Do you ever wake your baby?

[YourNewFriend]

I've heard the saying 'Never wake a sleeping baby' but is there ever a time when you should?

DD is 12 weeks old and is a fab sleeper. She goes 12 hours at night and even if she has an awake day she is happy, smiley and content.

Some days like today though, she seems to sleep nearly all day too and I'm worried she isn't feeding enough. She woke at 7am, fed, dressed and went on school run. Fell asleep on the school run and hasn't woken up since. That means she has now slept 15.5 out of the last 17 hours. Is this too much and should I be waking her? Perhaps she's having a growth spurt as recently upped her feeding.

Is she old enough to drop a feed and just sleep through it?

She may just be a sleepy baby and love her sleep :-) If her weight is fine and she is still sleeping through the night then leave her be.

My DD was always on the petite side so we calculated how much milk she needed to gain weight and ensured she drank this amount over the course of the day. This regimen meant that we had to wake her up at regular intervals just so she could feed. She was sleeping through at 13 weeks so we woke her up during the day mainly (and at 11pm if she hadn't had a full quota of milk during the day).

She thrived and waking her up didn't seem to affect her at all.

For what it's worth, she went from being a champion day napper (she slept more than any baby I knew at the time) to dropping all her naps at 24 months!

Has always slept well at night though.

i do - sometimes its just good sense. when i go to bed, i wake her for a feed and change - this means she is more likely to go until morning.

I sometimes did if i knew the afternoon nap was getting too long and knew it would affect bedtime.

But at 12 weeks I'd just leave her. Perhaps she's fighting a cold or having a growth spurt as you say. She'll let you know when she's had enough no doubt!

no never

I'm not crazy

Yes, if it was the final nap of the day (say 4ish) and I wanted them to sleep later, but otherwise no. Mine were both sleepy babies and slept 12 hours at night and a good few in the day, and continued their naps til they were four or so. They also sleep more if ill. I wouldn't complain, most people would kill for a good sleeper!

Sooo jealous....

Yes... But NEVER on purpose!

I haven't as my DD does seem to self regulate - not sure if that is technically possible - but some days she is sleepier than others and has about 6 hours sleep in the day (she's 18 weeks old) and I panic that she won't then sleep through the night but she always does.

Sorry didn't mean to rub it in Samraves

I left her and she woke about half 12 anyway. Had about an hour and a half this afternoon and will probably stay awake now till bed at 7/7.30.

I guess over the week it probably does even itself out when some days she is hardly sleeping. I just worry on days like today that she'll have one less feed but I guess she is old enough to wake and shout if she's hungry, unlike a very newborn where you have to check they feed often enough.

I'll make the most of it!

Occasionally, if I need to go out and think she'll wake up hungry half way, e.g the nursery run. I hate to do it though.

Sooooo jealous too!

I had to wake DD as had to take DS to school and pick him up.

I also had to wake both children when young babies to feed them as they were jaundiced and had to feed regularly.

Do make the most of it!

My dd (also 12 weeks) was very sleepy,I started waking her and trying to keep her awake for longer for a few days but all it did was make her grumpy! She was overtired at night and didn't sleep well then either. Now I let her sleep whenever she likes....slept 12hrs last night and even then I had to wake her to get ready to take ds to nursery! She does cluster feed at times though so makes up the feeds then I assume

DS3 (12 weeks old) is a mega sleeper, last week he went for a 13 hour stretch. Sometimes I do worry that he goes for so long but then I remind myself how lucy I am. Sometimes when he's having a more awake day I do offer the boob a bit more often to try and make up for the days when he sleeps lots. Seems to be working for us as he is gaining weight.

Aaahh, my DD was like this at 12 weeks too. At 20 weeks she changed completely and has hardly slept since... (now 15 mo). Enjoy it!