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Should I wake her to feed or feed on demand?

OurJellybeanOurJellybean member
in Breastfeeding
I'm new to this but since my milks come in I've been very engorged and if I go too long without feeding lo I get really uncomfortable and leak non stop. Lo likes to sleep long periods at times! Up to 4-5 hours! This is too long but I cant justify waking her when she seems so content and if I wake her she gets so upset and won't latch. My boobs can't take it tho! I find myself staring at her hoping she wakes up when I should be sleeping! Help
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Re: Should I wake her to feed or feed on demand?

  • lachulavistalachulavista member
    If she is only 6 days old I would definitely wake her up.  At this point she is to young imo to go that long without feeding. Have you thought about maybe hand expressing just to relieve some of the engorgment?
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  • ProcrastinatingBrideProcrastinatingBride member
    This is really a question for your pediatrician. Ours had us waking DD during the night to feed until she was back up to her birth weight (which took us until she was 3 weeks old - she's been a slow grower). Generally, like the PP said, I'd be waking her at this stage because she's probably not back to her birth weight yet.

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  • jlsimon56jlsimon56 member
    We woke LO every 3 hours to eat.  When she reached her birth weight, we still did it.  I think around 5-6 weeks, we let her sleep at night, but still woke her during the day.  Even now, I wake her during the day if her nap has been 3 hours.
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  • mommabear7182mommabear7182
    If she is only 6 days, yes I would wake her up. She still doesn't know how to detect hunger that well.
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  • Anne MommyAnne Mommy member

    I'd be so happy to have a baby that slept like that, but pp are right. You should wake her. I was told every 2-3 hours when DS was that little. I would wake her up at about 2 and try to calm her down before feeding... it's easier for you if you aren't in pain. After a month or two, you can increase the time.

    You can also talk to your doctor. They might want to let her sleep at night and have you wake her during the day.

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  • LMBecky11LMBecky11 member
    At 6 days old I would probably wake her up to feed her every 2 or 3 hours. I was told that they can go for one stretch of 4 hours at night, but other than that, wake them up every 2 or 3 hours. So that's what I went by when mine was that young.
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