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.

[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?"