Breastfeeding Schedule and Sleeping Baby

Dear S.,

You've gotten lots of great advice already -- I just want reinforce one thing.

The vast majority of babies will tell you when they're ready to nurse. That's the one and only secret to successful breastfeeding -- *listen to your baby!*

There is a small percentage of babies (usually preemies and low-birth-weight babies) that aren't developmentally ready to recognize their own hunger, and these babies are sometimes "born sleepy." They're the ones you need to wake every 4 hours. But if you're only 4 days away from your due date, and if your dr. hasn't voiced any concerns about low amniotic fluid, chances are very good you won't need to think about waking your baby up at all -- he'll be waking you up!

If you have any concerns about him getting the necessary nutrients, ask your pediatrician -- just make sure he or she is breastfeeding-friendly. You can also get a second opinion from La Leche League.

Congratulations, and best of luck. You're going to be a wonderful mom!

Mira

Your doctor will let you know how often you need to feed the baby but in my experience(nursed three children) I was told to wake the infant every 3-4 hours to nurse. Obviously longer time as they get older but definitely in the first month or longer it was every 3-4 hours.

For me the nursing was a nice time to relax and enjoy holding the baby. Try and relax and really enjoy this special time with your beautiful newborn.

Good Luck!

S.-

My 17 month old daughter was exclusively BF until about 10 months and then we continued till about 14/15 months. I credit our success to nursing on demand - this included letting her sleep or nap for however long she needed. I ALWAYS napped when she did, especially in the first 4 to 6 weeks. If I could not sleep, I tried to split the time I thought she would sleep and pumped. I froze all the pumped milk from the beginning. This stored up milk was really important for us when I went back to work and when Daddy and I had to go to BIL's wedding in VT and we were gone for about 4 days.

The best advise I can give is to get yourself a good pump and to trust your gut!! If your little guy wakes up starving and then fusses at the breast, he may be so hungry he can't think straight - giving him a nudge awake a little early may then be helpful.

Email me if you want more help.
~C.

BF babies need to eat between 1-3 hours (formula babies I believe are 3-4 hours apart).

If you wait too long, the baby will wake up screaming and starving and too upset to latch on. Thus you DO need to wake the baby up. They tend to be sleepy as newborns...

So, newborns NEED to be woken up during the day (I did every 2-3 hours). Night time, I did not go more than 4 hours...

Once you do this, you both will fall into a routine (not a specific schedule) - just allow some flexibility...

Get the lactaction consultant's number ready OR LLL in case you have any weird situations...

Best of luck!

Hi S., Congratulations!! I wanted to add to the other great feedback you've received. After you've established breastfeeding and your baby has gained back his birthweight, you can think more about how you want to go about scheduling or not scheduling feedings. If he's gaining weight exceptionally and feeds well when he feeds, then you don't have to worry so much about feeding every 4 hours. All breastmilk is different and each baby metabolizes differently. My son was 2.5 pounds over his birthweight at 2 weeks, so our pediatrician said we could let him sleep up to 6 hours if he wanted to (and he did). He continued to gain weight exponentially. I just wanted to share that! Good luck to you!!

my first baby nursed every hour and a half around the clock for about 3 months. it was exhausting but i never worried if she was getting enough (she was monstrously huge). my second baby slept for 6 straight hours the night she was born and i let her (figured i deserved it after all that natural birthing i had just done!). after that, though, i did watch the clock during the day, because if i didn't wake her, she'd go 5 hours without nursing. the way i handled it was to wake her to nurse during the day if it looked like she was going to go over 3 hours between feedings, but i didn't wake her at night. it took 3 weeks for her to regain her birth weight, but her growth has been fine ever since. hope that helps!

S.,

Most of the 'let sleeping babies lie' is geared toward not putting them on a schedule, I believe (as in: don't wake the baby because it is YOUR time to feed HIM).

The lactation consultant echoes mine and several others in this: A newborn should not sleep longer than 4 hours (barring their first night - where you might get your only 6-8 hours actual bliss time of sleep, and that might not be at NIGHT, either :)

A newborn should realistically be eating every hour to 3 hours on their own.

You can check out http://breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

or kellymom.com

for more information. I've gotten those two websites in the past from lactation consultants and from Moms here.

Good Luck, and Congratulations!
M.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, and best of luck for a safe, quick, uncomplicated labor!

Now, I have to tell you the truth. It is highly unlikely that your perfect little baby will let you go 4 hours without waking up to nurse! My son ate ravenously, in short, intense bursts of nursing- every 1-1.5 hrs! And I'm talking about 2-3 months of this! Exhausting for me, but he got so big and strong. Totally worth it. :)

I really suggest just nursing on demand. Your baby will tell you exactly what he needs. And you'll be sore at first, and it'll be hard- just like what we all went through.

But your guy will be fine. Don't wake him up! (He won't sleep that long though, seriously.) And enjoy every single, difficult, wonderful second! My son is 10 months old now, and every day is still a miracle. But I remember when he was tiny, and so dependent on me, and I still get all warm and fuzzy thinking about it.

Good luck!

Congratulations on your impending baby boy, and your decision to feed him the "normal" way. Try to relax and not worry so much about the details. You have motherly instincts that will kick in if you try not to intellectualize things too much. Most babies will not sleep more than 3 hours. Some (my daughter) will feed very often in the evening, almost constantly, then sleep a long stretch. I didn't ever wake her, even though by the books I should have. She's 6 now, and fine for it. I just felt that she had eaten enough to have a long sleep. You should feed 8-10 times per day in the first few weeks, almost constantly. I don't know where you are, but I am in charge of the new breastfeeding initiative at SI Hospital. We are encouraging skin to skin contact for at least the first hour of birth. This helps get breastfeeding off to a good start. If you need more info, email me privately, I have some great websites I can send you. Good luck,
L.

I have a 20 month boy and expecting in Apirl. I decided to listen to the lactation consultant and the hospital and woke the baby up every 3-4 hrs. After a few days being home I was at the end of my nerves. Got some advice from my sister-in-law, who has 4 boys 9 to 3 yrs of age, and she told me let the baby sleep they will let you know when they are hungry. I followed the advice and things started getting better as well the baby ate and slept when they want and he did just fine. Really do what you think is best for you and your child.

Trust your instincts as far as breastfeeding your baby goes. It does not really work well if you "schedule" the feedings. Most newborns are quite sleepy for the first week or two and may need to be stimulated so they feed well. My first was a piece of cake but my second needed a bit of encouragement. I guess you could say I traveled both paths with Matt - I nursed him every 2-3 hours during the day for the first couple of weeks and let him create his own night time schedule.

The thing to be aware of is that newborn babies can quickly become dehydrated if they are not fed every few hours. And as much as I believe humans are not programmed to let themselves starve, a brand new baby does not have the energy reserves to protest much when hungry - they will kind of turn off and sleep instead. This is why we wake them every few hours. It can be very frustrating to get a newborn to wake and feed but I can tell you that within a couple of weeks, they will in no uncertain terms, let you know it is time to feed.

Congratulations and remember that you have everything you need within you to birth, feed and nurture your baby. You are going to do just great!

It's hard in the begining cause it takes about 5 -6 days for your milk to come in after giving birth. I woke my daughter if she was sleeping longer than 3 hours, which was very rare anyway. In the begining he will lose a little weight cause all he will be getting is colustrum. So keep him nourished. Once your milk comes in, let him sleep through the night. During the day you could keep more to a schedule, that's what I did with my little girl. But let him wake up on his own during the night time hours. He wil not be undernourished. He won't sleep more than a few hours anyway, so he will wake after a few hours.

Hi! Congratulations! I worried about the same thing with my son. Truth is, typically either your baby or your breasts will wake you up. In my case, my breasts woke me up one morning when he was just a week old, and he had decided to sleep for a five hour stretch. You *may* want to set an alarm. I'm not trying to scare you, but by the time I woke up that morning, I had developed mastitis. I don't think that's typical, and I think my breasts are just more prone to mastitis. But I think in my case, setting an alarm may have helped--I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep, that I didn't wake until my breasts were THAT full! If you set an alarm and it goes off next to you, you can just gauge whether or not you are becoming engorged. If not, snooze or turn off the alarm, or re-set it, and go back to sleep. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great!

Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your baby!

I always let my daughter indicate when she is hungry and it has never been a problem. She began sleeping through the night (7 to 8 hours) within the first month, and her doctor was never concerned because her weight gain has been good. Like others have mentioned, she would cluster feed before she went to bed, but then slept the whole night. She is 4 months now and eats around 9:30, falls asleep between 10 and 10:30 and then gets up to eat around 7.

In the first month you should see the doctor 3 times (few days after leaving the hospital, at 2 weeks and at 1 month), so they will let you know if they have any concerns with your baby's growth.

Congratulations! I know how excited you are! I was certain DD would come 2 weeks early. Instead she was two weeks late. I hope you go in four days. They say to wake your baby up if it's a long nap, 4-5 hours, so he's not ravenous and cranky, which can make latching on hard. That said, DD (darling daughter) never slept more than two hours, and rarely ever slept that long. Now (7 months) if she sleeps four hours at a time I'm grateful. Good luck, and if you have trouble nursing at first, don't give up - it'll work itself out eventuallly. And if it's painful, I have two words - nipple shields. Have a wonderful time!!!!!!! Don't forget to journal every moment!!!

Double check with the lactation consultant at the hospital, and with your pediatrician, but I was told (with my first son 6 years ago) to wake him every 3 hours or so during the day and let him wake himself during the night. I think I did this for something like 6 or 8 weeks, and then let him wake to feed...With my second son (born 7 weeks early...) he had to wake to feed before they would let him come home from the NICU, so that was a different story...

HTH

I woke my baby girl up every four hours in the beginning, but it became evident that she just wanted to sleep. She, like others, cluster fed before going to bed, so she must have had her fill and it helped her sleep. She was sleeping 8 hours a night in her first week. She's been awesome ever since (sleeping 8-10 hours a night consistently).

Good luck. It is not a time to fret about things like this -- go with the flow, enjoy it, and don't worry so much.

S., congratulations with your baby coming soon. It's natural to be concern and nervous and I have heard that babies will wake up and cry when they are hungry, but it's not always accurate for all babies. I think the reason they said not to let the baby more thean 4 hours because some people may abandon and neglect the baby. Babies need to grow and gain weight. You will learn and catch on once you have the baby and it takes time to get to know your baby and his routine. I am a mother of three boys and the ages are 3 1/2 yo and 2 1/2 yo and a 13 month old. When the baby sleeps and wakes up then you feed them and you'll see that it will come natural to you. You have time before he comes to delight you and being a wonderful Gift from Jesus Christ above. God bless and I will be praying for you and any more questions, ask us or me. I'll be answering ASAP. You'll be a wonderful mother!!

hi S., your message made me smile... if your baby sleeps longer than 4 hours in a row, count your blessings!! seriously, if it does go too long, you can cross that bridge when you come to it. it really depends on the baby. most likely, you will be wishing for 4 hours, but if the baby is sleeping longer, the doc will tell you if there's anything to worry about. if the baby is having trouble gaining or doesn't have enough dirty diapers, both of which are unlikely, especially if you just feed on demand as you should and be sure to finish the first breast first before switching, then they may tell you to wake the baby after a few hours until the weight gain gets on track. don't complicate it. breastfeeding is wonderful. and if things are challenging in the beginning, remember that it is often challenging in the beginning no matter how you are feeding. just be sure you have a good latch and feed the baby on demand, and try your best to take good care of yourself. drink lots of water, try to eat healthy, take your vitamins, no caffiene, and sleep whenever you can. accept help graciously. if you want to be successful at breastfeeding, i very strongly recommend that you do not give any bottles for at least a month. for some babies it doesn't make a difference, but for some it definitely does, i had one of each, and you don't want to introduce problems.... and enjoy your baby, you wont believe how fast they grow. best of luck to you.

My doctors said 3 hours with my 1st child and I was a wreck. My sister said "Let sleeping babies lie" and the 1st night she slept 5 hours straight. I was scared I had hurt her in some way but she is now 7yo and wonderful. My 2 girls I breastfed both. One until 14 months old and the other quit reluctantly at 18 months old. I NEVER woke them up to nurse and they are both good sleepers. They are healthy, smart, energetic and amazing!!! NO DAMAGE DONE!!! My point is this: if there is some medical problem (and it doesn't sound like there is) then baby will let you know when he/she is hungry. Congratulations on the baby and breastfeeding is a great thing for you and baby. (Did you know it cuts back your chance of breast cancer in the future!!!! Thats a benefit you get from the benefit your baby gets!!) A.

Stop worrying!

As far as b'feeding goes you'll have way more to worry about then feeding on a schedule...

Yes, if the baby tries to sleep longer then 4 hours you should wake him to eat, but that is more for your sake then his. Once your milk comes in, waitiing 4 hours will not be much fun, plus half the art of b'feeding is in nursing frequently to build and establish your milk supply.
That being said...if he wants to sleep a little longer and he fed heartily before going to sleep, let him sleep. Babies are instinctvly good at knowing how to take care of themselves, and you probably won't have to wake him to eat if he's healthy and happy otherwise.
If you're co-sleeping with him (which I recommend in the first few weeks of b'feeding, both for your sanity and for the quality and amount of time you'll spend nursing) don't set an alarm and wake up every 4 hours...watch your baby, not the clock!

A great tool I've used in b'feeding my 2 kids is llli.org, it's the website for the Le Leche League, THE experts and THE last word on all things breast. Read though it, search for the things that worry you, find a leader close to you, whatever calms your mind. B'fedding is natural, but that doesn't mean it always comes naturally, so dont give up hope and don't overthink it.

Best of luck!

I agree with anybody that said let them sleep. He will cry when he's hungry and if you are lucky enough to get him to sleep more than three hours, count your blessings. But remember to pump. Be diligent about that. Of course I wouldn't let a newborn sleep for like 10 hours, I would just get nervous, probably go in there and make some noise. But if he sleeps for 6 or 7 hours straight I wouldn't mess with that.

Hi S.,
Congratulations on expecting bundle of joy! I understand your concern about how often to feed. It is a basic necessity of survival! There will be different views. Some want to keep a strict schedule and others kind of go with the flow of what the baby is signaling. I was a go with the flow kind. My son ate when he was hungry. As far as timing I think it was every 2-3 hrs in the beginning. It felt like I was always breastfeeding!

You will find what works best. Give it some time, and relax. I found being to anxious about things made me overlook some of his signals. If the baby does sleep a bit longer one time, you may be happier you're getting rest. The baby will be fine. Congratulations again. Enjoy.

It is totally natural to start thinking about these things before your baby arrives. I stuggled with the same issue and talked to my pediatrician about it. He said that once the baby reached a certain weight (based on birth weight) that I no longer had to wake up my daughter to nurse. I noticed that once he said that it was okay to not wake her she started sleeping longer streches on her own. When you deliver the lactation specialists will work with you as well as the pediatrician...they may not say the same thing (mine did not) and ultimately I had to decide which one to go with based on what I was comfortable doing. You will find your groove with your baby boy as well...and it is AMAZING how little sleep we can survive on...it is like the mommy super power. Best wishes and congratulations!

dont stress, most likely your baby will wake more like every 2 hours. if he happens to sleep 4 hours, just wake him or you may not even have to as babies sometimes eat in their sleep without every really waking. the reason is that sometimes they are so sleepy that they dont wake, but need the calories so you dont want growth to be slowed. but the real threat is to your milk supply. in those early weeks your body is trying to figure how much milk, and babies need to breastfeed more than every 4+ hours, so your milk supply is established thru frequent nursings. dont worry, the most important thing is to not get on a schedule for a breastfed baby, just feed on demand no matter what.

after a month though, let the baby sleep, your milk should be good and you will probaly have some sort of routine. but really, the chances of a newborn sleeping 4+ hours regularly is really really low, lol:)

Hi There,
Congratulations! My piece of advice is let your baby sleep! My children both slept through the night fairly early, but my son started sleeping through the night (10 hours) at 6 weeks and hasn't looked back. He was healthy and gaining weight, so why take him off that schedule and get him used to waking up when he really didn't need to? He was sleeping two 4-5 hour stretches at night almost immediately but tended to cluster feed around dinner time through 8 pm or so. My daughter was always tiny and slower to gain weight (still tiny at almost 3), but was still a good sleeper for the most part and developing normally. Both of my kids were breastfed until 7 to 8 months, and slept through the night well fairly early. My opinion is let them learn to sleep on there own and don't wake them up (unless they are under weight or have medical issues). They will be fine- if you wake them up to eat, it could very well become a habit, rather than them truly being hungry!

My daughter cluster fed at in the evening. She ate from about 6 until 10 or 11 almost nonstop. She was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and then started waking up once or twice a night at 3 months. She never had a problem with weight gain and has been in the 80th percentile for weight. I wouldn't wake a sleeping baby. They will let you know if they need to eat. You have to do what feels right for you and what will make you the least stressed. good luck and enjoy every minute!

My advice to you is let your pediatricial advise on waking the baby to feed or not. I have two children, an 18th month old and a 5 month old. Both were handled differently. While in the hospital (1st 36 hours), the nurses asked that I nursed every 3-4 hours. The difference was related to weight gain while in hospital. My first baby lost weight b/c I was having a very difficult time getting him to latch. Therefore his Peditrician asked that I woke him for the first two weeks until he was comfortable that he was on a healthy weight gain track. My second child latched seconds after birth and no issue with weight gain so once we left the hospital, her Peditrician advised to let her sleep through the night if she wanted - and thankfully she did!! Bottom line is work with your baby's Doctor and devise a plan based on his/her personal development.

You need to feed a newborn on demand, at least every 2-3 hours or they'll dehydrate. They can go a 4hr stretch at night (if you're lucky and they sleep that long.) After the first month, you can just feed on demand.

So excited for you, it goes by fast. Mine is already one. NEVER wake a sleeping baby!!!! Unless there is a medical reason. Let them sleep, expecially if it is at night. Don't worry the baby will let you know when he is hungry. It will take until 4-6 months though for a 4-6 hour stretch. Take care and good luck!!

Here is what my doctor said to me when I first had my son and it worked well for me. All babies lose some weight in the first week after birth, so you need to keep feeding frequently to help them start gaining again.
During the day, feed on demand (about every 2 hours- don't go more than 3 hours). And by every 2 hours, it means 2 hours from the beginning of a feeding, so even if it takes the baby 45 minutes to an hour to eat, you still need to give him the next feeding an hour or hour and 15 minutes later. And this is not uncommon in the beginning. It's tiring for them to eat and the breast milk is very easily digested so it sometimes feels like it takes longer for them to eat than it does to digest. Don't be surprised if sometimes he wants to eat every hour. When they go through growth spurts they seem to eat all day long!
At night, for the first 2 weeks, you should wake the baby up and feed him every 2-3 hours. But this will probably not be an issue. The baby will more than likely wake you up whenever he is hungry. After the first 2 weeks or once the baby has gained back his birth weight and started gaining again, you can let him sleep at night as long as he wants. Again, this will probably not be an issue. The baby may sleep for one 4 hour stretch at night but that will probably be the longest stretch he will sleep until about 2 1/2 or 3 months. Continue feeding every 2 hours during the day. The more they eat during the day, the less they will wake up at night. You can expect night feedings to last for months. My son is 9 months old and still wakes around 4 for a feeding and sometimes twice if he is in pain from teething.
Don't worry, in the beginning the pediatrician monitors the baby's growth regularly and as long as you feed him whenever he is hungry, he will not be undernourished. For more help, I would suggest buying The Breastfeeding Book by Dr. Sears. This helped me greatly. Go out and get it now and try to read it before the baby comes. Another good source of information is www.kellymom.com

Never wake a sleeping baby!!!!!!!

Congratulations! These final days before a first baby are so exciting!
There's really no need to stress out. There are so so many schools of thought on the subject. You'll be surprised at the slightly different information you get from each nurse in the hospital on most subjects. I have a 6 week old, a 2 year old and a 3-1/2 year old. I nurse(d) them all.
My hospital's rule was that the baby eat every 3 hours. I put each in the nursery at night and they brought them to me every 3 hours (it was obvious that they woke them). At the beginning its important to nurse frequently so that your milk comes in and your body gets used to nursing. The pediatrician that you chose for the baby will visit you in the hospital and will tell you what they recommend for nighttime feeding. Mine recommended every 3 hours for the first month, but my 2nd child's pediatrician said that I could let him wake me at night so I went with that recommendation. My new daughter tends to wake up every 4 hours, but sometimes will go 5 or 6 hours at night. Actually, around 3 or 4 weeks all 3 of my children started to "cluster feed" - at night for 2 or 3 hours before bedtime they would eat every 20-45 minutes to kindof stock up for the night, and then they'll sleep for 6 hours or so (my 6-week old just started doing this).
So I would ask your baby's pediatrician his/her recommendation and follow that. It also depends on the baby's size how often they need to eat (mine ranged from 6.10 - 7.5 pounds).
Good luck to you!

Hi and Congratulations! Like many of the other moms have said, it is most likely that your baby will not be sleeping for more that 4 hours at a time in the beginning. I think he will tell you when he is hungry. I am currently breastfeeding my second child - she is 7 months. I breastfed my now 2 year old son for a year, as well. I have never woken either of my children up to feed them, even in the beginning. I have found that they tell me when they are hungry. Pumping is always an option if the baby sleeps long stretches and you get uncomfortable. I guess I'm in the 'let sleeping babies lie' school of thought. Every mom and baby is different and you will learn what is best for you and the baby. Good luck!

My son is now five months old and I recall asking the same question after he was born. Our son lost more weight than expected in the hospital and I was told to feed him "on demand". My pediatrician tends to be more child-driven and suggested that I not attempt to put him on a schedule, as it would frustrate both of us. He did stress that I shouldn't let him go for more than three hours without eating, which was not a problem. The baby woke-up in the middle of the night when he was hungy and gradually was able to go for longer periods of time between feedings. He has been sleeping through the night for the last three months on his own- no "Ferberizing". I attribute this to us letting him dictate how much sleep he needed rather than trying to put him on a schedule too soon. He has put himself into a natural routine that works for him! Our pediatrician did point-out that he would be more hungry during the day and to feed him every two hours or so to make up for the "missed" night feedings.

Hi S.,

With a baby that is bing breastfed you are supposed to wake them to feed every 4 hours, not just because the baby needs the nourishment buts its also to keep up your milk supply. I doubt you will have to wake the baby often, they seem to know when thay are hungry! If you cant breastfeed for some reason or you switch to formula it is ok to let them sleep through the night. Good luck.

I struggled with the same question and ultimately wound up waking my son (now six weeks) to eat when his nap time approached four hours. This only happened once or twice very early on (you'll be surprised how hungry newborns are and they'll wake to eat!!) and he always fell right back asleep after the feeding. I think I was being a nervous new mom and now take my cues from him. I was more concerned with his nutrition since I am breastfeeding and can obviously only measure the time and not amount he eats.
I find the best thing to do is try and relax. Best of luck to you!

S.~
You have some good advise here already so I'll try not to echo them here. If you wake your baby to feed on your schedule, there's a good chance he won't actually nurse, but suckle a bit as he drifts back to sleep. I'm a firm believer in letting the baby sleep. Waking them to nurse is difficult because they'll just suckle and go back to sleep. If it becomes uncomfortable for you, then pump. When my children were babies, my oldest never ate, my middle ate all the time, and my daughter was more on a 3 hour schedule, but she wanted it, not me.
And please don't worry if your new baby looses weight before you take him home from the hospital. It's perfectly normal for your newborn to loose some weight. They pad on the fat for birth, and the body uses most of it in the first day of life, but I do agree that after he's born, aclimate him to your breast and allow him to suckle for a while.
Good luck and have fun!
J.~

listen to your lactation consultant!!!! A newborn baby will want to sleep and sometimes you will even have to strip them down and tickle them so they do NOT fall asleep. Babies who are nursing need to eat more often.
Just check with the consultant.
good luck to you.

S.,

If you have a baby that sleeps more than 4 hours you will be doubly blessed!! Don't sweat it...in my experience, when you wake a baby to nurse, they just fall right back to sleep without eating anyway. My boys never slept, but my girls were great sleepers and while in the hospital...the nurses told me to wake them and I refused...sleep is precious and they will eat when they are hungry. Those girls became great nursers, and great sleepers. They are both small...in the 5th and 10th percentiles, but there is nothing wrong with being small. They are in no way malnourished. They have never starved themselves...well, ok, my 4 year old refused to eat dinner the other night and she got so hungry in the morning that she couldn't keep anything down and was throwing up all day, but that is rare (she's only done that 2 times before) but as an infant, they didn't starve.

So long story short...unless there is a medical reason that they need to eat often (like jaundice)...and whatever you do, don't let anyone tell you that you need to supplement with formula!!!(not necessary, even with jaundice)...I wouldn't wake a sleeping baby to nurse. In my experience, the supplementers wind up giving up nursing...we are not meant to supplement...we are meant to nurse, our bodies are made to do it, our babies are made to eat it...oh boy, get me off the soapbox...anyway...follow your gut, enjoy your baby, and always remember that babies are hardwired for survival!

Good luck to you as you enter this most wonderful time of life!

D.
step mom to 1, mother to 4 with one more on the way

Hi S., Many good wishes on your new arrival. I nursed all my children years ago but I do remember that it was "on demand" Baby will wake you when he/she is hungry. I think it should be a natural process, not too much clock watching. If things have changed that much I do not know. Just relax, bond with your baby and you will fill each other with love. :-) Grandma MAry

You're going to quickly figure out what's right for you and your son but in general, unless he is really big at birth, 9 pounds or more, he's not going to sleep for 4 hours at a stretch. On the rare occasion that he might, you can probably enjoy it. In that situation, he probably needs the sleep more than the milk for some reason. But if he's small and seems to not be waking up to feed for long periods (4 hours or more) you'll probably want to talk to your doctor about it. A sleepy baby isn't going to nurse very well in any case so waking him to nurse probably won't do much more than put him right back to sleep.

Congratulations! The next weeks and months will be hard, sleepless, exciting, monumentous (those first smiles and laughs, the first time you nurse and it's completely natural and not difficult), emotional (your hormones will be all over the place!), so try to enjoy it despite the sleep deprivation and if you can write things down as you go along--even if it's just a word or two on the calendar--you'll have those memories that become a blur so quickly. Not advice you asked for but I hope helpful none-the-less.

p.s. If you don't already have WHAT TO EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR, it is a great resource and will answer so many of your questions.

As I learned the hard way with my first child you do need to wake them up. I didn't know this & was so impressed that my 2 day old son was sleeping through the night. Of course he lost a lot of weight & my pediatrician was none too happy with me. I had to set my alarm clock every 3 hours through the night to feed him. But don't despair - they are worth all those sleepless nights.

Having breastfed 2 babies successfully and fully, I would say do not wake a sleeping baby! So long as they are healthy, growing well and settling between feeds then they are getting enough milk and will wake and let you know when they are hungry. If they sleep longer than 4 hours count your blessings and catch up with your sleep!!

Hi S.,
First, congratulations on your soon-to-be-born baby!
You likely don't have anything to worry about, because it would be very unusual for a newborn baby to sleep for 4 hours or more at a time! Sorry if I am bursting your bubble here. A newborn needs to breastfeed 8 to 12 times in 24 hours.
They do need to eat around the clock. It would be unusual for your baby to sleep more than 4 hours at a stretch! If that situation came up, you'd need to deal with it at that time. A baby sleeping one 5 hour stretch and still feeding 10 times during his awake time is likely not going to be a problem, but if by some miracle, you brought your baby home and at a week, he was sleeping 9 hours at night (you have like a 1 in 10,000 chance of this), it would not be okay for him to go 1/3 of the day without eating, this would likely cause a weight loss which is unwanted.
Sleeping babies are different than brand new newborns
Good luck!

Your not premature in worrying, its just a sign of a good mother. I have been breastfeeding since day one and I can say I had the same fears and anxieties as does every mother that breastfeeds b/c you can't really measure what the baby is getting and you constantly worry if they are getting enough. As instructed by my son's pediatrition he said since he lost a little more than 10% of his body weight a week after birth I should try and wake him up every two hours to feed him, I did, and when I took him back in a week later he gained a pound and hasn't stopped gaining since. I stopped waking him up at night after about 2 weeks becuase I thought it was ridiculous force feeding my son when he clearly wanted to sleep and I was a zoombie. He has always been good at letting me know when he is hungry and you know every baby is different and you should listen to your natural instinct, you'll be amazed at what you can do as a new mom and how in tuned you are with your baby. My son is now 5 months and still being breastfed and is a healthy 18 lbs 27". Good luck with the breastfeeding becuase it really isn't the easiest thing at first but keep at becuase after the two month mark its easy, free, and so worth it!

One can only HOPE that you will have to wake your baby after 4 hours!!!! Unfortunately you will probably be writing back in with "how do I get my baby to not want to nurse all the time!!?!?!?" I have 4 children who are all great sleepers, and as infants I think there may have been one or two occasions (usually right when they come home from the hospital) where I jumped up to realize that they were still asleep and it had been 4+ hours. And just then, they usually sensed my anxiety and woke up. So the answer I think is yes, you should feed a brand new baby at least every 4 hours (and it is actually more like 3 hours)and if you have such a sleeper, I would say wake him. It is also import to nurse a lot in the beginning to get the hang of it and to establish your milk supply. However, once he hits the 8-10 week mark, and provided he his nursing well all day, I would then go with the old mantra of letting sleeping babies lie. Of course it also depends on his health, his weight gain and your pediatrician's input.

Congratulations - enjoy the next few days and take comfort in the fact that no one is truly prepared for what is to come - they are all different, there are no set rules and they are truly amazing and awesome!

She's talking about during the DAY..... don't let more than four hours go by without feeding. Night is a different story; let sleeping baby sleep at night.

Hi S.! Congrats on your pregnancy! W/ my 1st son (12/18/05), I woke him to eat. W/ my 2nd child, Callie (06-07-08), I did not wake her except for in the hospital they make you. It really is up to you. But Callie is a much better sleeper then my son was. Maybe b/c I am more relaxed and know what to except. I think as long as your baby is gaining weight it is fine to let them sleep. My ped said to feed every 4 hrs until 2 months. Oh one more thing it is fine for them to sleep one stretch so try for that stretch at night! You can email me if you want to!
PS Callie did sleep through the night almost right away so it can happen, but I was one of the lucky few and she'd want to eat every 1-2 hrs during the day
L.