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Original poster

5 week old slept 7 hours last night

33 replies

Joppi · 07/09/2023 17:02

Baby’s previous night sleeps would usually be 4 hours max - then wakes for a feed.

Yesterday evening slept for 7 hours - should I have waken baby earlier to feed? Guidance I’ve heard is to feed every 3/4 hours?

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LaLaLouella · 07/09/2023 17:06

Yes, you should, babies have very small stomachs and need to feed regularly. Although 7 hours sleep is amazing for a parent, it's not something you should expect from a 5 week old.

My baby slept like this, I didn't know to wake her and she ended up in a vicious circle of sleeping too long, getting too weak to feed properly, which made her exhausted and unable to feed and so she slept more. We ended up in hospital in a strict 3 hour feeding schedule for a week until she'd regained weight and alertness and was better regulating her sleep/feeding cycle.

Good luck - you have to accept the broken nights now and it won't be too long before they get stronger, feed more and sleep longer.

DancingintheSpoonlight · 07/09/2023 17:09

Some babies do sleep through from as early as 6-8 weeks.

Check with the Health Visitor if you’re concerned as they’ll know if your baby is ready I.e. weight, etc

You could try a “dream feed” if you’re worried maybe?

MakeMineADouble81 · 07/09/2023 17:10

My first slept like this from 6 weeks and the advice I was given by the GP was not to wake him. He gained weight healthily and it had no adverse effect on him.

I think unless your baby was premature/low birth weight or has any other health issues you don't need to wake to feed during the night.

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Ygfrhj · 07/09/2023 17:11

Our paediatrician told us to let baby sleep once she'd returned to birth weight and was gaining steadily. Sleep is also important for the baby (and for you)

Topseyt123 · 07/09/2023 17:13

No. I wouldn't have woken them. Mine all slept through from just a few weeks old. I just used to feed them up well during the day, with one late feed at maybe 10.30. Then leave them to it.

If they are gaining weight well and having plenty of wet and dirty nappies then they are fine.

Mariposa26 · 07/09/2023 17:22

Check with your health visitor. My baby was cleared as fine to sleep as long as she wanted after our 6 week check as they were happy with her weight gain etc.

TheShellBeach · 07/09/2023 17:23

No chance would I wake a sleeping baby of five weeks unless they'd been premature or low birth weight.

Original poster
Joppi · 07/09/2023 17:44

Thanks all - I’ll see if it was a one off or happens again, and if so will double check with HV and check the weight is still going up (baby wasn’t premature and has passed birth weight)

OP posts:
ReadRum · 07/09/2023 17:49

You don’t have to wake a five week old unless they are not gaining weight.
Enjoy it while it lasts! We had about 5 weeks of amazing sleep at this age. Afterwards, decidedly unamazing.

QueenOfWeeds · 07/09/2023 17:53

We had this as a one off, and echo the advice that once they have reached birth weight, you don’t need to worry as much.

Although it was very much a one off, I have found it useful to remember that she clearly can sleep through, and she will do it again when she is ready.

WithIcePlease · 07/09/2023 18:04

Mine slept like this too and MW/HV said it was fine.

blahblahblah1654 · 07/09/2023 18:42

Don't wake unless they are premature or small weight. Ridiculous to wake a sleeping baby to feed otherwise.

TheShellBeach · 13/09/2023 14:05

How's your baby sleeping now, OP?

Original poster
Joppi · 13/09/2023 17:33

@TheShellBeach so far there seems to be a longish sleep every day, varying from 5.5hrs - 7 hrs or so. Sometimes the long sleep will start at 4pm so not aligned to our night time yet, but can’t complain. I haven’t woken for feeds but number of nappies seems good still and will get her weighed soon too!

OP posts:
TheShellBeach · 13/09/2023 18:30

That's great!
I remember my first baby gradually moved that long sleep later and later, so she was sleeping roughly when we were.

Original poster
Joppi · 13/09/2023 19:04

TheShellBeach · 13/09/2023 18:30

That's great!
I remember my first baby gradually moved that long sleep later and later, so she was sleeping roughly when we were.

That gives me hope :) I can’t wait that to happen and have a normal night sleep! I’ve been told to expect the 4 month sleep regression though but one step at a time! 😅

OP posts:
Ladyj84 · 13/09/2023 19:07

No don't wake baby he or she will wake when hungry. How would you feel if not hungry but someone woke you trying to force it. Nurses will say different but plenty of experience and my sister in law just had another little girl and similar 2 weeks in she was sleeping 7-8 hrs health visitor said wake her and baby went from happy to grumpy and hardly feeding. She is 5 weeks now and sister in law has gone back to feeding when baby asks and little one all happy again

xogossipgirlxo · 13/09/2023 20:35

Don’t wake the baby, mine sometimes has longer stretches like this. If baby is gaining weight properly, enjoy your sleep. I was like
this- sleeping 4hrs stretches from birth and nights 11pm-6am. My lucky parents😂😂😂

theotherfossilsister · 13/09/2023 20:40

Our otherwise great health visitor told us to wake Ds every three hours to feed (we were triple feeding too which was hard) avs definitely the wrong call, despite his being prem and underweight. He was too tired to eat when we woke him and actually lost weight until we moved him back to four hourly. Different for different babies though

Trickyvickyg · 06/10/2023 09:33

🙏 thank you from a worried gran of 7 week old who sleeps after feeding and sometimes misses feeds due to sleepiness! Is gaining weight but I was worried she slept too much!

Trickyvickyg · 06/10/2023 09:42

My granddaughter 7 weeks sleeps 4-6 hours after her feeds!

MyPurpleHeart · 06/10/2023 09:49

Sod that, my daughter started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. She was gaining weight and perfectly happy so I left her to it

PureAmazonian · 06/10/2023 09:55

My dd slept 8 hours at 6 weeks old, through the night. I freaked out when I woke up because I expected her to wake me up after her usual 4 hours. The health visitor came out the same day for her 6 week review and said that some babies are just a bit better at sleeping longer, and that technically she was meant to say to wake them, but as she was plotting amazingly she just advised me to take her to get weighed weekly and if she stopped plotting as consistently then to start waking her! She plotted well and always has done and slept 12 hours a night at 12 weeks old.

KeepSmiling89 · 06/10/2023 09:58

Yayyy!! Congrats on getting your first stretch of sleep OP...I'm guessing you slept, right?
DD was about the same age when she slept through the night until about 6.30am. H and I woke up slightly panicked that she hadn't woken up for a feed and, similarly, we hadn't woken her up either. She was happily fast asleep in her crib. We asked the health visitor and she said it was absolutely fine - she didn't wake for a feed because she didn't need a feed. She was gaining weight just fine as well so had nothing to worry about. That was when we reached the milestone of feeding on demand instead of every 3-4 hours like clockwork!

KissKiss29 · 06/10/2023 09:58

With my first baby I panicked and woke them for feeds as I was advised to in the early days. With the second I gave up on that nonsense. He slept amazingly for the first 6 weeks of life and I am glad I took advantage of it. I never ever woke him not even in the early days and he gained weight fine and had long full feeds. Now he sleeps awfully at 6 months so appreciate it whilst it lasts.