sleep longer than 3 hours for feedings. Breastfed babies should be fed every 2 to 3 hours. Formula fed babies every 3 to 4 hours. All babies don't know when they are hungry anyway. As parents, we also have to pray for wisdom because we hear so many different opinions also. I hope you find a routine that will work best for your baby.

We never did wake my son, even though he was 3 weeks early. He gained plenty anyway, eating and sleeping a ton the first month. It sounds like she's a good weight now, so I wouldn't do it. She's old enough to wake you if she's really hungry. You wouldn't want her to get in the habit! Enjoy your daughter and your sleep.

keep a close watch on her weight as you increase her time between night feedings. If she doesn't lose or stop gaining when you increase it then she is fine. If she stops gaining or starts losing then go back to closer together times.

You have to have her weight tell you the answer, not some doctors or women on the internet.

I noticed a few mentioned that she will let you know when she is hungry. Not all babies do. My older daughter, Tara, didn't have the hunger mechanism. She NEVER complained about being hungry until she was almost 4 YEARS old. She was a solid nurser as a newborn, but she did it for the sucking not the nourishment. She would have been just as happy with a paci and no milk. So use the weight as the guide. When Tara was a toddler she would lose weight if we let her sleep through the night without eating. I had doctors orders to feed her in the middle of the night because of this, so I know what I am talking about.