Do you wake baby to feed if they're asleep?

[PenelopeChipShop]

I'd really appreciate any input on this! My ds is 5 days old. The midwives at the hospital told me not to let him go more than 3 hours without a feed ( am breastfeeding). But he sleeps quite a lot at the moment - to be honest he sleeps most of the day and only really wakes for feeding! But sometimes he sleeps a bit longer than 3 hours, day and night. Should I wake him if it's 'time' for a feed and he's peaceful? Also how do I calculate when it's been 3 hours - from when I start feeding or when finished? With him snoozing off on the boob, being woken for a quick burp and nappy change then latching on to the second boob it can take 1.5 hrs to actually be done. So if I start at 4 but don't finish til 5.30 when is the next one 'due' anyway??

Sorry if i sound clueless but this really surprised me - I had just thought it would be clear when he was hungry ( which it is ) but after this advice I'm worried that I'm starving him if I don't wake him up on cue!

yes, i would be waking him at least every 3 hours to feed. time it from the start of a feed.

One he regains his birthweight and is putting on steadily you can just wait until he is hungry. Although if he has his day and night all mixed up after a while it is better to feed often in the day in the hope that the time he goes longer than three hours will be in the night and not the day. so I would say make sure he feeds every 3 hours for now especially in the day. A feed doesn't have to include both boobs. If he starts at 4, sleeps, and then feeds again at something past five, i'd call that two feeds.

Wake him in the day but not in the night (unless he's scrawny or very jaundiced in which case both). Long sleeps in the daytime are asking for trouble IME.

you really do need to wake him at night too, he is only 5 days old and you need to make sure he is taking enough milk
the problem is that a baby who doesn't take enough milk can become quite sleepy, then of course they don't wake for feeds and take less milk and it's a bit of a vicious circle.,

in the first week you really want baby to be nursing at least 10-12 times in 24 hours

there is a good guide here

For the first week I fed every three hours strictly. I found dd would take a feed even without being awake.

After a week, i offered milk every three hours at 7an 10am 1pm 4pm and 7pm. At 7pm she had a dunk in the bath and swaddled in carrycot. I then woke her at 11pm, fed, put back and left for her to wake as and when and it was roughly 3am. Feed, back to sleep then wake at 7am and round we go again.

Eventually she dropped the night feeds herself (except for growth spurts and teething) but has only just at 6mo stop having milk every three hours in the day.

Brilliant, thanks. That site is useful thisisyesterday thanks. And I didn't realise that I could count a feed on different boobs an hour apart as two feeds either KatandKit! Have been writing everything down and realised that he's only actually slept longer than 3 hours twice - but I'll make sure he doesn't again until he's bigger. His weight is ok though, midwife saw him yesterday and was happy.

I wouldn't wake him up, unless it was the day and over 6 hours. IME newborn babies are very very sleepy and they make up for it when they do actually feed. But thats just me, all babies are different.

Also you count the hours from the start of the feed, so if the feed starts at 4pm, and you want it to be every 3 hours, then the next feed should be at 7pm.

I remember my DD would sometimes feed hourly and most others would yell for food between 3-4hours apart. I was never told to strictly feed at any time but she would generally be crying/rooting by 4 hours at the latest. I foundcwhen my milk came in i HAD to feed at least this close together to off-load the milk! Lol

What im saying is dont beat yourself up over a few minutes/trying to get it perfect. It usually falls into place by itself, just keep an eye on it.

I would treat 3 hours as the absolute maximum time to leave the baby between feeds at this stage - until the baby has regained birthweight and is reliably waking them selves up every couple of hours you need to ensure they feed frequently.

I was told that it is impossible to feed too much - but you can feed too little. If in doubt, feed!

Thank you thisisyesterday for recommending that articles . It's quite good.