how long without a feed for a newborn

[umboo]

Hello

Dd who is 5do slept for three and a half hours this morning and I was concerned about how long she should go for without a feed so eventually I woke her. Now if by some miracle she does the same tonight how long should I allow her to sleep? Am just concerned bc I'd early days and we're still establishing bf'ing.

I'm sure someone will come along and have some better advice, but I always reckon "never wake a sleeping baby!" Get yourself some sleep too!
She will be fine for 3 and a half hours, she's not likely to do it very often (although you could be lucky ) and your supply will adjust accordingly.

When she squeaks, feed her!
Congratulations!

I think it's about 8-10 feeds they usually have in 24 hours when they are that size, by the way. They aren't always evenly spaced though of course.

Thanks:) tbh even if she does repeat it I'll spend the whole time stressing about whether she should wake up...!

If she was full term and weighs more than 6lb then I'd leave her to wake (this is what I was told by NICU when they discharged my 3lb13 tiddly little dtd!)

Well it's been nearly three hours now... Did manage to get some sleep but it is still stressing me out!! Shes full term and was7.9 at birth. Feeding is going pretty well so far and I dont want to ruin it...

I think its the baby hammock that's making her feel snug:)

i go more by out put then size. if she having the right no of wet and dirty nappies. 6 wet and at least 2 dirty nappies in 24 hours then your probably good to leave her up to 4 hours at night. Don't forget its frequent feeding in the early Weeks that establishes your supply so its important to feed often in the first 4-6 Weeks.

Around about 4 hours in the day. Throw the clock away at night otherwise you'll end up flapping that she went 2 hours one night, 5 the next, 3 the next and only 1 the next.

Good luck - don't forget the chocolate cake and wine during the evening feeds.

Newborns will normally feed 10-12 times in 24 hours but some of this will be closer together than others.

Here are some tips that might help you decide whether to wake her or not.

Congrats on your new DD :)

Definitely give yourself permission to relax on this one - take your rest while you can as your baby will not let herself go hungry!

It sounds like you have done an amazing job so far - my DS was smaller and we struggled to establish breastfeeding for about a month or so as latching on and letting down was difficult, even so, he would still sometimes go 4 hours without a feed though. At other times it was 15 minutes!

I was told every 4 hours is fine and dandy, though the baby will guide you some closer together than others. She does need sleep too of course.

Anyway, I think I am waffling now (rather tired) but the point is those stretches of sleep are vital opportunities to recharge, you have a long road ahead and sleep deprivation tends to be cumulative, so you relaxing and resting/sleeping too is as vital a part of caring for your baby as the feeding is.

Congratulations! Sounds like you make a great team. :)

Thanks for all the advice and support and for reminding me not to stress! The leaflet is very useful many thanks. I didn't quite follow the bit about if the baby is physically close to you, does this mean in same room or in a sling?

Dd is dc2, feeding ws much harder first time around, we're off to a much better start this time, which is probably y I'm so conscious of keeping it up!

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I personally would pick her up and push a nipple in her mouth after 3 hours in the daytime but leave her to sleep as long as she liked at night, on the general principle of guiding her towards an understanding of the difference between day and night as soon as humanly possible.

(and of shoving as much food into her as possible during daylight hours so she's less hungry at night)

OOoooo so glad you are doing better this time round - gives me hope as I am expecting second and feeding was such a source of stress first time round, hope I follow in your footsteps.

My dd often went 4 to 5 hours without a feed but did cluster feed the hours before that. My dd was full term, gaining weight and plenty of nappies so I let her be and we've never had any bf problems. Like a previous poster said, i'd rather not wake a sleeping baby!

thanks. ginpalace yes definitely been eaiser this time. not to say we havent had issues- cracked nipples, and some work on the latch today with mw, but overall much much better.

am off to hospital now though mw was concerned about the condition of my tear and wants a dr to check it out, in some discomfort now :(

My DD would often freak us out when she was tiny by randomly going 6 hours at night without waking for a feed, the first time it happened I was terrified! Def agree to let a sleeping baby lie as long as wees/poos are as expected.

Gotta love those cracked nipples - joy - can't wait!

Hope your tear mends OK.

I don't know if this will help, the routine I was told to follow to repair cracked nipples was this. After each feed:

rub breast milk over entire nipple - do this in front of a mirror to make sure you get all of your nipple.

allow to air dry for 10 minutes

apply lansinoh generously

allow to air dry for 10 minutes

Obviously this is a lot easier if you're at home and can walk around with no top on. It might cause a bit of a stir in the local cafe!

Thanks, will try that routine at night or in my room, am staying with mum atm so she would get a shock kulfi did that in the living room! Shes already being great about me walking round with just a towel wrapped round my lower half to allow air to get to my tear. Tear is in a pretty bad state :( :( but keeping dd close to me to let the oxytocin flow its keeping me a bit happier than otherwise about the situation.

Thanks