HELP! 2 week old sleeping 8hrs+ through the night - is this OK?

[squidgeymiller]

My 2 week old sleeps A LOT through the night - Most nights I have woken her to feed her after about 6/7 hrs but last night I left her to wake up on her own and she slept for 8.5 hrs.

The only reason I was waking her was because the midwives in the hospital said a newborn shouldn't really go longer than 6 hours between feeds, however, my friend has said that you should never wake a sleeping baby. It takes a lot to wake her up and usually takes me about 10 minutes to get her awake enough to feed. She doesn't particularly like being woken up either!

She was 2 weeks late (I'm not sure if that makes any difference!) and at 2 weeks old is usually awake quite a lot of the day (unless we're out and about) and at the moment is cluster feeding almost constantly morning and afternoon, with a couple of hours sleep in between.

This is (obviously) my 1st baby and I don't have a clue if it's too early for her to be sleeping this much at night and awake this much during the day.

ANY ADVICE OR THOUGHTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED - I THINK I'M GOING MAD GOING OVER ALL THE PROS AND CONS IN MY HEAD!!!

PS - I know I shouldn't complain about this and believe me I'm not - I just want to make sure she's OK sleeping this much, and that I'm not causing her any problems / feeding her too little!

she was 8lb 6 at birth at last hv visit (last Fri) was back up to 8lb 6.5. plenty of wet/dirty nappies and otherwise healthy and happy.

She is/was not jaundiced and I do have to say that she was very sleepy while in utero - had to be induced and monitored quite closeley with trace machines as every time they tried to monitor her she was asleep - in fact, she spent most of the day while I was in labour asleep! Eventually had c-section as no progress with the labour after 2 days. Do you think this makes any difference?

I've also realised that it's usually around 4am when she wakes up, whatever time I put her down.

Enjoy it while you can I say!

I think she is probably fine. If she was 8 lb6, she is probably taking a good big feed. As long as your instinct is that she is happy and thriving, then so be it. I would keep an eye on your milk supply though.

just keep a look out for her falling asleep when you are feeding her, and for her sleeping a lot in the day. if she is sleeping a lot, day and night and you can't wake her to feed, or if she falls asleep after only feeding a little and their are few dirty or wet nappies, that's the time to call the midwife. my dd did what I've described because we were having problems with feeding and her little body was basically giving up. your friends advice about not waking a sleeping baby would not have been true for me.

i would say that if she's well and thriving then it should be fine - my friend had a sleepy baby and constantly worried about it but she was just that, sleepy!

However, I don't think it's the best for your milk supply... but if you're still demand feeding when she's awake it should all work out? I think... perhaps someone who knows what they're talking about will be along soon (to correct me lol!)

My ds was exactly the same slept 7pm-4am practically from birth and then 7pm-7am from about 5 weeks. He's still sleeping for 12 hours solid now at 13 weeks.

I was worried too but it seems now like he just likes his sleep! He feeds quite a lot on the day so obviously makes up for it (like it sounds like your dd does) Keep an eye on her weight gain but she sounds fine to me!

Enjoy it, and don't worry about waking her! My first two was jsut the same, used to feed all morning and all evening but sleep at night and in the afternoons.

I had to wake DD up every 3 hours day and night as she wasn't gaining any weight. With DS, he had to feed every 4 hours as he still had jaundice at 21 days old so needed to be flushed out with fluids.

If your baby is feeding well during the day and gaining weight, I'd say let her sleep. You are very lucky to be getting that much sleep!

Thanks v much for your comments - v reassuring!

Both of mine were 8lb+ babies and both used to have a reasonably long stretch during the night. I used to give them a HUGE feed about 11pm and then just see when they would wake themselves up -I never specifically woke either of them up for a feed. On DS's first night home from hospital he slept through to about 6am on this basis.

DD was a very sleepy baby. I honestly think that she slept about 22 hours a day for the first 2 weeks or so. Her grandparents felt very cheated! I mentioned it to the doctor and the midwife and neither of them were remotely concerned (she was packing on weight, lots of wet nappies and very alert when she was awake). I agree that some babies just seem to need more sleep. DD is now 2.8 and still likes her sleep - has a very solid 2 hour nap every day and is very crotchety if she has to miss it.

my dd1 (nearly 9lb) slept for 9 or 10 hours a night quite often from 1 day old. i think it's not as unusual as we think, you just don't hear about it (or don't believe people when they say it).

we were tempted to wake her for a feed but she was reluctant to wake and, frankly, the temptation wasn't as strong as the temptation to enjoy the restful nights.

my 3rd also was like this. she was also over 8lb. all of mine were born seeming to know when night was and that it was for sleeping.

I think it is brilliant she is sleeping so much - Trust your insincts, if she is happy and settled and not too difficult to wake etc I wouldn't worry and just count yourself blessed - It might change though, so just enjoy it while it lasts!! (Then again it might not - )

Don't worry!!

Up all last night with DD (5 weeks)!

up 5 times last night with DS (almost 10 months!)

ds2 has slept through from birth... now 14 weeks... bf didn't suffer.