To wake a new born baby up for Feds or not?

[Melisastar]

My baby is 2 weeks old and he sleeps so much. The last couple if days he has gone 4/5 hours without waking up for a fed so have been waking him up for feeds. People have said not to wake a sleepin baby he will wake when he wants something? Any one agree or have advice wot to do??

[Hidden]

I wouldn't wake him for that length of time. He will wake when he's hungry. I wouldn't allow him to go over 6 hours without a feed. But you may just have a snoozy baby who isn't massively hungry so he'll eat when he needs it x

[Neska]

My daughter was sleeping 4-5 hours when she was born.i've been told to feed on demand but i was scared she might be hungry if she sleeps this long. if she went longer than 5hours then i gently touched her face so she'd slowly started moving and waking up.then she was ready for her milk.now when she's almost 5months old she lets me know when she's hungry.i know now she wouldnt starve and she'd simply wake up. But when you a new mummy you worry all the time

[Melisastar]

I asked mid wife she said wouldn't let him go over 5 during day but k to leave 6 at night. Where he sleepin so much in

Day he has a feed half 10/11 then is awake after and we struggle then to settle for bed. Xxx

[Hidden in reply to Melisastar]

My boy didn't go to bed til after a late feed of 11/12 most nights when he was really little. As he has got older, he would fall asleep by half 10 instead of needing the later bottle. It's really part and parcel of having a diddy baby. They get there by themselves most of the time. As he is so new, he's still learning his day and night. If you make sure to keep night time feeds and stuff mellow and maybe not too brightly lit and make daytime feeds different, they'll start to get it and you'll notice them changing. They can't see very well at this age so don't do too much, as they start to see more, they'll feel more involved and want to stay awake to be nosy lol x

[Hidden]

My daughter ( now just over 2months old) was very sleepy in the beginning too

She would easily sleep for 4 & a half to 5'hours between feeds but now as she got bigger she has been waking every 3 to 3 & a half so I believe babies just fall into the routine the more they grow really

x

[Hidden]

I just let him tell me when he was hungry..I never woke him for anything he will soon tell u. As fattyboom says make the day feeds different from night. .if need b b more interactive. .sing and in a well lit or open space. My son knows now when we go upstairs at 8.30ish tht its bed time.. it will soon happen the more he can see or do I wud say use those hours to sleep lol xx

[Mum2bee]

If the midwife is happy with his weight then I think it's ok not to wake the baby as he will demand food when he wants it, but if he needs to put weight on then better to make sure he's fed every 3-4 hours.

My one lost 10% of his body weight after he was born and it took 3 weeks to get back to birth weight again.

[Mrscolumbo]

Hiya,

It's a bit tricky really. If he's healthy and gaining weight- I guess it's ok to let him sleep. My little girl was sleepy but not feeding well and jaundiced so I had to wake her every 3 hours. Double check with your health visitor/ midwife. Sorry if this is cheeky but you're kinda lucky- means you can sleep too! Good luck!

[Armywag]

funny how you get so much conflicting advise! My LO was in scbu for the first two weeks of her life so was being fed at regular intervils. I was told when I brought her home never to let her go over 5 hours without a feed. If she didn't wake naturally, then to just remove her blankets - this would bring her round. I was also told not to let her 'snack' between feeds. If she didn't finish her bottle (or take most of it) and woke for another feed within 2.5 hours, then to try push her out to at least 3 hours. This was by both the NNU nurse (instead of community mw) and my HV.

Mine is now 10 weeks old and I have got into my own routine now the NNU nurse is no longer visiting and the HV is down to monthly visits. As long as the baby is gaining weight and following the same centile line, then feed your baby when they want feeding rather than dead on 3 hours but I wouldn't recommend leaving more than 5 hours between feeds for that age.