Should I Wake a Sleeping Baby?

That is a tough one. I personally would not wake her, how is she going to learn to sleep through the night if you don't let her. Why chance waking her becoming part of her schedule. They don't stay on the same schedule for long - once you get used to it - its time for them to change it up a bit :)

Good luck!

I would let the baby sleep. If you wake up and are uncomfortably, full, it's a great time to pump. That way you'll have milk in the freezer for one of those times when you have to be away and the baby is hungry. Breast milk is best, and would be more apt to be welcomed from the bottle than strange tasting formula while Mommy is away.

:-)

What I have found and also what I have been told is that she will wake up when she is hungry. If you try and wake her to feed her she might not want to go back to bed. I know a lot of moms want to keep their child on a routine. I was the opposite. When my son's were younger I would feed them before bed and after about 3 months, the same as yours, they would sleep through the night. Once in a while they would walk up to be fed, but most of the time they would sleep through the night and wake up ready to eat in the morning. I hope it works out for you.

I was always tought with your milk supply either you use it or you loose it. in other words if you cut out one feeding your body will make less so you dont have that feeding. at 3 months babys go back to sleep sooo easy. If my baby was sleeping before me i would always wake them just enough to nurse then put them back to bed, if you dont want to do that i would say to pump you dont want to go to bed full then sleep all night like that, you could leak all over the place (which is not fun) or if you sleep putting too much pressure on your breast you could get a clogged milk duct which could lead to mastitus which is very painful.

Hi Becky,

With my first daughter I used a "dream bottle" at night and it worked like a charm...basically, exactly what you did. She was a great sleeper and I didn't want to break the good habit that started very early - she slept through the night at 6 weeks. I Didn't wake her up fully, let her nurse/bottle and put her back down. The nights that I had a bottle ready my husband would do the dream feed so I could go to sleep earlier. I plan on doing the same thing with my second which will be here in a couple of weeks and I am hoping it will work just as well!

Good luck!
R.

they don't have to be wide awake to nurse but your breasts I would definitely offer to nurse as I wouldn't want to see you become engorged during the nite. You can just tickle her nose/mouth with your nipple if you feel your milk letting down in the middle of the nite. She's still little yet and it's a good thing for her to still be nursing at this age during the nite.

Becky,
I think if she's sleeping, she's fine. She'll probably start eating more ounces or an extra time during the day to get the food she needs to make up for missing a feeding. Personally, I would not wake her to feed her. If she's hungry, she'll wake you up! :)

The only reason to wake a sleeping baby is if the house is on fire. : ) If your baby were hungry, she'd let you know. If she's content, she's content.

I would start adjusting her routine so she can go to bed earlier. I just started to do the same thing with my daughter who is 12 weeks old. She now sleeps 8:00 to 7:30, it is glorious!

My daughter started sleeping through the night at around 8-9 weeks old and never looked back. But I remember having your same question! I think I woke her once or twice and then thought, what am I doing? Let her sleep! I used those night time feedings as a time to pump and store my milk so it wouldn't dry up. Then I slowly weened those pumping sessions down and acclamated my body to her new routine. All went well and I would imagine it will for you too! Hope this helps.

As a general rule, I do not wake a sleeping baby, especially during the night. If you wake her, you will teach her that she's supposed to be fed after she goes to sleep. If she's gaining weight and otherwise healthy, she probably doesn't "need" the 9 PM feeding. Consult with your pediatrican to make sure. I know with my son and daughter, by 3 months they could sleep 9-10 hours at night. It was kind of uncomfortable for me if they skipped the last feeding because I was a bit engorged by morning. But sometimes it happened and I would let them sleep.
Good Luck.

I did the same thing you did when my boys were that age. I would "wake them" (they didn't really wake up) to nurse right before I went to bed in order to maximize their nighttime sleeping. It worked fine & eventually they didn't need it anymore. My youngest is 6 months now & no longer needs that feeding.

Becky, I'd let her sleep. Epress your breastmilk and store it for use at another time. She may be developing a good sleep routine here and you really don't want to teach her to wake up to nurse even when she doesn't seem to need to. Good Luck!! You sound like a really good mom!!

i do the same thing. i would rather wake them up, change their diaper, feed and have them good for the night. that way they get a better sleep as well. i know people say not to wake a sleeping baby, but if it's what's best for you than do it! just so you know you're not alone..people don't understand when i say i woke them up to feed or change them! but it just seems to work out better that way. do what works best! have fun!

It's been a while for me but back when i was trying to get my first to sleep, i read several books that suggested exactly waht you are doing. not necessarily waking them up totally but, feeding and changing them as gently and quietly as you can when they are sleeping to lengthen their sleep cycle. Just like you might turn over in bed and adjust your covers without totally waking up, just getting more comfy.
good luck

go with the flow. it seems like the baby knows what she needs.

During the day I would say yes but at night, if the baby sleeps let her sleep. As long as she is gaining the weight she needs to and getting her calories for the day, let her sleep. You need the rest and she needs to learn day/night routine. That's just my opinion but you need to always do what works best for you and your family. Take all the advice with a grain of salt and then do what your gut tells you to. I hope that helps. ;-)

I did the same thing MANY times! However horrible it sounds, I woke my sleeping baby to nurse again before I went to bed so that I could have a longer stint of sound slumber. I don't think it makes any impact on the babe as long as she's able to drift off again once finished. If it worked...try it again.

Hi Becky!
My daughter is 3 months old now and has been sleeping through the night (mostly) since she was two months old. I let her sleep. She goes in around 10pm and wakes up around 9am. I breastfeed as well and I woke up and pumped a few mornings because it was painful. I would try to last a lillte longer each day before pumping so my body would adjust 4am, 5am, 6am..., and my body seems to have adjusted to this routine and I rarely have to pump in the mornings.

She is growing, gaining weight, and has a lot of wet diapers. She seems happy and alert when she is awake, and seems to be developing just fine. She also naps during the day. My ped says to feed her every four hours, but since she is sleeping through the night, I feed her when she's hungry, about every 3 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. It makes me feel like I am making up for the feedings she misses while she sleeps. I was nervous too, I thought she wasn't getting enough, but like others have said, she'll let you know!!!

I would keep her on more of a routine. Keep her awake until 9:30 so it doesn't happen again.