Intro and a sleeping question

mchupie · December 2010

Hi ladies, new here. I'm so glad to join you. Our daughter Carina was born on Tuesday, 12/28 and we are just getting settled in at home.

She seems to want to sleep all day and night. How often would you wake her up for feeding/changing? I've heard a few conflicting things and was wondering what the consensus is. TIA!

AKay25 · December 2010

My baby lost a decent amount of weight at first because my milk didn't come in right away, so I think the doc told us to feed him about every 2-3 hours if memory serves. After a handful of days at home he pretty much started waking up to feed at about that frequency anyways (he also slept a TON those first few days, but I promise that that will almost definitely change.)

rosiemomma · December 2010

Congratulations!! Newborns are sleepy, and that is normal. A newborn will sleep, nurse and may have short alert periods while awake and calm. You should try to wake baby every two hours during the day and offer the breast, even if baby is still half asleep. If your baby is too sleepy try undressing her and changing her diaper, if this doesn't work let baby sleep for a half hour more and try again. If you can get baby to latch even if it for a few minutes that is wonderful! a baby that age can't eat much more than 1.5 ounces so a few sucks is all she will need!

At night you can let baby go 4 hours between feedings.... usually a young baby still needs diaper changes at night until about 3-5 months old, but changing can help wake them a little for nursing.

Let baby comfort nurse as often as possible and for as long as she likes, this will help establish your milk supply. It is best to not offer any bottles or pacifiers for 2-4 weeks so baby gets a good milk supply and doesn't get a bottle preference or nipple confusion.

I hope baby is latching well, and take good care of your nipples use lanolin after every feeding, a little soreness is normal but your breast shouldn't hurt and nursing should not be painful!

GOOD LUCK MOMMA! CONGRATS AGAIN!

https://milkforbaby.blogspot.com/

juliane2004 · December 2010

Hi Missy! Glad to see you here now

Sleeping all day and night is totally normal. It won't last forever so enjoy it while it lasts!

I wake my DS every 3 hrs in the daytime, and let him sleep as long as he wants at night. I'm trying to make sure he eats most of his formula in the daytime so he "should" wake less in the night time.

Diva416 · December 2010

Congratulations!!! I think it would depend on Carina's health (love the name, btw!). The hospital I was at recommended feeding every 3 hours as a standard, but my baby lost a lot of weight and had jaundice, so her doctor said to feed her every 2 until she was gaining and the jaundice was gone. Try to see your baby's doctor soon for a better idea, and possibly talk to the nurse on the phone at your doctor's office in the mean time. I wouldn't wait more than 3 between feedings while she is a newborn, as their tummys don't hold much, and what goes in tends to go out quickly!

Diva416 · December 2010

Oh, and I would change her when you feed her, so you are not waking her unnecessarily extra times.

lilmgirl · December 2010

Congratulations mchupie!! So happy to see you here Smile

For us, it was feeding every 2-3 hours. We never really had to wake him as he woke up on his own. Once he passed his birth weight by his 2w appt, we've been letting him sleep. (and he's still gaining weight just fine)

sefaniee · December 2010

Congrats girl!! My LO has always been a sleeper. In fact the first couple days home from the hospital it was almost impossible to wake him up. We were trying every 2-3 hours but it wasn't always successful. We also had to change him everytime he ate.

mchupie · December 2010

Thanks so much for your help, ladies!

Intro and a sleeping question

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