Newborn doesn't wake at night to feed

[emmalou19]

My 4 week old DD is feeding well, usually every 2 hours during the day and is putting on weight. She was full term and no issues. However at night she goes for hours in comparison without feeding. Tonight she fed at 10.30 then went down in her cot and I've ended up waking her at 3am to feed her because she hadn't woken up. Should I wake her to feed her at night or let her sleep? I feel like she would obviously let me know if she was hungry in the night but I'm too nervous to try it out (FTM of course). Would appreciate advice of anyone who's had a similar situation- I'm of course grateful that up to this point I've escaped the newborn sleepless nights!

I would wake 3/4 hourly whilst this tiny

My son slept through from 8 weeks, we did not wake him nor would we have if he slept through earlier unless directed to by a HV or doctor

Definitely seek instruction from your HV about this - mine are older now but I do recall them saying you need to wake and feed but can't recall when that changed to them sleep through if they don't wake

If she is gaining weight well, there is no need to wake her. Both of my children were doing this at 4 weeks and were EBF. The were perfectly fine, gaining weight properly, and are very healthy adults now.

I had the same with my DD, now 8 months, HV told me I must wake & feed every 4 hours but she was never bothered & it got abit stressful. I ended up just letting her sleep through, & shes fine! Sometimes its ok to go with your instinct I think x

Both mine slept through in the early days.

I let them sleep despite being told to wake them as when I tried to wake they didn’t want to even latch on.

I’m glad I did let them sleep as by 4 mo the they were back up in the night once or twice

If she's regained birth weight it's OK to let her sleep. Wake after 8 hours if she goes that long. (A dream feed is often a good idea so you don't have to set an alarm for 3am!)

My grandmother was a GP in the '50s she said once they are 10lbs (4.5 kg ?) they don't need the night feed. Gina Ford has babies going tbroigh from 6 weeks (as do term SCBU babies) how much does yours weigh ?

Thanks everyone, she was born just under 8lbs and is now just over 9. I'll speak to my HV about it, agree it's a bit stressful trying to feed her when she doesn't seem fussed but equally don't want to be doing the wrong thing! Thanks x

Definitely let her sleep!
My DC did this and then were back up at 4 months. Enjoy it whilst it lasts :-)

I agree with PP that you should leave her to sleep if she is gaining weight well. The only thing I would say is to make sure she isn't too warm, as that can prevent babies from waking easily and lead to missed/delayed feeds.

My second slept 6-6 from 6 weeks through to about 22 weeks. He is now 4 and rarely sleeps though the whole night uninterrupted!

Contrary to what is often thought and taught, is actually perfectly normal for even a newborn to have one longer period of sleep (about six hours) with no feed in any 24 hour period, if they are full term and healthy. If this happens at night for you, that is good news! If they are putting on weight and feeding regularly and often the rest of the time, it's all good news! If the baby is a few weeks older than newborn and the no-feed period is a bit longer, that is fine too, again as long as weight gain is good. Some good advice though from a PP, who suggested checking room temperature etc.
You sound like you're doing great....well done!