waking baby to eat

[maisiedotes]

Just wondering... should I be waking Mairaed to feed her? Last night she went to bed at 11:30 (after eating a good amount) and usually I don't bother setting my alarm because she just wakes up at about 3ish to eat again, but last night she didn't get up at all- she slept till 7:00 this morning. I figure she will wake up when she is hungry and lord knows I could use the sleep... but should I wake her up? She is gaining normally... and eating like a little piglet during the day and before bed. Thanks!

[Lizzie9984]

I'm not sure about that myself. Angie conked out around 12:30 last night and didn't wake up til around 4am. She wolfed down about an ounce of formula (I'm on percocet right now, it passes into milk, don't want to expose her to it) and conked right back out, but if she doesn't wake up by herself within the hour, I'm going to wake her up and feed her. The nurses had varied opinions when I asked them before I was discharged, but the general consensus seemed to be not letting them go any longer than 3-4 hours, depending on how much they eat, to avoid dehydration.

It's a doable schedule, I got some decent sleep overnight for a change

[*Lindsey*]

I hate waking a sleeping baby. I never woke my kids at night since they were gaining well, etc. (Never really had too, either, as they were up every few hours the first month or so!)

Hazel and Lucy (6 weeks) have been going down around 9 or 10 for the last week and sleeping until 3AM. After 4 weeks of waking to feed every 2 hours all day/night...I am not about to fight that.

[sorteep]

i have never birthed a sleeper.. dean wakes every 1-2 hrs round the clock and regularly has a 2 hr awake and fussy time at night soooooo personally, unless there was a medical need i would never wake a sleeper,,, man do i need sleep.... i fear it will be yrs like with my last two sigh

[Undercover Hippie]

Originally Posted by sorteep

i have never birthed a sleeper.. dean wakes every 1-2 hrs round the clock and regularly has a 2 hr awake and fussy time at night soooooo personally, unless there was a medical need i would never wake a sleeper,,, man do i need sleep.... i fear it will be yrs like with my last two sigh

Ditto for my kids, so "Never wake a sleeping baby!" has always been my motto!! I think I only would wake them to eat if there was some concern about them not gaining enough weight or if they were a preemie or other type of baby who might be weaker or more at risk than most. Otherwise I think maisie is right, if they're hungry they'll wake up and otherwise enjoy the sleep!

[GinaRae]

That.is.heaven!!! I am so jealous...last night was bad.

[Curlita]

We used to wake Dylan, mainly due to paranoia about his intial gain (lost a lot of weight, had to supplement, blah blah) but already decided NOT to wake Conrad. If Mairaed starts sleeping more than 4 hours at a stretch on a regular basis, then you might want to wake her, but if it's an isolated incident AND she is gaining well, ENJOY the extra rest!

[NaomiMcC]

nope. babe will let you know if they're hungry is my theory. Let 'em sleep and enjoy it!

[lisarussell]

i can't imagine deliberately waking up a newborn. why torture yourself, go back to sleep.

[GearGirl]

No way, I would not wake her at this point since she is feeding so well during the day. I would be so happy, last night was really bad for me!