Sleepy Three Week Old Breastfed Newborn

Hi M.! COngrats on the new baby! Try stripping him down to his diaper. This may make him a little mad, but if he is warm and cozy--and already sleeping--then he's going to want to continue sleeping. If he's a little chilly then he'll be a little more "awake" to latch on and eat. I think it's great you are waking him up to eat--they need a feeding schedule as early as possible!!! Good Luck!

I had the same problem with my little girl, now 5 months old. She slept so much at the beginning that I started wondering if there was anything wrong with her. She was just fine. Some babies just sleep more than others. The doctor told me the same thing as yours. He just likes his sleep.

I could have written your post except my son was 6 lb 11 oz at birth! My peditrician told me to just keep trying to wake him up because he was not gaining quickly enough. But, if your baby is back up to his birth weight by the 2 week checkup... he should be fine if the pee and poop diapers are ok. FYI, my pedi does free weight checks. You may want to ask. I was up there about every 3 days because I was so freaked out. I think that the night stretch he is going is ok if I remember correctly. My son is a healtly 11 month old now.

I personally felt it was very important to wake up my son at this age to ensure he got a good start at breastfeeding. Unless, your pediatrician was also a nursing mother at one point, I would not follow their advice. You don't mention whether he was a smaller or larger baby, but being birth weight at the two weeks is considered okay, BUT I would still make sure that you wake him up every 2 hours during the day and only let him go for one 4 or 5 hour stretch at nite until you're certain he's thriving. If there is a potential problem, you can easily avoid it by following this approach. If you wait two more weeks, it will be much harder. I followed this approach with my second son until he was two months and was gaining great. This was because of extreme difficulties with my first who was just 2 ounces below birth weight at the two week and still hadn't gained at the 4 week. It was very hard to build my milk supply at that point as it was necessary to supplement with formula.

Hi, M....
I breastfed all 3 of my children. My first was very sleepy in the beginning, too. He's now turning 7 and healthy as can be!!! It's nerve-racking. You just want to know for sure that they're gaining weight and okay. My advice to you is to be sure to keep your milk supply up. You should be feeding or pumping every 2-3 hours for sure. If my son didn't respond to my sometimes extreme efforts (bathing, taking him outside, undressing him, laying him down with no swaddle) to wake him, I pumped. The shop "A Mother's Gift" at Plano Presbyterian Hospital is a fantastic resource. The lactation consultants there are wonderful and they have a scale where you can weigh your baby. Hang in there!

If he is pooping and peeing and gaining weight...these 3 things are what is important. If he wasn't gaining enough, I'd be concerned. Some babies need more sleep and some are more efficient nursers. :-) As long as he is doing those 3, I'd say let him sleep!

M.

We definitely had this issue in the beginning as well. We did everything we could think of to wake him up to eat. I loved Janet's idea of washing the baby's hair. Hadn't thought of that one. :) Our doctor was very adamant that we wake the baby to eat to get a good start. Later after the baby was a couple of months old and on a better schedule we fed on demand at night. He still loves to sleep. Maybe yours will be a good sleeper as well. Enjoy these precious days they go by so incredibly fast. Good luck.

I would let him sleep if possible. My youngest did the same thing and was sleeping through the night at 3 wks. My pedi always told me never to wake up a sleeping baby for feedings especially if he is gaining okay, peeing and pooping ok.

Babies sleep a lot for the first few months so cherish every moment.
Hope this helps. I wouldn't be concern unless your pedi is.
M.

I would just keep at it and don't stress!! I'v had one or two like that, I try to nurse every couple hrs during the day, and on demand at night. If they don't wake up try things like taking clothes off, changing diaper etc (I've even washed their hair to wake them up!!). If that doesn't work wait 30 min and try again. If you let them go to long in the day they will start waking up at night because they need the calories.