Do you wake sleeping newborn to feed?

[aliceinwonderland]

I am hoping someone can help me... my 16 day old daughter is sleeping 4-6 hours at a time, three times a day. Not that I am complaining, but should I wake her to feed? She is formula/EBM fed at this point (still working on BF) drinking a total of anywhere from 100mls - 125mls, 6-8 times a day, She was born 4.54 kilos and is now 4.72 kilos so is not exactly little if that makes a difference. What do other new parents do?

[HollyC]

I would say no, don't wake her. My DD fed about 6-8 times a day too. If you are concerned then weigh her regularly. If she is putting on weight then she is fine.

Babies are often very sleepy for the first few weeks and then become more wakeful, so this may not last. Enjoy it while you can

[leesha]

Everything sounds normal to me! They seem to just feed, sleep and soil their nappies for the first month or so! As long as she is feeding well and normal poos and lots of wet nappies then I wouldn't worry!! Definately don't wake her unless it has been an unusualy longer than normal sleep.

They will let you know when they are hungry. If you are really not happy or unsure then just give your MCHN a call and run it by her!!

[Winter]

I woke my DD to feed, especially if my boobs were hurting. Trust your mummy instincts on this one, it wont hurt her to be woken up for a feed if you are concerned and it wont hurt her to let her sleep if you think she is going ok.

Mantaray or Barb Glare might pop in and their advice is always excellent!

[MantaRay]

It sounds like you've had a difficult couple of weeks hun. Have you got someone helping you with the breastfeeding?

Usually it seems wrong to wake a sleeping baby, but some babies are very sleepy and do need to be woken in the early days. Once they start building up energy from getting enough milk they will wake themselves so this is only a temporary situation. It's difficult to know if your DD is one of these babies or not. Can you tell us a bit more about your situation - has she had jaundice? What was the birth like? Sometimes there are clues from what has happened as to why a baby might be too sleepy to wake for feeds.

The best way to tell if a baby is getting enough milk is from the nappies - if there are at least 5 heavily wet disposable nappies or 6 - 8 very wet cloth nappies in 24 hours that's a good sign. More than one dirty nappy a day at that age is another. A fully breastfed baby would usually need 8 - 12 feeds in 24 hours, and your DD is up there with the number of feeds, especially considering she has formula which takes longer to digest. This suggests to me that she is probably ok with the feeds she is having, but really it will come down to the nappies, and also the weight gain over the next couple weeks.

The other thing to consider is your milk supply. Frequent feeding in the first 6 weeks is really important for establishing milk supply. Expressing frequently will help, but not as much as frequent breastfeeding. Is there any information that would like to help with the breastfeeding? In the meantime, it is important to express often - probably at least 8 times in 24 hours, including at least once at night. Is this something you are able to manage?

It sounds like you are doing a great job hun. Keep up the great work.

[Alan]

I would let her sleep peoviding that you are getting lots of wet nappies.
You will probably find that her sleeping pattern changes in the next week or two.

[Nelle]

If it was me, I think I would leave bub to sleep. The only time I wouldn't would be if bub was waking frequently through the night and sleeping for much longer periods through the day. Then I'd probably wake bub 3 hourly during the day to try and swap the long sleep stretches to night.

And a hug because parents of newborns deserve them.

[aliceinwonderland]

Thank you everyone for your replies... DH got all worried and DID wake her (men!) and now she has had 50mls EBM and a 100mls of Karicare Gold +. She was (as usual) very hungry and happily guzzled the whole lot. Whilst I didn't "want" to wake her, she didn't seem to mind. We bathed her and she was back asleep within the hour. I was so amazed I then fell asleep myself, one arm in her bassinet. Who knew that was possible! As suggested, I will call the MCHN tomorrow to get their perspective on this situation. I know we should just be grateful that she is such a good sleeper and eater!

I think from now on, we will just be content to let sleeping babies lie. I very much appreciate everyone's input. There's not much in the books about babies who sleep all the time and eat everything put in front of them! I know it could all change tomorrow but here's hoping it doesn't. LOL. I feel much better having got other people's opinions.

As for breast-feeding, it has been very disappointing that it didn't come easily. It never occured to me it wouldn't! I joined the ABA, read the books... and on the day she was attached within two hours despite having a non-elective, elective caesar due to her being so big. According to the middies, she knew exactly what she was doing - I just wasn't up to the challenge and this is a problem they see often with the big ones. So she managed to just about graze my nipples off that first day and the lactation team in the hospital put me on a "rest and express" regime. And now, it seems that Maddie is so used to the instant gratification of the bottle that there is no question of putting in the effort herself to get to let down. She WILL nurse, if I have expressed recently (I am managing three times a day with an output of maybe 2-300mls all up) and she is not screamingly hungry but obviously doens't last long. I have a meeting with out ABA counsellor tomorrow to get some more strategies on this one. Whatever happens, at least she is getting some of the goodness via EBM even if I am missing out of the experience part.

[Alan]

Yeah I know what you mean, men can be a real pain in the bum at times. Also I get the impression that you are feeling a little guilty for giving your baby formula. Don?t sometimes formula is needed and when it is needed it should be given. You are doing a great job hun.

[mumzy]

I would let her sleep providing that you are getting lots of wet nappies.
You will probably find that her sleeping pattern changes in the next week or two.

I agree with this for sure..... its like the other question, "Do you wake a baby who you just heard do a huge explosion in their nappy?"

[aliceinwonderland]

Heehee... it was a rash generalisation Alan! One borne out of frustration that despite DH not having done much feeding at all he suddenly became the expert yesterday. Despite pointing out (gently of course) that DD and I had had over two weeks to get into a pattern of a sort he decides to experiment! He did it again last night with the night feed (not until 4am... she loves her sleep!) and she was so unsettled it took forever to settle her again... well forever in her terms - about an hour and a half. I actually thought that lititle exclamation only happened in my head - not in my post - so please don't take offence. I am very grateful for all and any advice regardless of the gender of origin. I just wish DH was more like you!

[Alan]

No offence taken hun, I fully understand what you mean. I work in a female dominated industry and am quite used to being “one of the girls”.

[rhyb]

I will be waking the girls to feed so Im feeding all three at once to try and get some form of routine, but with DS I didnt wake him. Well done on everything so far! FF isnt the worst thing in the world and well done on keeping up your BF.

[MantaRay]

How did you go with the breastfeeding counsellor hun. I hope it was helpful for you.