I have a conundrum: every bit of wisdom I've received from lactation consultants says to get your kid up for feedings at least every 3 hours, even if it's the middle of the night, regardless of how deeply they're asleep. Four hours is apparently the absolute outer limit. However, I've also read articles that you should never wake a sleeping baby, especially one in the middle of a growth spurt because when they're asleep their body is releasing the hormones they need to grow (most of which happens while they're unconscious). So far, I'm going for the latter since she'll nurse for three hours at a time. It seems silly if she's already actively eaten for so long to drag her awake and force her to the breast, particularly when it can take up to an hour to get her fully awake and ready to eat.
Hmmm... So, never wake a sleeping baby or wake her up for a feeding? I've never, ever had a good sleeper, especially at such a young age, so this is completely new territory to me. While we were at the hospital, she'd wake every 3 or 4 hours at night, waking a bit more frequently during the day. Now, she's awake and eating most of the time (or sleeping on the breast and eating) and sleeps 5 hours a night starting 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., which is almost a full night. We're taking her in Monday to make sure she's gaining weight appropriately. I guess that'll tell us if we're doing the right thing or not. She has long periods of quiet wakefulness where she just hangs out and takes in the world. It's awesome. Again, I have no experience with a newborn who's actually happy and alert but not shrieking.
By the way, I'm hoping not to make this blog all about my children. Believe it or not, I plan to write something that's of interest to someone other than me. However, this is really all I can think about now, and probably will be for several weeks until we settle into a pattern. Then I'll be complaining that she's broken her pattern. So there.
3 comments:
My son would sleep for 5-6 hours at a stretch by the time he came home from the hospital (at about 2-3 weeks). How often is she eating the rest of the day? If she's nursing 6ish (or more) times a day and still sleeping a good stretch overnight, you're probably doing just fine. And if she's gaining weight, you're definitely doing fine :) Sleep will help your body make more milk (and better quality milk). And if she's hungry, she will wake up. Sleeping a good stretch might be a good sign that she's filling up right before.
When pumping to supplement breastfeeding, I always did best by pumping in the morning just after a feeding. Was always still full from the rest (and probably the bigger evening meal, which had more time to digest). YMMV :)
She's eating about 5 or so times a day during the day, though sometimes they're up to an hour or two a feed. In my mind, the two-hour benders count for more than one, but I'm not sure if the pediatrician would agree with me.
Unfortunately, when we took her in Monday, her weight gain was a low - only two ounces in about ten days. She's peeing and pooping like gangbusters, but it seems I'm making skim milk - even the hind milk seems to be milk lite. We've upped her supplements of breast milk, but when we take her in next Friday, I suspect her pediatrician may recommend a bit of formula to keep up with her need for more fat. But at least she wasn't worried enough to recommend it immediately. I've started waking her at night (though she's on another spurt, so that hasn't been too much of a problem) for additional feedings.
Never wake!
Actually, that's not always true. My girls' pediatrician said to wake Ellie to eat when she was having trouble gaining weight and keeping it on. Ada was - and remained - over 8 pounds, however. And the doc said with a baby that big there was no reason to wake her.
Of course, you're well past this whole dilemma, now!
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