Wake 5 week old to feed

[DietCokePlease]

Should I wake my 5 week old now (at midnight) for a feed before DH and I go to sleep? He always wakes up of his own accord at this time but tonight he is fast asleep! This hasn't happened before! He would then normally naturally wake again around 4.

I would try and do a dream feed.
I'm feeding my 13week old right now :)

Can you do a dream feed so he doesn't fully wake, just has a sleepy feed and stays down. I could sometimes do this with mine when they were little. Its been a while though!

How do you do that without him waking??

Gently brush his lips with nipple or bottle teat and he should take it from there

Keep lights really low, no nappy change unless you really have to. Don’t chat, or stimulate. Just a drowsy feed. Wind best you can & poo back down. Allowing him to skip this feed could mean he wakes at 2. Keeping the late night feed going encourages a longer sleep when you’re in bed.

I'd personally leave him unless you want to dream feed. It's probably the heat. My DD is 11 months and usually wakes up several times. She's out of it with this heat. Means I get to sleep undisturbed for longer though....

Apologies if this is a silly question (following as 1st time mum to be, and lots to learn!)
How do you then wind the baby after a dream feed?
Does that wake them up, or are gentle back rubs enough?

I'd dream feed too, used to love doing them 😍

With winding I would put them over my shoulder and usually that would do the trick. Because they were asleep I found they didn't usually take in as much air because they weren't guzzling like they did when they were awake.

If he is underweight or had a medical condition and you have been told to wake then yes, if not I'm not sure why you eould need to. Both of mine were only waking once a night at that age and by a week/week and a half later both sleeping through (12-14) hours. Babies tend to put themselves in a routine, some sleep through, some wake all the time. He's probably finding his natural pattern.

When mine were babies, the older midwives' adage was "12 weeks and 12 pounds" before you should leave them overnight. I'd try a dream feed too.

Once they've regained their birth weight you don't need to wake to feed.

If they start waking at a more inconvenient time for you though you may want to wake to feed before you go tot sleep.