Waking up a Sleeping Baby to Eat???? Yes or No????

Hi L., As a mom of 5 (grown) I do believe a baby needs the sleep as much as the food. I think he will wake up when he is hungry. I would like to see the other mom's responses as it has been a long time ago for me. Grandma Mary

I have 2 children, let the baby sleep. He will wake when he is hungry. My pediatrician told me never to wake my children to eat. My sister who has 4 also told me the same thing.

They only want you to wake them the first two weeks or so to avoid dehydration which causes them to be lethargic/sleep longer cause more dehydration.

Enjoy the time he sleeps and hope it gets longer and longer.

A baby needs to be held, nurtured, fed, and cared for to live, survive and develop healthy....
Follow your doctors orders.
Yes, wake the baby and feed him.....

Let the baby sleep!! He wont starve. As long as he is gaining the weight he's supposed to, then he's fine. You are supposed to wake them up the first week or two until they go back to their birth weight (they lose a little in the first few days). Once they are back to their birth weight and gaining weight, then you could let them sleep.

Hi L.,

Congradulations!I was told the same thing with my first. Boy did I regret it. She would sleep a 4 to 5 hours, then it went to 2 1/2 hours. I would give it 3 hrs the most, only because he is so little. But once he is older, I would let it go longer. You can judge it by then. Just one more thing if you can put a fan in the room to circulate the hair, not to alarm you but I have read that this helps prevent SIDS. Keeping the baby cool and comfortable is best. Higher risk are boys between 12 wks to 1 year of age. You can look this up. This is what I did with my son. Who just turn 2 Years old in June. Good Luck! ;)

L.,
You didn't mention if your son was a preemie. If he was, listen to the doctor and wake him up. Otherwise find what works for you! I had triplet girls and choose to wake them only duringthe day but NOT at night. I wanted them to develop a good night routine and sleep through. This worked for ME as they were sleeping through the night by 3 months! Every mom is different as is each child. Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it. Good Luck J.

Nooooo....let him sleep!! I have four children...the only time I woke one was when I had twins and you just have to keep them on the same schedule....
Your son will wake up if he is hungry trust me!!! My youngest started sleeping through the night at 10 days (I was sooo tired so I was very happy)....
Wake up during the day (every 4 hrs) but let him sleep at night....

As long as your son is gaining weight, I would let him sleep. Around six weeks, my son started doing the same thing. Our doctor said that he was probably eating more at each feeding and didn't need to wake up so quickly. Check with your doctor at the next visit, but I wouldn't wake him!

Hey L.,

I am a firm believer in letting your child sleep, but
Anything more than 3-4 hours is dangerous.

Especially this early in the game.

You should wake him every 3 hours to feed him,
During the day.

At night its ok to let him sleep,til he wakes.
but have his formula waiting and ready as he will be very hungry when he wakes.If its ready and waiting he will find it easier to return to sleep

( what I did was make a bottle with boiled water,
or nursery water, fill it and keep the powder formula near the bedside, when he cried I would add the formula, and shake it up feeding him right away.
( room temperture is perfect)

he should drift off to sleep again.

If not don't wake him, just sit there in the dark with him
till he falls back asleep,
No singing, no rocking. Bed time is serious business.

Good luck

M

I am ith you. I never woke a sleeping baby. My 3 wk.old
slept 12-14 hours at night. But boy did she eat during
the day.

As long as he is healthy, and not a preemie, or have
medical issues, let him sleep. Enjoy!

L.,
I have a son who would "power nap" for many, many hours at a time. There were times when he would sleep straight for close to 24 hours. This happened about once a month for the first 2 years of his life. On other days he napped more typically. During his waking hours on "power nap" days, he would drink quite a bit more at each feeding ending up drinking his usual amount over the day. I brought this up to my pediatrician who was not overly concerned. She said that as long as he was maintaining proper weigth and general health, that he should be let to sleep as long as he needed. My son is now 7 years old and sleeps normally and is very healthy. I would not be overly concerned, unless there are weight or health issues. I would just make sure that he is getting the total amount of formula/milk that is recommended during a 24 hour period. He may be a less frequent but bigger 'meal' child. My younger son was similar, but did not "power nap" for as long, and again he is healthy and sleeps well.

I heard that you should wake babies during the day and get as much food in to them as possible with the hopes that they will sleep better at night. My twins are 3 and were never great sleepers or big eaters. I didn't wake them to eat during the day because I savored the brief moments of peace. I vowed that if I had another baby I would wake them and feed them on a regular schedule in hopes of better night sleepers. Good luck. I think all babies are different so go with what works for you.

Hi L.,
I know this can be a little confusing and sometimes worrisome when your baby doesn't wake for a regular feeding.

Growth spurts happen alot, and your little guy is probably going through one right now, and sleep may be a little more important for his body than a regular feeding today, but may be back to normal tomorrow, or in a couple days. He could sleep for up to 6 hours before waking up hungry.

I wouldn't worry about missing a feeding, or being late for a feeding, he will wake up hungry. And will probably make up for the missed/late feeding.

I know, doctors are supposed to know more than you, but trust your instincts. Doctors want babies to be on a schedule, which most of the time is a good thing, but there are days when schedules are not possible. Follow your baby's lead, he wants to sleep, let him sleep. Just be ready for a hungry baby when he wakes. And don't be surprised if he goes right back to sleep again!

Enjoy the changes, growth spurts, the time awake, and take advantage of his time asleep. Make the best of it, it wont last long. And no mother wants to miss a thing!

good luck

Hi...Im a first time mom myself. My daughter is 7 weeks and she can sleep for about 4 hours during the day at one time. I've never woken her to feed her. I haven't had any problems. So she eats more when she wakes up after her 4 hour nap....big deal! Now she sleeps for about 7 hours through the night....and Im certainly not going to wake her up to feed her. They wake up when they get hungry. Fear not!!!

L.
when he is hungry, he will wake up. Don't wake him. He is not sleeping for 5 hours at a time. He is fine. He is just trying to figure out life outside the womb. I have 22 month old twin girls. At that age, one slept longer. I just waited till she woke up to eat.

L., personally, I'd say let him sleep. They won't starve. He'll let you know when he's hungry. The only time I had to wake up my oldest son to eat because he was a preemie. He was losing weight as all babies do, but he needed to eat to gain and grow in the beginning. Because he would sleep 24/7 if you let him and he would not wake up to eat. Two suckings tired him out because it or not. So, if he is not a preemie and he's sleeping, I say let him. This won't be an issue later on. There'll be other things to face and if you want to nap while he is that's great. If you feel that you could do some things instead of napping then that's great too. I enjoyed it when my oldest who was and is a great sleeper. My second was so-so, did best to sleep when nursed. My third, hard time to get him to sleep through, but finally did. Don't feel guilty about everything like a lot of mothers tend to. That was my opinion about letting him sleep, but you do what is best for you. He's only 5 weeks and that is way too early to keep him up to sleep through the night. They sleep through the day and night. No need to keep them up because they won't grow if you don't let them sleep. Any questions, ask. We all have gone through this and it gets better when more children come along. :) You are doing great and you're a great mom for caring for you son.

If your ped (who knows your baby's specific situation) tells you to wake him then wake him. Why look for an alternative?

People here can only give advice on their experiences and are likely not pediatricians who have examined YOUR baby.

Hi again! Yes, you should wake him up. Especially during the day. In addition to making sure he is getting enough nutrition it will help him get his "internal clock" set faster and sleep through the night sooner. You might also have to make sure he stays awake through and entire feeding as well. Tickle his feet, wipe his face with a cool cloth...Just make sure he is getting enough to eat. As for the night time, as long as he has had enough to eat (five full feedings) let him sleep as much as he wants at night. TTFN!

Hi L.,

Congrats on your baby boy. I was told by my daughters doctor to only wake a baby during the day to eat, but if he sleeps longer than the 3 hours at night let the baby sleep at night. I hope that helps.

Best L.

Hi L.,

Congrats on the new baby.

I say let him sleep. I have four children and never woke any of them to eat. They are now 19, 15, 14 (today) and 11. So I guess my decision didn't hurt them any.

How would you like it if someone woke you up every three hours and said "EAT!".

Good luck.

C.

Don't ever wake up a sleeping baby just to eat they will wake up when they are hungry or the diaper is really wet. I have two children now and I have never woken either one of them up just so they can eat

H.

Congrats on your new little one.

I also was blessed with a child who could sleep long increments from very early on. I did not wake her and just fed her when she woke up. My thought was that it was a good thing for the baby to learn how to sleep for long periods of time without food. And all of my three kids went between three and four hours between feedings but definitely ate more than the average kid each time they ate.

Two good indicators that I used to make sure that there wasn't a problem was their output - wet diapers. If they are nice and heavy every time they wake up, then they are getting plenty of liquid. And weight - I tried to weigh my kids each week after they got a clean diaper and before the morning feeding to just make sure that they were putting on weight. But I didn't get too obsessed about it - by the time they were two months old I stopped that as well.

I hope that helps, and I hope that you are blessed with a baby that loves his sleep! Good luck.

The rule of thumb is to let them sleep as long as they are healthy, gaining weight every day, etc... along with that there was also the 'feed them every 2 hours during the day, then at night let them be' Things like that with a newborn change every week if not every day so follow your instinct and you'll know when a change is necessary.

The other idea which I latched onto and it kept me sane is as soon as my little guy was sleeping a solid 7 hours say from 8pm to 3 am....after a couple days of that, I was like 'well, okay he can sleep 7 hours why not shape it so I don't have to wake up at 3 am.. I started getting him up to feed him right before I went to bed at a 10 or 11pm (he didn't always actually wake up, they will sometimes eat and not even wake) then i put him back to bed and I got seven hours of strait sleep -- it was heaven.

Hello and congratulations! I have 3 children. In my experience, if the baby is growing and thriving, it is not necessary to wake the infant in order to feed him/her. Enjoy! J.

Absolutely NO. A baby needs sleep, just as much as food.

Congratulations on your new baby!!!

I don't think that the point is that the baby will starve...If you have them on a schedule during the day, then their longer stretches of sleep will come naturally at night. This worked for my second...I did not do this with my first and I suffered. My second was much better adjusted, slept through the night SOOOO early and I knew more of what to expect during the day. Again, as someone said before me, neither way is wrong...and everyone who has an opinion on feeding on demand or on a schedule is usually pretty strong in their opinion. But my experience between my first and my second, the schedule thing during the day just helped him sleep in the night in longer stretches.

God bless! Enjoy your little one.

As long as your son continues to gain weight normally I wouldn't worry about it. I would wake my girls up every 2 hours during the day to eat and let them sleep at night. By 3 weeks they were sleeping 6 hours. My pediatrician hated it but they gained weight normally and were healthy. ( and I was happier because I was sleeping better at night)
It's really what you feel comfortable with, and how your son acts on the late feedings.
Hope this helps.

Hello L. congras on be our new born. I was first time mom myself and still only have one son. I think what helped me out was feeding my son every four hours. He then start to wake up every fpurs hours to eat on his own so I never worke him. Nap time the same thing I never woke him up He woke up he ate then next fours hours he ate again. I added more milk when it was time and never added anything to his bottle. My son didnt have any weight issues. This is something for you to think about. I read this from parents and he helped me. So good luck and I guess sometimes we have to just take out cues from our children.

NO NO NO... LOL Unless there is a medical reason, let the baby sleep. Congratulations!!

Hi L.
Congrats on new baby.
I am of the school that you don't wake a sleeping baby without a medical reason. Now, you don't say whether your son is a preemie, that makes a difference. You don't say if you are breastfeeding, perhaps that makes a difference still.
You want him to sleep longer and longer at night and have him have all his meals in the day. That is probably how I would determine what to do.
Call the MD and see what they say. Probably you can just talk to his nurse about feeding issues, they can usually answer questions about feeding.
I was told to wake the premie twin, and we fed our son with stomach issues on schedule, but the others were on demand.
God bless you
K. SAHM married 38 years == adult children 38,33,and twins 19

Here's the best advice I have heard on this front: do not let your infant go for a longer stretch during the day than he will go at night. So if he goes 3-4 hours at night, fabulous. If he's up half the night then you need to wake him more during the day.

Let him sleep. He will not starve to death. If he can go that long it's because he can. I always fed on demand for both my kids. I never woke them up to feed, even when my daughter was first born. She lost almost a full pd in the hospital and for the first 2 wks I had to take her to the doctors to be weighed. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as he gains weight he's fine.

I think it is important to remember that neither approach is wrong. I went through the same thing with my son at that age, because my pediatrician told me to wake him and my mother in law said absolutely not. However, I made my decision to feed him on schedule (wake him up to feed him) because I wasn't making enough milk letting him feed on demand, and he wasn't gaining enough weight feeding on demand. My son (now 2) turns out to be the kind of kid that eats to live and definitely has to be coerced into meals. Which I never expected because I live to eat!! Hahaha!
So I think you have to look at the whole situation and if there are any other factors involved. I liked waking my son up to feed because we got him very ealry on eating right after a nap, then we would play and then he would fall asleep a bit. So I never nursed him to go to sleep and when he got older we never had the nightime sleeping weaning problems. He just went in his crib and put himself to sleep. and after he was 6 weeks old or so I was waking him up to eat during the day but allowing him to feed on demand at night. This allowed everyone to get enough sleep.
I wish you much luck!!

Congratulations on your new addition!!! First time motherhood is very scary with a lot of questions. A lot of people, myself included, take everything the pediatrician says as law. It took me surviving my first child and having my second to realize that "mothers know best". If your child, at five weeks old, has the ability to sleep for 3 or 4 hours, GO WITH IT!! If he was starving he would wake up. As long as he is not underweight, happy and growing, there is nothing to worry about. Remember to listen to your pediatricians advice, but when push comes to shove, you know your child best....go with your gut!! Best of Luck to you.

Don't wake him up!! If he is otherwise eating healthy and doing well, don't bother him. He will wake up when he's hungry. As for confusing his days and nights, he is too little for that. you've got at least another month or two before you should start trying to get him to sleep more at night and less during the day. At this point, just let him sleep whenever he wants. babies need their sleep.
Take advantage of it and rest your bones. there will be many times later when you wish he would sleep that long so you can get a break.
my daughter also used to sleep that long when she was that age, and the doc. told me to wake her up, but i just knew it's better for her to sleep, and she also let me know when she was hungry. babies have a very strong survival instict, don't discount it :)
good luck!

When my son was born he would sleep all day unless I woke him to eat. Then he'd be up all night I definitely woke him during the day to eat which I think eventually helped him learn his days and nights. If you get more feedings in during the day, the less they will need at night.

I don't think there is anything wrong with letting the baby sleep and go 4 hours for eating unless they are underweight or for medical reasons. Eating every 4 hours is fine. I never let my kids go over the 4 hours because they were usually starving at that point. I would find they would eat to fast and then get alot of gas. Congratulations on your new baby you are so lucky you get those long stretches of sleep

L.-

Everyone seems to like this post! LOL. Lots of advice here.

My little girl is nearly 2.5 years old and will be a big sister in September. I used a hybrid of both schools of thought... In the AM and early afternoon, I would let her sleep and nurse on demand. As we got closer to the evening, I would try to keep her up as much as possible and shorten her "naps" so that she would sleep better at night. I would also remember that just because she is up, this does not mean you have to feed her. Be sure to look for clues like rooting. Also, if you are worried about your supply and she is giving you long stretches, try to estimate a half-way point (say an 1.5 hours after going down), and pump. This gets you stimulated and builds an emergency supply that can be frozen in the process.

I really tried to set a routine over night which meant sometimes waking her up. Our last session was usually around 8pm, then I would get a few hours of Daddy and Mommy time or go to sleep and then nurse her again at Midnight if she had not already been up. This usually allowed her to go till 4 or 5 AM which meant I got a solid block of time to sleep. The midnight feeding slowly shifted as she slept longer through the night.

I will echo a sentiment I read in one of the other posts: You know your baby and family best. Do what your heart/gut tells you is correct. You will be fine!!

Congrats!!
~C.

I have 3 children and after 3 hours of sleep I would wake my baby up and feed them. I was always taught feed them as much as possible all day long so during the night they are full and satisified. What will happen if he sleeps all day and not get his full of feedings then he will be up all night wanting to eat/drink.

Best of Luck - also trust your instincts. They are usually correct!

Let him sleep. Praise the Lord!!! I only wished my kids would've slept that long at that age.

My doctor told me the same thing...wake them up every two hours to feed. Heck no! It took an hour to get them to sleep in the first place.

Nanc

I would definitely go back to your pediatrician and discuss this a bit more. Does the child have health issues? Is he gaining weight?? My instinct is that if he is healthy and gaining weight, not dehydrated let him sleep. However, your doctor may have very good reasons/past experience as to why you should wake him. Babies that are formula fed tend to sleep a bit longer...however go over this again with the doc and get more specifics.....

you sound like one smart new momma.... let him or her sleep. I would only wake the baby up if it's about 11 p.m. and you want to feed the baby so he or she will sleep during the night.. otherwise.. let them sleep. My son would sleep for 5 hours sometimes.. and then I would feed him.. he is now 13 and an excellent sleeper. so let him sleep.

A few questions first: 1. Does he have health issues? 2. Is he gaining weight and not loosing it?

OK if he has NO health issues and IS gaining weight LET HIM SLEEP!!!! My doctors (with my first) told me to do the same thing. My sister who was on her 5th child told me to let my daughter sleep! I did the first night in the hospital and she slept 5 HOURS!!! She is and was an excellent sleeper right away as was baby #2. I am 5 days away from my due date with baby #3 and plan on letting her sleep too! (unless health issues) Babys will wake when they are hungry, wet or just not tired and there is no need to wake them. Also if you wake him up to feed doesn't he usually fall asleep and you have to keep waking him? He feeds a little and then sleeps some more and he isn't getting a good feed any way. Again if there is health issues then you may need to wake him but if he is healthy LET HIM SLEEP and use that time to rest, shower or something YOU need!!! Congratulations!!! Welcome to the world of Motherhood!!! A.

During the day (every three hours)- absolutely! This way you can let him sleep at night.

You will probably bet a ton of answers on this one so be prepared. My mother was told the same thing when she had me and I'm 38 and she didn't wake me. I expecting my second in October and would wake my son only when necessary. I nursed and in the beginning it was important to stimulate milk production as we fell in to a rythem it became unnecessary. He would let me know in no uncertain terms when he wanted to eat. Your baby will to.

I just read some responses and I am sure by now you are terribly confused. Half say let him sleep and the other half say wake him. All the posts have good reasoning behind them. So my advice is to read the posts and then decide what is best for YOU. Do you need a nap in the daytime or time to do other things? Then let him sleep. But if you would rather get a good nights sleep then wake him in the day so he is tired at night.
It's YOUR baby and YOU really will know best. He will not starve and in 6 years you will have a new set of problems to face. And he will be sleeping and eating just fine.

My son did the same thing during his first two months. I was told by my pediatrician to not let him go past 3 hours without nursing but at night, leave him be. This seemed to work well and after those first two months, his eating/drinking became more regular and more substantial. I know it's so distressing to not see your baby eat. Don't worry, he will!

Hi L.,
Congrats on your new baby boy! We were in the same boat two years ago with our son. You know, in my own opinion (I am not an expert by any means) but I think it is ok to let your son sleep as long as he is healthy, eating well when he is hungry and is gaining weight appropriately. Babies really are the experts on their own feeding schedules, of course, if he does have a weight problem or other health issue I would do what your ped recommends. But if he is ok, just enjoy the quiet time and he'll eat when he's hungry.

It is confusing at first but no need to wake the baby from sleep. Sleep is so important to baby's brain development. My girl is 16weeks today. She is/was such a great sleeper so i let her sleep,sometimes 4hours would go by in the afternoon. But they make up the calories by eating more at other feedings so don't worry. take a nap yourself, he will be up for longer soon.
Also it is not true that if they sleep during the day they won't sleep at nite! Sleep begets sleep. Day and nite doesn't matter too much at 5 weeks,they still need the nite feeding. When baby pulls the first allniter ie at least 6hours,then you know they can make it through without eating so you can start to distinguish nite and day routines. all my friends are jealous at how great my daughter sleeps! good luck

Hi L.,
I've got a 10 week old, also my first baby, and my pediatrician and the nurses in our hospital had us wake him every 2-3 hours. Once he reached above his birth weight, we didn't wake him during the night, only the day.
I have to say, I don't know if I"m right or not, but he began sleeping through the night pretty early on (6-8 hours at 5 weeks). I woke him every 3 hours once he reached past birth weight and was told that that helped him to identify night vs. day.

I've also read that breastfed newborns who don't get fed enough will get lethargic, so even though we think they're just sleeping because they're tired, it's also because they don't have enough energy from the calories they should be getting.

It worked for us... but do what's right for you- it's your baby, and sometimes your intuition is what's right for you and your family.

Hi L.,
I had a baby boy last November and he also didn't eat that often. He could go w/o eating for 6 hrs at times. He was a big boy at birth (10lb4oz.) so I was concerned thinking that he'd need more but he wasn't interested. What I was told by our pediatrician is that if he was gaining weigth ok (he was and still is in the 95th %tile for both weight and hight) than that meant that he was eating as much as he needed. There is no need to wake your baby up (you should be sleeping than as well :)) It seems to me that he is eating as much as he needs - all babies are different (pediatricians also as I can see...). Just make sure that he is growing properly at your well baby visits :)
Good luck and congrats!
MamaMagda

I had the same situation. My dd would sleep 3-4 hours at a time during the day. Doctor told me not to let her sleep anymore than that, because she would wake up starving. She'd over eat and get sick. So wake her up and give her the usual amount. Let her go at night, because she'll wake up when she was hungry. He also said that if you let her sleep too long during the day, she'll get her days and nights confused. Definitely don't want that!
Good luck!

when they are hungry, they WILL wake up and they WILL let you know!lol..you had better be ready!:)unless he is having problems with low weight, dont wake him. imagine you were forced to eat when you werent hungry, woken up out of a nice solid sleep....why do that to him? he will always let you know.:)
i did the same thing with both my boys. they are strong and healthy. and at 5 weeks, waking him up will not result in him sleeping through the night, only a very cranky baby. girlfriend, stop fretting and take a nap yourself!or shave your legs!or read a book or brush your teeth or pluck your eyebrows!!! because time to do all those things is fleeting with a baby!!! ive learrned with each of my children that they really do tell you what they need and you dont need to impose anything on them.:)

My rule of thumb is never wake a sleeping baby. I have two little girls who are now 3 and 4 and I always tried to not wake them. I would ask your doctor but like I said I am leaning to NO unless your child has eating or weight gain issues.

Good Luck and I would be happy you get some down time. Every child is different.