Did You Wake Your Baby to Feed Them?

[Catananche]

Sometimes a breastfeeding mother who has supply problems will be advised to waken her baby during the night to stimulate her milk supply.

And as another poster stated well, jaundiced babies are often woken to feed as they can become abnormally lethargic.

 

[KAMKIM]

I don't know why you are trying to convince me. We will do whatever out doctors tell us to. The advice from some random internet person is not going to outweight their medical opinions.

Similarly, when I posted what we were told in class, it was for information purposes only. It was not my intention to change your opinion on when you should feed your children.

Keep in mind, while doctors usually know what is best, as parents you do what YOU feel is best, and that may not always be what the doctor ordered.

 

[ReneeA]

I don't know why you are trying to convince me. We will do whatever out doctors tell us to. The advice from some random internet person is not going to outweight their medical opinions.

Similarly, when I posted what we were told in class, it was for information purposes only. It was not my intention to change your opinion on when you should feed your children.

I'm not trying to change your opinion.

I am a medical person (a nurse). I know that we received differing opinions from doctors, nurses, etc. whether to wake our children to feed them. Make sure to ask someone you TRUST (pediatricians are great at making that call as it varies baby to baby).

Once you are a parent, you will forge your own path - the best one for your family.

 

[waltskids]

During the day... yes we always woke to feed, as both of our kids would have slept the day away in those first early weeks. At night... NEVER, but our kids both woke every 3-4 hours those first few weeks. By 6 weeks they slept about 5-6 hours at a time. We fed on a schedule and both babies slept through the night at 3 months- 12 hours at nighttime. BTW, we were told by our doctor to wake during the day but never at night, after the first month.

 

[SAHDad]

We did, sort of. What we would do is wake the kids up at 11pm or midnight (about 2-3 hours after the previous feeding), give them a bottle, change them, etc, and then let them go back to sleep. That way, they would sleep until 6 am or so, instead of at 2 or 3 am and again at 6 am.

But both kids were sleeping completely through the night by 8 weeks or so, and we didn't have to do this for very long. Otherwise, when they slept, I slept.

 

[JoiseyMom]

If there is a medical issue, it is not insane at all. We had to wake my first child some in the first few months to feed her. I think it is insane for you to make a blanket statement like that about every child waking up to feed. It had nothing to do with being on my schedule, I don't generally get up in the middle of the night. Newborns should not be sleeping 8 hours at a time! Sometimes doctors actually know what they are talking about!

We weren't discussing children with medical issues...at least that wasn't stated. Medical issues are a totally different story.

I am entitled to my opinion to wake a sleeping infant to feed. And yes this applies to healthy infants, no medical issues. My oldest DS slept through the night 7-8 hours at a few weeks of age. He was being nursed, and I didn't wake him to feed him. I fed him when he wanted. I did this with the next 3 children also, bottle or breast...they ate when they wanted..not when it was good for me.

And some doctors don't know what they are talking about...as a matter of fact, lots don't. That is why there are second opinions!!

 

[JoiseyMom]

I don't know why you are trying to convince me. We will do whatever out doctors tell us to. The advice from some random internet person is not going to outweight their medical opinions.

Similarly, when I posted what we were told in class, it was for information purposes only. It was not my intention to change your opinion on when you should feed your children.

Tell ya what...come back in 26 years..and you have some parenting experience under your belt..and I am sure you will change your tune about doing whatever your doctor tells you to do!!

A new parent to a first child is a very different person in all sorts of ways then a parent of a second..third or so forth child. Experience gives you a world full of expericence.

Leave the door open to common sense, and what feels right or wrong to you as a parent. And trust me...trust your "gut" and your wife's about your child.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We did, sort of. What we would do is wake the kids up at 11pm or midnight (about 2-3 hours after the previous feeding), give them a bottle, change them, etc, and then let them go back to sleep. That way, they would sleep until 6 am or so, instead of at 2 or 3 am and again at 6 am.

But both kids were sleeping completely through the night by 8 weeks or so, and we didn't have to do this for very long. Otherwise, when they slept, I slept.

This makes lots of sense!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Tell ya what...come back in 26 years..and you have some parenting experience under your belt..and I am sure you will change your tune about doing whatever your doctor tells you to do!!

A new parent to a first child is a very different person in all sorts of ways then a parent of a second..third or so forth child. Experience gives you a world full of expericence.

Leave the door open to common sense, and what feels right or wrong to you as a parent. And trust me...trust your "gut" and your wife's about your child.

I can't agree more! I've learned more in the past 13 years than I've ever learned before. Just because a medical professionals tells you something, doesn't make it a fact, or good for your family. Many nurses and doctors, you find, have different opinions on different matters - even in the same practice!

And after having a baby for a few weeks, you realize why they use sleep deprivation as a means of torture, because it certainly is!

 

[bekkiz]

Well, I'm a mean mom, and yes, we woke our kids to eat. They were 5 weeks early and had some feeding issues/weight gain problems. We woke them to eat every 3 hours for the first 6-7 weeks. In fact, we had to do some crazy stuff in the first few weeks to actually wake them up--undress them, tickle their feet etc.

Then, because I'm horribly selfish and awful, when they could sleep longer stretches, we would still "wake" them up at around 11 PM for one last feed, so they would make it until 7 am (vs. 4 am). They were still kind of asleep (called a dream feed), but it was on our schedule.

They had no problems whatsover dropping the 11 PM feed at 6 months, and have slept 11-12 hours a night since then.

 

[KAMKIM]

Well, I'm a mean mom, and yes, we woke our kids to eat. They were 5 weeks early and had some feeding issues/weight gain problems. We woke them to eat every 3 hours for the first 6-7 weeks. In fact, we had to do some crazy stuff in the first few weeks to actually wake them up--undress them, tickle their feet etc.

Then, because I'm horribly selfish and awful, when they could sleep longer stretches, we would still "wake" them up at around 11 PM for one last feed, so they would make it until 7 am (vs. 4 am). They were still kind of asleep (called a dream feed), but it was on our schedule.

They had no problems whatsover dropping the 11 PM feed at 6 months, and have slept 11-12 hours a night since then.

I dont see how waking your kids to feed when there are issues is being mean, and I dont think anyone here was suggesting "mean" moms woke their kids up.

I didn't wake them up because I needed the sleep...had nothing to do with them.

 

[KAMKIM]

I can't agree more! I've learned more in the past 13 years than I've ever learned before. Just because a medical professionals tells you something, doesn't make it a fact, or good for your family. Many nurses and doctors, you find, have different opinions on different matters - even in the same practice!

And after having a baby for a few weeks, you realize why they use sleep deprivation as a means of torture, because it certainly is!

I agree. I saved my daughters life because I ignored a doctor's suggestion and did what I thought was best. Thank God I learned to follow my intuition very quickly.

 

[nskjerven]

But if there is a reason, like you listed, why would you refuse to wake them? Do people not understand the meaning of the word "never?"

I'll repeat my previous post. I didn't need to wake mine, but if my doctor told me there was a need I would absolutely have done it. I'm pretty freaked by the idea that there are people who wouldn't.

I tend to think people that use words like "NEVER" haven't been in the shoes that needed to do that never.

It was a terrible time for us when my DD wouldn't nurse. She was so sleepy that we had to use cold water wash clothes on her feet to wake her up. Even with those as soon as she had a little in her tummy she was just done. The logs of intake & out go

I was so educated by books that I had NO common sense to work with back then.

With my 2nd child I just buckled myself down and refused to not have him not nurse. It was really hard with him too. He lost weight but then turned the corner and we made it thru and he breastfed for 6 months. It was bliss with him sharing those moments

As to the whole question of doing what you think is right for your child. It comes with time. I'm still learning how to be a parent 12+ years later. Now of a pre-teen girl

 

[rparmfamily]

I never had a baby that slept like that but I would wake mine to eat if it had been longer than 3 hrs or so. Only a newborn though.

 

[carrie6466]

I never woke either of mine, ds was 6 lb 3 oz, dd was 5 lbs even. Both were born at 39 weeks. Both slept through the night (7 - 8 hrs) at around 6 weeks old. I did wake them during the day if they slept more than 4 hrs or so at a time for the first few weeks. My ped. did tell me, with my ds, to give him 2 oz every 2 hrs while he was awake, but not to wake him at night to feed him.

 

[PaulaSue]

I breastfed and NEVER woke any of my DDs to nurse. If they are hungry they will wake.

 

[dislal]

My Dr. told me to wake my DD14 when she was a newborn because she was under 6lbs and she would sleep for 8 hours if I would let her so he said she needed to be fed every 4 hours, so I always joked that I was the only new mother who had to set an alarm for the middle of the night.

 

[C.Ann]

Two of my three kids slept through the night beginning when they were less than a month old.. Of course way back then, the formulas were something you made at home - not purchased from the store - and the doctors encouraged starting them on rice cereal very, very early on..

When I had my 3rd - in the 70's - things were a lot different and she had health issues - so what applied to the first two couldn't be applied to her..

As a rule though, I would never wake a child (especially at night) to feed them..

 

[BMNABrinx]

Yep...sure did. DD#2 was born 6 1/2 wks early weighing 4lbs5ozs. We had to wake her every 2 hours and try to get her to take 1 to 2 ozs of formula. We woke her for feedings around the clock.

 

[aprilgail2]

When I took the new baby and breastfeeding classes in the hospital they told us not to wake the baby up to feed them unless there was a medical issue that you had to do so for...My first pediatrician said to wake them every 4 hours...I changed peds after about 3 weeks (not for that reason LOL) and the next one said don't wake them to eat.....so every class and Dr will tell you something different....