When Does a Newborn Begin Waking up When Hungry?

My son almost never woke up, for a bottle. We were very lucky and got a great sleeper. The MOST he ever woke up as a newborn was twice. At 4.5 weeks, he stopped waking up, at all. So many people told me I need to wake him up to feed. My pediatrician told me not to. My son was gaining weight properly. He said there is no need to wake and feed a baby, if they are gaining weight and seem happy. I never did wake him and he's great now!!

I didn't breastfeed, but my friend who has an awesome sleeper wakes up and pumps. She has to , or it's very painful.

As soon as they're born...

Seriously -I have MAJOR pet peeves with nurses and everyone else who wake up new mothers or think we should be waking up to feed! When that baby gets hungry -he/she will wake up and let you know it! Only in failure to thrive/extreme situations should you be hopping up constantly and waking up a baby. In my opinion, you do NOT wake a sleeping baby!

i never woke my daughter up to eat. babies know when they are hungry and will cry for you. my daughter and 1 month old slept 11 hours straight. i would wake up check her pump and go back to sleep. every 3 hours i did this and not once did she stir.

Two of my 4 kids rarely cried when they were hungry, even as newborns. I'd have to watch the clock and pick them up to feed them. When they got a bit older, I let them sleep through the night, but still made sure they ate during the day.

If she's gaining weight, you're doing something right! :)

So long as she has 6-8 wet diapers a day she should be fine. As far as breast hardness a breast pump is very helpful. Let your little girl sleep. She'll let you know if she's hungry.

My pediatrician told us that as long as he was gaining weight... let a sleeping baby sleep! I would set my alarm at night to wake-up about half-way through the night to pump b/c it was really painful not to. Some nights, I would go to the kitchen and flip through a magazine and other, just "hook" up to the machine and lay there until I felt empty.

If she's sleeping and eating enough throughout the day, don't worry too much about the "ratios". Check with the pediatrician about it, but my guess is if she's growing there's nothing to worry about!

its ok if its working for you but when my babies where newborns i would wake them up every 2 hours to nurse during the day and every 3 hours at night breastmilk goes thru them more easily than formula so breastfed babies need to eat more often i as told in the hospitalwhen they were born that if they didnt wake up for me to wake them up good luck

As long as you are feeding her on-demand.... it should be fine.
She is very young... and just nurse her whenever she wakes.
Do not, at this young age, try to 'schedule' her nursings.
Your breasts, will adapt... to your baby....

For me, I always nursed from BOTH breasts, each session. That is what my Doctor told me to do as well as my kids' Pediatrician.

Bear in mind that at any growth-spurt period, a baby will feed more and need more intake, and they will wake more. Babies also do what is called "cluster feeding"... in which this means they will feed even every single hour.... it is NORMAL.

Just always nurse, on-demand..... and your baby will get what she needs.

all the best,
Susan

Trust your instincts. If she is getting enough milk now then she will most likely be getting enough milk if you let her sleep. She will wake up when she is hungry. I let my kids sleep from day 1 - they woke me up when they needed me, and unless there is a medical reason stating otherwise then you should both enjoy your sleep.

A really old school pedi told me once that they can sleep for as many hours as they weigh in pounds. So your 7-pounder can sleep for 7 hours before you need wake her to feed.

Growing takes an awful lot of work. She'll wake when she's hungry. Let her sleep (and if you're worried about being engorged, pump. But your bodies will sync in just a little bit).

Good luck!

I know how you feel!!! The first night my daughter slept the night I woke up with painful rock breast!!
I feed on demand. I also learned even if she's asleep you can still feed her. Try giving her ur breast she may only feed for a little bit- but every little bit counts. Also if ur breast is full pump some before feeding her. When I would feed while engorged my daughter would set off springs & choke herself (sorry if tmi :))

I think at this age they still need to eat every two hours.

My daughter is 7months today!!! I feed her about every 3 to 3 1/2 hrs after i get off of work(I work FT). during the day she eats her food & drinks her (frozen) b.milk

I agree with many of the posters to not wake your daughter up right now. When my son was born, I made sure to nurse him every 2-3 hours, day or night, even if it meant waking him up. However, I only did this for the first week. Once I knew he had started gaining wait and was okay, I let him determine his feeding schedule. If you wake up engorged and in pain, because it is very painful and uncomfortable, definitely pump, because if you don't you can develop mastisis or decrease your milk supply. I found that my son slept the most in his first month of life - he was exhausted from the birth and from all the rapid growing he had to do. Then, he started sleeping less and eating more. She'll tell you what she needs. Just keep up the great work, mom!