Do you wake LO for daytime feedings?

RebF

My DS is only 2 weeks old so I am definitely on-demand feeding, but I am trying to get him to get used to daytime (noise, tv, talking,lights) and nighttime (low lights, quiet time). I have been told by many people to never let him sleep longer than 3 hours in the day. I have found that if I wake him, he does not eat his normal amounts and ends up crankier. BUT I would like to get him used to sleeping longer at night (if possible). Do you wake your LO in the day for feedings? Also, at 2 weeks old, how many hours would you say your LO is/was awake? I feel like all DS does is sleep and eat and not much awake time. Also, how often does/did your LO eat at two weeks? I know every baby is different, but I would still like to hear your experience. TIA!!!

hollywoodgirl311

We asked our pedi about this when Caelyn was 2 weeks old cause she was sleeping 4-6 hour stretches without waking to eat.  She told us to not wake her since her weight was fine and she was gaining. 

 If your LO is putting weight on without trouble and is happy, let him sleep If you supply drops at all (if you are breast feeding) you could pump in between when he eats to keep your milk up. I've found that Caelyn sleeping a lot in the day doesn't mean she stays up at night though we do try to play with her a lot in the evenings to tire her out :P

irishmorningstar

My midwife says to wake every two hours to nurse through the day--mostly to support milk production.  At three weeks we still sleep ALOT as well!  Good luck!

Britty685

My LO wakes up on her own every 3-4 hrs USUALLY. If she sleeps longer than that I will let her, but it is rare. She will be 2 wks on Friday. In between feedings she sleeps alot, we have days where she will be awake for a few hours. Most of the time she is sleeping though.

rachelann

If he has been asleep more than 3 hours I wake him. He always sleeps longer stretches at night if he has eaten a lot during the day.

JDO

We do, but only because DS was in NICU for 5 days due to blood sugar and refusal to eat, so our directions are to not let him go more than 4 hours between feedings right now. If he's sleeping we usually wake him at the 3.5 hour point, do a diaper change, then feed.

DS isn't quite two weeks old, but I'd guess he spends just a little time awake and not eating every day. He usually doesn't go right back to sleep after eating anymore, he stays up and 'plays' for a while (looking at our faces, having tummy time, sitting in his swing and watching the mobile, etc.), but he doesn't last long before drifting to sleep again. He's eating on average 55ml pumped breast milk every 3 hours, sometimes he eats more and goes 4 hours and sometimes he eats less and eats more often.

CodyGH

At that age, we didn't wake DS.  But it's like he had a timer on him and knew when it had been three hours since he last fed.  We put DS on a schedule starting at about 5 1/2 weeks.  So once that started, we woke him up for feedings.  He basically slept and ate and nothing else for the first 5 - 6 weeks.  Then he started being awake a little more.  However, he still can only be awake for about 1 - 1.5 hours before he gets cranky and needs a nap.  Most of the time he's only up for about an hour.

LCB34

Yes we wake suring the day.  I never let K go more than 2.5 hours without eating during the day.  It fills her up so that she sleeps at night.

It works for us as she is sleeping anywhere fom 8-10 hour stretchs at night and has been doing that since 7 weeks.

ssage

Before leaving the hospital, our pedi said to never let the baby go past 4 hours during the day to eat (she is FF) and if after 10pm, let her sleep.  She usually eats every 3 hours but occasionally will go 4.  I am a firm believer in routine so that you and the baby can count on it.

At 2 weeks, your child should sleep alot

RebF

Thanks everyone for your answers! I only wake LO up after he has been sleeping for 4+ hrs and then I change diaper and feed. He has been up now for 2 hrs so is really throwing me for a loop. I guess I am just on his schedule for now!