16 day old sleeping 10hrs at night....is that ok???

[mbear]

A friend of mine just had her #2...and has developed a breastfeeding relationship with her new bundle. She told me last night and for the last few nights, baby has slept 10hrs without a feed....i think this is a lot....isuggested she wake her after 4-5hrs.....she is after all only 16 days old. Am i giving her the right advice ? She was full term, healthy weight, has just reached her birth weight (on weekend). There was talk of jaundice when she was born, but i didnt ask her today how that is going...
It just seems a big chunk of time for a newborn to sleep, without any b/m ????

[BekZ]

MBear - If there is talk of jaundice then it is possible that bub will want to sleep longer. My gf's little one was jaundice and her bub slept for long periods. She was advised to wake bub up every 4 hours maximum to feed.

[mbear]

Thats what i thought Bek...jaundice makes them sleepy doesnt it ??? Jaundice or not, i still think its a long time for a n/b to go without a feed.....might call her up.

[Pandora]

It really depends. I bf both my boys and both slept for that long at about that age and I was told not to wake them
Her health nurse should be able to advise her as shed have a lot more info about it.
The long sleeps are possibly temporary too - they were for us - but it depends if there's a reason why her bub is sleeping that long

I'd tell her to talk to her health nurse

[Jennifer13]

It isn't common for a n/b to sleep that long and not affect the mother's milk supply and the baby's ability to thrive.

My n/b wasn't sleepy from any factors such as jaundice and she would sleep 5 hrs overnight, straight from hospital. We could tell she was thriving from the number of wet and dirty nappies she had (lots!) and the fact she was back at her birthweight within four days. But without a doubt, my baby was the exception to what most n/bs are like and need! 10 hrs seems really excessive. She'll probably find as she wakes baby more to feed that baby starts demanding more and becoming less settled. This is a good thing, since it means she's getting what she needs.

[Tecopa]

My bub went through a stage at the same time of sleeping a few nights of 7 hours in a row. I didn't wake him. I was advised to at first but after a few days when I was exhausted from lack of sleep I thought, if he's sleeping fine then I'm sure he'd wake if he was hungry. At other times he was on the boob all the time too. So I let him do what he wanted to do and then it disappeared into more regular 3-4 hours anyhow. So probably just temporary.

[Willow]

I agree, 10 hours is too long. I think the general advice for b'fed newborns is 5-6 hours once in 24.

A friend of mine had a newborn who'd sleep 6-8 hours every night from birth and lots during the day too. Let's just say that the b'feeding didn't work out. She had issues with low supply after a few weeks.

(PS Is there a tiny teeny bit of you that wants to scream because she's getting that much sleep?? LOL!)

[MantaRay]

Your instinct is right mbear that 10 hours is a long time at that age. Some babies do this without a problem, but usually it is too long for a baby to go without a feed. Are you able to gently ask your friend about how many feeds the baby is having in 24 hours (8 - 12 is average, and less than that could indicate a problem), and how many wet and dirty nappies (at least 5 heavily wet disposables in 24 hours which is 6 - 8 pale wet cloth, and at least 2 soft or runny poos a day is what she should be looking for).? If the baby is still having at least 7 or 8 feeds in 24 hours and having enough wet and dirty nappies then I guess she is one of the lucky mums. Otherwise, it could be a concern.

Good on you for being concerned hun, I hope that you are able to talk to her again and put your mind at rest.

[kawazuki]

my DD ahs slept for 8-11 hours over night since 3 days old.
my supply has not been affected i have over supply at times.
we feed 2-3 hourly during teh day and she does a big cluster feed from 6-8pm then thats it she off to dream land till 7 the next morning.
on a bad night for us she is awake at 5 am.

i have never woken her for a feed, as i feel she is sleeping she is growing and thriving, she has already outgrown her clothes was at birth weight 4 days after being born and only lost 100 grams so she didnt nee dto put alot back on, but is gaining around 150grams a week which i feel is great. she is very alert and very happy.

DD2 is teh most content bubba i have seen..

if her supply si good and she is happy then all seems well, yes it si reccomended taht they sleep between 5-6 hours at most but not all babies do that.

so as long as he si growing adn ahving regular wet dirty nappies i dont see an issue

[mbear]

(PS Is there a tiny teeny bit of you that wants to scream because she's getting that much sleep?? LOL!)

...LOL....mmm yer, i truly dipped out in that dept now didnt i ....
She has a LC appt on friday. Ive just asked her about the 8-12 feeds/5+ wet sposies....will see what she says. Thanks guys....