Do you wake baby to feed?

Pixelkitty · December 2013

All of our doctors have told us that we have to wake the baby up to eat every 2-3 hours...basically for the first year according to the pediatrician. I can understand in the early weeks but how do I live off of 2 hours of sleep at a time for a whole year? I notice some people saying they get rest in 4 or 6 hour chunks? Are there varying opinions on what to do about this?

DebateThis · December 2013

Your pedi is nucking futs. You only need to wake to eat until LO is back at birthweight as a newborn or if you are having weight gain issues. Ther is utterly no reason to continue that BS for a full year, and your baby needs long stretches of sleep just like you do.

FWIW, my LO is having weight gain issues (he's gaining, just slower than the pedi would like) and is sleeping 6-7 hrs straight at night. Unless his weight gain becomes more of a concern, my pedi says to enjoy getting real sleep and "don't you dare think of waking LO up unless your boobs need you to!"

JaysonandKristin · December 2013

DebateThis said:

Your pedi is nucking futs. You only need to wake to eat until LO is back at birthweight as a newborn or if you are having weight gain issues. Ther is utterly no reason to continue that BS for a full year, and your baby needs long stretches of sleep just like you do.

NO KIDDING!!

Pixelkitty · December 2013

That's a relief. We're seeing a different pediatrician tomorrow (at the same practice) so I'm going to ask her the same question and see if we can get a more reasonable answer... I'm already going crazy with how many conflicting medical opinions we keep hearing. I can't believe it!

kimmycup · December 2013

No way. If she sleeps more than 3 hours at a time I'm happy!

[Deleted User] · December 2013

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brandeeteer · December 2013

We wake LO to eat every 3 hours during the day but definitely not at night. Our pediatrician said if he gets the calories he needs during the day he will be able to sleep longer stretches at night.

Ninjamama86 · December 2013

Noooope. LO can sleep as long as she likes (unfortunately it's rarely more than 2 hours anyway, but my nipples and I wouldn't mind a 4-5 hour break every now and then)

jegoehle · December 2013

Agreed, daytime only. They have to eat sometime, make it during the day

Justnooch · December 2013

Pixelkitty said:
That's a relief. We're seeing a different pediatrician tomorrow (at the same practice) so I'm going to ask her the same question and see if we can get a more reasonable answer... I'm already going crazy with how many conflicting medical opinions we keep hearing. I can't believe it!

One of the biggest shocks of motherhood was how much I had to filter advice from pediatricians and do what I knew was best for my son. It's great to get second opinions and seek advice from a doctor, but you are your baby's expert and you should always do what feels right. Good luck!

JaysonandKristin · December 2013

Justnooch said:

That's a relief. We're seeing a different pediatrician tomorrow (at the same practice) so I'm going to ask her the same question and see if we can get a more reasonable answer... I'm already going crazy with how many conflicting medical opinions we keep hearing. I can't believe it!
One of the biggest shocks of motherhood was how much I had to filter advice from pediatricians and do what I knew was best for my son. It's great to get second opinions and seek advice from a doctor, but you are your baby's expert and you should always do what feels right. Good luck!

This AND pedis are sooooo UNDERtrained in nutrition it's quite sad.

McJen715 · December 2013

I couldn't handle a whole year on 2-3 hour feedings. I'd go mad. And I don't think anyone would have more than one kid after that.

DD2 went 5 hours last night and I was so excited you'd have thought it was Christmas.

Princess_Lily · December 2013

I read on Kellymom until 4w wake baby every 4-5 hours to feed at night, and 2-3 hours during the day.

After 4w, its as needed.

DD slept 4.5h in one session. Once her sleep pattern becomes more predictable I will be pumping/nursing at night as needed. Pumping to help stay comfortable, and nurse if she wakes.

babymama619 · December 2013

I was told to wake her until she hit her birth weight and 40 weeks gestation. I was supposed to wake her every 3 hours during the day and I could let her go 4 at night. I only had to wake her a few times during the day. She is now 5 weeks old and the longest she will go is 4.5 hours at night and that's maybe 1 time per week. Usually it's every 3 hours here, which means 1 hour to feed and get her back down and 2 hours to sleep. It's my understanding I should expect this until I introduce solids at 6 months.

So I would definitely get a second opinion on the waking thing. It might only buy you 30 minutes, but hey that's 30 minutes!

DMS04 · December 2013

I am a lurker here mostly but I actually am a pediatric resident and there is NO way you should wake a baby up every two or three hours to eat around the clock for a whole year barring extraordinary circumstances. That's bad for a whole list of reasons. Enjoy your longer stretches of sleep when you can get them!

KatieintheCity · December 2013

What DT said. Your pedi is crazy. We woke DS to eat for the first 2-3 weeks, until he got back up to his birthweight and his jaundice was gone.

I will occassionally rouse him from a nap during the day to eat if it's been getting close to 4 hours, but that's because if he doesn't eat enough during the day he'll be up more at night, and we all need our sleep at night! We haven't woken him at night for over a month.

katielee1422 · December 2013

Mine told me the same, even though he gained his birth weight back. I only wake during the day

daniann333 · December 2013

mrsnikkimitchell said:

No way! We finally have a pattern down where I feed and put her to bed by 11 pm and she wakes up around 3 am to eat and then sleeps again until at least 7 am. She gained 11 ounces in a week so we aren't concerned about weight gain at all. Even during the day she usually goes 4 hours between eating. She lets me know when she is hungry. If I wake her up and force her to eat, she ends up spitting it all up and ends up with an upset belly. That's crazy for your pediatrician to say for a whole year!

Same here. If I wake LO to eat, he throws it up. He will eat when he is hungry. I do not wake him during the night and he eats about every 4 hours during the day.

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