To wake the newborn or not to wake...?

Question

Some people tell me that a newborn needs to be waken up every few hours to be fed, others say let the baby sleep and wake up to feed when he/she is hungry.
What is your advice based on your experience?

Answer 1

Ley baby sleep. Trust me they wake when they are hungry.
After my daughter was born I breastfed her and then she slept for 6 hours. The nurses freaked out and tried everything to wake to her. Once she was slightly awake they then rammed her on my breast to get her to feed, then she wouldnt suckle so they hand expressed me and fed her with a syringe. I was so not happy or comfortable with them doing that. I knew she was just tired and would wake when she WAS hungry, not when they thoguht she shoul;d be. So after they left I let her sleep and she would wake up and I would feed her with no problems. Then she would go back to sleep. Then the nurses would come in and do the whole thing over again. Beause they never saw her feed they thoguht I wasnt feeding her properly. It was very stressful and annoying.

Once we were home everything was fine. I let her sleep when she wanted to and fed her when she wanted it. I never had any problems feeding her. Sometimes she would sleep for short periods and sometmes for long periods. But I knew she was fine and not sick or anything.
You will know whether or not to wake your baby. If you think they are fine then they are. But if you feel that somerthing is wrong and they are lethargic or non responsive then wake them and if still not responsive take them to the hospital. But if they are just tired and need to sleep. Then let them sleep. It will make things easier for you and them. That way they will find their own sleeping pattern sooner and you wont have any problems with sleep.

Just follow YOUR instinct and YOUR baby. You will know what to do. Good Luck and try and sleep while they do.

Answer 2

The answer depends IMO...

Are you breastfeeding? For your sake (engorgement) and baby's (growth) AND your milk supply's (need lots of stimulation to establish abundant supply), you shouldn't go longer than 3-4 hours at the *most* for the first 2-4 weeks. After the milk has fully come in and established itself, and the baby goes through its first growth spurt or two, things will begin to space out more, but in the early weeks, more frequent is better than less frequent!

Is baby underweight, ill, or gaining poorly? Any signs that baby isn't thriving 100% are a good indication that you should wake for a feeding rather than let them sleep through it.

Letting the baby sleep ONCE for 6 hours probably isn't going to do much harm in the long run in either of these situations, so it's your choice in the end. But overall, newborns need frequent feedings, 'round the clock much as they received their constant nutrition in the womb from the umbilical cord. An occasional long nap shouldn't necessarily be disrupted, but you might not want a long nap during the day to begin with, lest the baby sleep poorly that night....

I guess when it boils down, I'm not a big proponent of letting sleeping babes lie... :shrugs:

Congrats & best of luck!

Answer 3

I am torn on this...but after 3 kids of my own and a slew of others that just use my home on temporary basis, add in living all over the world, here is my advice. Do what you think is best for you. I do not wake my kids to eat. I do wake them If I feel that they have been asleep to long and I want them to sleep at night. Part of being a mom is getting up and feeding whenever it is requested. that being said a schedule is a great thing to have as fast as you can...if for no other reason, then to prepare yourself for the next feeding.Good luck, and remember to listen to your heart as it will not lead you down the wrong path...and there is always trying it and changing your mind and doing something different.

Answer 4

DO NOT WAKE A SLEEPING BABY. My daughter slept through from the time we brought her home. She would take a 6 ounce bottle between 10:00 -11:00pm and would sleep until about 6:30 am when her father would get up, she would take a 6 ounce bottle then and would "snack" the rest of the day on 3-4 ounce bottles. She gained weight, she grew she thrived and I got a full nights sleep! BTW I didn't breastfeed.

Answer 5

I think this depends on your personal situation. There are certain things to consider, such as:

1. Your baby's weight -- if you have a really small baby, you will need to maybe wake it up during the night to eat (Not always the case, but MAYBE, you have to use your own discretion here)

2. Are you breastfeeding? If you are, are you having any feeding problems that causes your baby not to eat as much as it should? Does your baby wake up during the day to eat? Or do you have to wake him/her, then?

3. Is your baby jaundice? If your baby is jaundice, it needs to eat more often. I'm not sure why, but I was told this when my baby was jaundice.

The reason I say these things is because if you aren't having any problems with breastfeeding or you are bottle feeding a healthy newborn, I would say it is safe to let him/her sleep and let him/her wake up on his/her own time.

If your baby is small or premature, I would wake him/her up to feed him her.

If your baby doesn't wake up on his/her own even during the day to eat, I would wake him/her up to eat every few hours, even at night.

When my 10 week old daughter was born, she had problems latching on. When we first got home, she had gotten so weak from not eating enough, that I did have to wake her up, otherwise she wouldn't wake up to eat. If she hadn't had these problems, though, I would have let her sleep through the night.

I hope I haven't confused you more than helping. I guess what I am saying is that it depends on your situation, and you have to use your own discretion.

Answer 6

I'm a mum of four, the youngest 4 months and still breastfeeding, so from my experience i have found if they don't feed enough during the day they are going to make up for it during the night!!!!! i never let any of my babes go longer than 3-4 hours during the day,plenty of feeds between 6pm and 10 pm at night. They have all slept through the night feed (1 or 2 am) from about 2 months. good luck.

Answer 7

All my famelly alwase said not to wake a baby to feed or annything affter awhill the baby wont even wake up get a dipper change if you let them fall asleep into noisy backround i allwase done that with my 2 baby boys and i never had a hard time and i never woke them for night feedings they alwas woke up when it was time for them to feed if they wer hungrey enouf nothing's worng with them they are healty as can be they are now 10 and 9 years old it didend make them sick or annything so that is my tought on this

Answer 8

When my daughter was born she lost a lot of weight and so my midwives and doctors made sure i woke her every three hours for a feed, if she didn't wake up first, this quickly became very tiring. When she started gaining weight they said feed her on demand which means when they ask you feed, much easier, she quickly came into a routine of asking roughly every four hours during the day and then only twice at night. Much easier. Do what you feel.

Answer 9

If you are breastfeeding you are supposed to wake the baby up every 3 hrs.
For formula fed baby they can go up to 4 hrs without eating.

Answer 10

LET THE BABY SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!! A newborn baby knows when it is hungry, wet, or tired! They will tell you if they are bothered!!!! The first time my daughter slept 7 hrs. in a row...i freakded out and called my mom and asked her if i should wake her up and she said "HELL NO!!!" LOL...this will teach them to sleep through the night! My daughter has been sleeping through the night since she was 1 month old!!