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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

cant wake my newborn up to nurse

38 replies

tiggz · 02/04/2010 20:43

My newborn is 1week and 1day old, and im waking he every 2 hours during the day to nurse as iv been told to by m/w.
But when i go to wake her up, its so hard, she so sleepy,
I try tickiling her feet, nudging her cheek, winding her, chating to her, calling her name, rocking her from side to side, nudging her gently...and nothing, she barely opens her eyes for a few seconds, then dozes straight back of, when i eventually wake her up she feeds fine, except from falling asleep a few times on the breast, shes not ill, and as i said does feed fine when she is awake.
I just wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem and what they done, and wanted to know if it was normal? any help would be great please.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

RealityIsWalking100K · 02/04/2010 20:44

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StealthPolarBear · 02/04/2010 20:45

Why has the MW told you to wake her? was she premature?

StealthPolarBear · 02/04/2010 20:45

Congratulations BTW

AmazingBouncingFerret · 02/04/2010 20:46

I have a golden rule when it comes to my children..... Dont poke the bear. Like reality said unless underweight just demand feed.

RealityIsWalking100K · 02/04/2010 20:46

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brimfull · 02/04/2010 20:46

is she a little jaundiced?
that can make them sleepy

Tee2072 · 02/04/2010 20:46

Stop waking her. She'll wake up when she's hungry then feed her!

Bert2e · 02/04/2010 20:47

Is she jaundiced as this can make them sleepy?

Is she feeding well - babies who are not taking enough milk can be very sleepy as they don't have enough energy to stay awake.

Have you tried stripping her clothes off and making her less cosy as this can wake them up?

Skin to skin contact is good too.

Weight gain?

Plenty of wet and dirty nappies?

Is your MW worried?

All babies really do at this age is eat and sleep!

RealityIsWalking100K · 02/04/2010 20:48

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LynetteScavo · 02/04/2010 20:48

Oh congratulations tiggz...I remember your posts from a couple of weeks ago. HOw was the birth?

Personally I wouldn't wake her...seh'll wake when she's ready for a feed, but my midwife wasn't happy when I let mine go 6 hours between feeds, but TBH, that was quite rare.

What is happening at night? How many times is she waking for a feed?

thisisyesterday · 02/04/2010 20:49

i wouldn't worry too much unless there is a particular reason to be waking her.

that said,, i would wake after 3 or 4 hours if she hadn't woken by herself

Undercovamutha · 02/04/2010 20:50

Is she underweight? If not, I'm not sure why you need to wake her every 2 hours. But if you do need to, then changing her nappy would be a good way of properly waking her up (although is a tad harsh!).

(BTW My DS fed really badly and lost quite a bit of weight in the first few weeks, and even then I was told 3 hour feeds were fine - as long as I also did 3 hourly feeds during the night as well).

Good luck and congratulations!

Original poster

tiggz · 02/04/2010 21:44

hi all, thankyou for the replys and the advice.
No my baby is not underweight nor is she jaundice. MW said...aim for 40miniute feed, every 4 hours, 20miniute on either breast, so i do 20mins left brest 2hours later 20mins on right breast and then throughout the night, i wake her every 4 hours at night, though she usually wakes me every 3 and a half hours, so night isnt the problem, its just the day time.
MW said anyone breastfeeding should aim for 40miniutes in 4hours otherw2ise the babies sugar level drops causing them to become even more sleepy, and you get into a vicious circle.
And lots of things including yahoo answers say to wake baby like i am.
lynettescarvo hello the labor wasnt all that great, my birthplan went tits up ha ha im just glad its all over now, thanx for asking.
thankyou for all the congragulations x

OP posts:

Undercovamutha · 02/04/2010 21:53

Hmm sounds a strange way to do things - but I'm not a bfing expert (although have bf 2 DCs). Not sure strictly timing it, or giving a 2 hour break 'between breasts' is the best plan, but perhaps I'm out of touch . Maybe your MW was just giving you some rough guidelines.

May be worth posting on the bfing/bottlefeeding thread - maybe someone like Tiktok (bfing counsellor) could give you some good advice.

SuziKettles · 02/04/2010 21:56

If her weight gain is ok and she's waking naturally at night every 3.5 hrs then I would see what happens during the day if you just leave her.

Maybe try waking her after 3 hours and see if she wants a longer feed then (both sides) if you're worried about leaving it too long. Demand feeding tends to be what's recommended though, all else being well.

Congratulations!

(By the way, I wouldn't consider feeding for around 40 minutes for one feed, maybe with a wee break in the middle, to be a long time with a newborn)

StarExpat · 02/04/2010 21:58

tiggz - my ds was low(ish) birthweight and jaundiced and had low blood sugar when he was born 2 weeks early... and mw and hv told me to feed him every 2 hours day and night. It made me crazy at first and he was starting to get into not such great sleeping patterns because I would wake him so much.

I then followed other advice to demand feed. It worked out soooo much better. His blood sugar was fine, then. He gained weight just fine and jaundice went away with exposure to sunlight and lots of milk.

DS woke to feed when he was hungry. He fed for as long as he needed (sometimes a really long time!). We both got more rest this way, too. It's more relaxed, less stress. Babies know when they are hungry.
In the first months, whenever he cried, I put him to the breast. Then he got milk or comfort, whichever he needed. I learned to feed laying down eventually, too... this changed everything.

Sorry to hear the labour wasn't great. Congrats on your new baby

StarExpat · 02/04/2010 22:01

oh yes, call or have a breastfeeding counsellor visit you (it's free and they are super helpful). They know loads more about bf than mw's do, I have found.

TotalChaos · 02/04/2010 22:02

even when my DS was at treatment levels of jaundice I was never told to feed him more often than 3 hourly. I think 2 hours maybe too frequent.

StarExpat · 02/04/2010 22:02

sorry, posted early . MW's 40 min every 4 hours is definitely a guideline... to shoot for so you know that your baby is getting enough milk. I found that feeding him from both sides at each feed was more helpful for us. Maybe try that?

Original poster

tiggz · 02/04/2010 22:08

Thank you all, how do i get in touch with a bf counseller? Im just such a worrier, constantly thinking if i dont wake her her sugar levels will go low...i dont think iv had alot of help and support about bf to be honest.
starexpat thanks for the comment and no worries about the labor, i still got through it thank god lol. I do feed her from both sides if she emptys one breast and still wants more.

OP posts:

winnybella · 02/04/2010 22:08

You should feed on demand, one breast first, then offer the other, if she takes it , fine, if not, that's fine.Repeat whenever baby is asking to be fed.
Your HV's advice is a bit strange.

daisy99divine · 02/04/2010 22:08

I'm not a bf counsellor or anything but I remember when my DS was born he wsa premature (4 weeks) good birthweight but bit jaundiced and losing weight fast. He was super sleepy and I was told to wake him to feed him otherwise he would get into cycle of dehydration, jaundice, jaundice get worse, sleepiness get worse, dehydration get worse etc etc

I woke him to feed him and topped up bf with formula for first 4 weeks. Then he started to turn a corner, started to wake more naturally, eat more, we dropped the formula went to demand feeding and from about 6 weeks never looked back.

I am not saying this was right or wrong or other advice to demand feed is right, just wanted to give another story because it can be difficult to make the right choices and we don't know everything - MW and HV may have good reason for their advice?

Good luck and congratulation btw

LittleWhiteWolf · 02/04/2010 22:09

I fed on demand, as in when DD wanted to be fed I fed her. I dont think I ever woke her for a feed...not unless she'd gone four hours without. Honestly if you're happy to do this, then carry on as you are, but otherwise I say go with the flow and let her tell you when she's hungry.
My DD and I got into a rountine of sorts whereby she would wake and I would change her and feed her, then spend some time with her cuddling and chatting to her until she fell asleep again. She was regularly fed yet sometimes slept longer than 2 hours until she started to wake for longer periods during the day and sleep longer during the night.

Basically, whatever works best for you!

Congrats btw!

Original poster

tiggz · 02/04/2010 22:11

i know googleing is a bad idea, but alot of internet sites say to wake them every 2hours too. i was to start with demand feeding untill after a couple of days i was told to get 40mins in 4hours, and the more i read on internet aswell the better it seemed to feed every 2 as im such a worry guts.

OP posts:

LynetteScavo · 02/04/2010 22:45

None of my babies ever fed for 40 mins...

I fed on demand, until they'd had enough. And I'd never, ever wake a baby during the night. But every singe baby is different....

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