AIBU to leave my 4 week old baby to sleep?

[Secretlifeofme]

I have had conflicting advice on this and wondered if I could get some Mumsnet wisdom. Should I be waking my baby to feed at regular intervals during the night or can I leave her to sleep until she wakes naturally? It's 10 pm here and she has been asleep since 8.30 so usually I would set an alarm for 12.30, but can I just leave her? She is gaining weight well and is healthy, if that makes a difference. Thanks

[Star81]

I would never wake a sleeping baby unless they had been asleep for a very long time and you were worried about them.

They will wake to feed when they are hungry.

[EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall]

If baby is gaining weight well I'd leave them

I only ever woke up my 2 that were premature and then only for the first month

[ZigZaggyZoo]

With no health issues & gaining weight well I would leave her and enjoy the sleep! while it lasts

[MaintainTheMolehill]

Apart from when they were jaundiced when they first came home I never set alarms for feeding. My babies were my alarm.

[WindFlower92]

My midwife told me if they're gaining weight then let them sleep. Think she would have been about that age at that time, so I'd leave her!

[Secretlifeofme]

Ah, this is good to hear! She didn't gain weight very well at the beginning so I was advised never to have more than 4 hours between feeds at night and 3 in the day, but I think now she is doing better I will leave her and relax a bit more about it

[Secretlifeofme]

Ironically now I am not tired!

[bubs80]

Don't wake sleeping baby . Unless underweight

[runoutofideasnow]

I never woke ds to feed him. He was a good weight when he was born and ate regularly gaining weight well. Didn't see the need and no one ever told me to anyway.

[WorraLiberty]

Ah, this is good to hear! She didn't gain weight very well at the beginning so I was advised never to have more than 4 hours between feeds at night and 3 in the day, but I think now she is doing better I will leave her and relax a bit more about it

I was given exactly the same advice for my DS and once he started to steadily gain weight, I stopped waking him.

He ended up taking more milk in the mornings anyway to make up for what he'd missed.

[mastertomsmum]

My son was premmie but we never woke him to feed. He’s a teen now and the goal for a non premmie was to sleep through the night from around 12 weeks. He was 5 months when he slept through.

Waking children to feed and waking from a nap to stick to the routine are routes to something utterly unnecessary.

[Secretlifeofme]

Argh now the baby is asleep and I can't relax! Up until today she has been really fussy and wakeful at this time until about 1.30am, so I think I've got in a pattern of being awake with her... 'Sleep when the baby sleeps' can be hard when you're listening for every little noise

[GrumpyHoonMain]

The advice for breastfeeding mums is to wake every 2-3 hours to prevent your supply from drying out. If you aren’t breastfeeding then let the baby sleep!

[dementedpixie]

Has she regained birth weight and is gaining regularly? It's not good advice to leave a baby to sleep if they are not feeding effectively. Some babies dont demand enough feeds and would need feeding whether they are asking for it or not.

[cochineal7]

Supply doesn’t dry up in 2-3 hours!

[Stegosaurus1990]

Never wake a sleeping baby!

(Unless HV, MW or health professional says).

The advice for BFing mums is absolutely not to wake them, it’s to feed on demand. Baby creates the supply by demand. Waking them
up for a feed they don’t want is totally pointless.

[Stegosaurus1990]

PS have a EBF 8 month old so am up to date with most recent advice and certainly haven’t had any difficulties with supply!

[MaryShelley1818]

Definitely don’t wake to feed unless specific health concerns and you’ve been advised to. The same advice for FF or BF babies.

[Xyzzzzz]

I had this once and my HV said to let her sleep.