Waking newborn for night feedings?

[marrymeflyfree]

What are your opinions on waking a sleepy newborn for night feedings?

We did not wake DD. We didn't at all know that some sources suggest doing it, and really didn't know what we were doing in general. She fell asleep that first night, and slept over 6 hours before waking - and continued to do so every night until the dreaded sleep regression at 5 months.

It caused us no problems at all; she gained weight extremely well (was out of range on the charts, even!), I had no supply issues at all, no problems from engorgement, etc. Supply and engorgement shouldn't be an issue this time since I'm still nursing DD.

Is there any other reason why we should wake a newborn for night feeds if it has a healthy birth weight and is gaining normally? Assuming this baby is nursing well while awake and has no other issues, of course.

Thanks!

[mamazee]

I never woke my dd to nurse either. If she hadn't been gaining well, if I'd have supply problems with #1, if she'd been smaller maybe, but with our circumstances I just let her sleep.

[Llyra]

Reasons I'd wake a newborn to nurse:
1. Baby is still less than seven pounds and a half pounds, or about that.
2. Baby has not yet regained birthweight.
3. Baby is gaining unusually slowly.
4. Baby isn't wetting and soiling a satisfactory number of diapers.
5. Baby is still jaundiced, since a jaundiced baby is often excessively sleepy, and because breastmilk is needed to flush the bilirubin from the body.
6. Baby is sluggish during normal waking hours, or wakes to nurse fewer than ten times in twenty-four hours. I would let it go at eight times a day once baby is a month or two old, if baby seems otherwise well.
7. Baby has other health problems that make baby particularly vulnerable to not thriving.
8. You had concerns about your supply, or are uncomfortably engorged, or you are prone to clogged ducts or mastitis.
9. Baby is not nursing at least once in the wee hours of the night, when your prolactin levels are at their highest-- between say midnight and five AM. Your supply needs the stimulation.

Otherwise, I would let the baby tell you when he/she is ready to nurse.

I woke all of mine in the early weeks, but mine were sluggish for a long time because of the c-section drugs, and because the twins were very small and a bit preterm, and because all three of them struggled with jaundice. A healthy, full-term baby after a natural birth would have been a whole different story.

[elizaMM]

Originally Posted by Llyra

5. Baby is still jaundiced, since a jaundiced baby is often excessively sleepy, and because breastmilk is needed to flush the bilirubin from the body.

I was told to wake my son to feed in the early days to PREVENT jaundice.

[susumama]

If you're bub is happy through the day, having wet nappies & looks good I wouldn't wake them.
My latest bub started sleeping through the night day 2 (10.30pm till 5am). He's now 9 wks and sleeps 9.30pm til 7-7.30am & I've never woken him for a feed. He's exclusively breastfed & feeds ALOT during the day (but, hey I'd rather that than through the night). I don't weigh & measure my babies - seems like such an odd thing to do to me - I mean how did the human race survive without white male doctors telling us our breastfed babies aren't gaining/growing according to their formula fed baby charts? (There were a lot more successfully breastfed babies back then I can asure you! Mothers know a lot more about how their babies are going if they let their instincts shine though) He seems very healthy, happy & is getting VERY chubby cheeks
My other 4 kids were all frequent night wakers so I can't tell you how they did under this regime but babies are designed to slip into their own rhythmns & regulate their own food supply so I wouldn't mess with it, just be thankful you got one that fits in with our grown up schedules so well!

[moondiapers]

I didn't, and I sometimes wonder if it's why AF returned at 6 weeks pp.

[mamazee]

Yeah, af returned right away for me, too, and I'm sure that's why. But I was glad. My emotional state is better when af comes regularly.

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by mamazee

Yeah, af returned right away for me, too, and I'm sure that's why. But I was glad. My emotional state is better when af comes regularly.

Breastfeeding is incredibly painful for me when I have AF and my milk supply dips so baby wants to nurse more.

[mamazee]

Originally Posted by moondiapers

Breastfeeding is incredibly painful for me when I have AF and my milk supply dips so baby wants to nurse more.

Awww. That's too bad.

[pbjmama]

http://www.breastfeeding-basics.com/...epy_baby.shtml

I always recommend waking a newborn (up to 2 weeks old) to nurse, most important for first time moms.

[CanBoo]

Both my girls slept well at night from the start.
DD1 never ever woke up more than twice a night, and DD2 is an exceptionally good sleeper so far. Did and 8 hours night at 10 days, and she sleeps 10 to 12 hours stretches at 3 months.

Never woke up DD1, woke up DD2 only because she wasn't quite gaining fast enough. As soon as she gained well, we let her sleep. No way I am waking up a sleepy baby if she is doing well. MW told me that as long as she did not do that during the day as well, it was ok. She doesn't go much longer than 1.5 hours during the day.

But yeah, my AF came back right away this time.

[crazycandigirl]

My first two nursed 24-7. They never went more than 2 hours between nursings for the first 4-6 weeks. No problems.

This little guy I did wake up at least once overy 3 hours. I did this all during the day as well. If it hit the 3 hour mark- I woke him up to nurse. Still had issues with jaundice and large weight loss (over 20% loss at day 10) and dehydration. We landed up in the hospital to get him back on track. Even with all the nursing and a great latch, he was too weak to swallow much milk. We would have been in much more trouble if I had let him sleep. He was sleeping his way to starvation He is now a month old and I still have to set an alarm for the 3 hour mark every time he eats at night. He is starting to cry sometimes when he is hungry, but not always. When he gets bigger and stronger then I will start relying on his rhythm to pace our nursings at night. For now he can not be trusted to eat enough without coaching.

So yes, I do think that one should wake a newborn at night to nurse for the first few days or week, until they show a good weight gain pattern on their own.