Should I keep waking him?

[Csara]

Ok, my son is now 9 days old and I have been waking him every single night to eat. I honestly think he'd sleep 8 hours or so if I didn't wake him. Should I let him? Is he too young? He weighs only about 6 lb 11 oz right now and eats constantly during the day. That's probably why he's able to sleep for a 5 hour stretch at night before I wake him. I am anxious to see how long he would sleep without me waking him though. What do you think???

ETA: I'm so not used to this since DS1 woke every 2 hrs around the clock to eat forEVER!!!

[jessica]

I'd call the nurse at your pedi's or something as some want you to wait until they are 8 pounds to stop waking them up ... we never woke J up after the first night.

[Deana]

I personally would not wake him. If you are concerned about your milk supply, then maybe I would either wake him or pump, but I am not one to wake a sleeping baby (unless of course you are worried about his weight). Maybe he is just 'tanking up' during the day.

[Csara]

I'm slightly concerned about his weight, but not overly! He did gain an oz as of yesterday when I took him to the ped. I will try tonight not to wake him and just pump. I keep saying I'm going to not wake him, but I end up doing it anyway b/c I'm awake and well.....I figure I might as well. Maybe tonight will be different.....I'll let you know.

[KeelyKay]

He'll grow . Don't worry. When he *needs* to eat, he'll let you know. I wouldn't wake him at night. G was perfectly content to sleep at night until his pedi told me to start waking him every 2 hours to eat (when he wasn't back to his birth weight by 2 weeks). He was back up there (plus 2oz) at 3 weeks and they said I didn't have to wake him anymore. Well... I didn't have to wake him anymore -- he was used to it.

If you're comfortable letting him wake you, go for it .

[Csara]

yikes - that is what i'm afraid of!!! i dont want him getting used to it!

and man its hard to type 1handed

[IUgrad02]

Originally Posted by Csara

and man its hard to type 1handed

Ha, I very vividly recall trying to type 1 handed when I was nursing C...

I did a quick search, and this is what I found on the LLL forum. This seems to be a very common Q, so it seems you're not alone. I don't remember clearly how long C was waking to nurse, but I don't think he went over 3 hours at night until he was like 6 weeks old... so that's pretty nice that Jett is sleeping so well for you! I keep hoping he's going to be your sound sleeper. You certainly deserve it!

Here is what I found:

Should I wake my infant to nurse?
This is a common question. The short answer is: it depends...does your baby meet these criteria?

1. Going to the breast AT LEAST 8-12 times per 24 hours
2. Having 5-6 wet disposable diapers (6-8 cloth) per 24 hours
3. Having AT LEAST 2-3 dirty diapers (size of a US quarter or larger) per 24 hours

Then you can probably just let her sleep. Many newborns are very sleepy and sleep constantly except for when they eat. As long as they are doing the three things above, they're getting enough to eat.
http://www.lalecheleague.com/FAQ/enough.html

[HeavenLeigh]

I wouldn't wake him, baby and you need the rest. Don't worry, he will wake you when he's hungry

[RedBedHead]

I would wake him at least every four hours in order to keep your supply up.

[Csara]

Well, I did not wake him - he woke me! I guess he got used to the time I was waking him b/c he did wake up at about 3:15 a.m.

Oh, and because HE was ready - the feeding was much quicker and I got back to bed before 4 a.m and woke him again at almost 8!! He is an awesome sleeper.

eta: I'm not worried about my supply - he eats all day and I'm known to have an oversupply.