Do I let my 6 week old sleep more then 5 hours

[Mumtobe2025x3]

Hi all I’m a FTM - sorry long post.

My son is 6 weeks old and on 5 to 5.5 ounces per feed. He’s a very sleep chilled baby at the moment and generally sleeps most of the day and night with short wake windows varying. Some days it’s 30 mins per wake, some it’s 10 some it’s an hour or more. Hes having a growth spurt et the minute and during the day he’s feeding 2-3 hourly. He’s gaining weight and thriving fine. The health visitor has said it’s fine to let him sleep through the night and not to wake him if he doesn’t wake for a feed in the night.

I think my husband is just anxious but the last two nights our son has still been sleeping at the 5-5.5 hour mark and doesn’t show signs of wanting to feed/wake, yet he has woken him up which has annoyed me a bit, not for me, but more so that our son might want to sleep and is establishing a bit of a night routine.
I wouldn’t want him to go more than 6 hours as he’s only 6 weeks old, but my husband wants to wake him at 5 hours on the dot!
My sister is also an ICU children’s nurse and said she wouldn’t let her baby go more than five hours and would wake them at this age.
I feel conflicted as she’s obviously a very experienced nurse, but a midwife and health visitor have told us it’s fine for him to go through the night as he’s gaining weight and well above his birth weight now. He was 7lb 12 at birth, he lost weight and went down to 7lb, he’s up to 10lb 9 as of last week. I know I’m very lucky as some babies don’t sleep at all, but my husband waking him has irritated me. I don’t know how I can reassure him that he’s fine to sleep.

I am also a bit worried as I keep waking to find my son’s face planted up against his bassinet. It’s the tutti bambini cozee. There is mesh higher up, but the bit where he puts his face is not mesh. This morning his face was up against it so tight his nose was squashed. He seems to like to move over to the right side in his sleep despite wearing a sleep bag.
I know I can’t stop him doing this, but I’m wondering if it would be worth changing to a mesh or wooden bassinet if he’s keeping doing this!? Any tips please ? We tried the nappy breathing clip Snuza Hero, but we found it false alarmed so we returned it, I’m not sure whether to purchase again in hope that was just a faulty monitor or whether to buy the owlet foot sensor for peace of mind if he does keep putting his face up against it.

Never wake a sleeping baby! Ime it's just a phase and he'll be back to waking up every 2-2.5 hours next week. 5oz is a good amount and he's probably getting all the nutrition he needs from the bottles he's having during the day.

Re the cot: I wouldn't change it. Could you roll a blanket up and tuck it under the sheet to make a little barrier between his face and the edge of the cot? Again the habit will probably change pretty soon and you'll have a different thing to worry about

Is he back to his birth weight? Both mine lost quite a Lot of weight after birth and I was told to wake every 3 hours until they had regained the weight they had lost. Then I could let them sleep as long as they continued gaining weight.

Thank you, he has slept well at night since birth to he honest. He has been going four hourly since around 3 weeks old and waking. Now he’s going 5 hourly and 5.5 last night I think he’s satisfied with his feeding through the day.
im worried my husband keep waking him is going to encourage him to keep waking through the night and not establishing a routine.
thanks Re - cot. I’ve moved him over to the left a bit in hope that if he does go to the right that it’s not all the way 😂

I’ve just read your post again. I’d tell your husband if he wakes him up he’ll be doing the nights.
Don’t put anything in the cot

If there's no need to wake if there are no weight concerns. Mine was sleeping 10-11 hours at that age and we didnt wake him.

At 6 weeks old we were getting 6 hours sleep, it was fine for us let baby sleep that long overnight, as long as he’s feeding well during the day. It may last, it might not, but make the most of it.

Is he getting the recommended amount of milk over 24hrs? My understanding is that formula fed babies can go longer if they always get the right mill... whereas breastfed babies need to feed more regularly including at night go enhance milk production

You can let a healthy baby sleep.

Thank you
he generally wakes only once overnight for a feed up until 2-3 days ago and now he’s not so he’s obviously satisfied.
he does go to bed quite late as we don’t have a routine yet as it’s too early.
last night he had a bottle at 9:30 and went to sleep, then woke up 12. He has reflux so we have to keep him up for 30 mins after. He went back to sleep at 1am and was still asleep at 6 this morning and then my husband woke him! Of course he’s had his bottle and gone straight back to sleep now.

Thank you.
He is on mixed feeding of formula and breast milk via a bottle and then breast first thing in the morning and through the day 1-2 times, he then wants tops too as he’s a very hungry baby. He’s back well above birth weight.
i wake overnight to pump once and then I pump 2-3 hourly in the day to keep my supply up

He’s a good sized baby and is taking on a good amount of milk per feed which is why he’s able to go longer between feeds. I’d leave him to sleep during the night and only wake him during the day to ensure he has enough milk to see him through the nights if necessary.

Thank you
he generally wakes only once overnight for a feed up until 2-3 days ago and now he’s not so he’s obviously satisfied.
he does go to bed quite late as we don’t have a routine yet as it’s too early.
last night he had a bottle at 9:30 and went to sleep, then woke up 12. He has reflux so we have to keep him up for 30 mins after. He went back to sleep at 1am and was still asleep at 6 this morning and then my husband woke him! Of course he’s had his bottle and gone straight back to sleep now.

My understanding is once they are back at their birth weight you don’t need to wake them to feed. My DD (now 4 months) used to sleep 8-10hrs from 6 weeks. She would drink around 5-6oz at that age too. I do however, make sure she feeds at least every 4hrs during the day. I did this with my DS too and he continued to gain weight no problem!

You got lucky - he's big and healthy and wants to sleep. Let him! Your Dsis sees all the vulnerable babies who can't be left to sleep - your big thriving baby is totally different.

I had one of each, my big healthy baby was born wanting to eat loads every 4 hours, at 6 weeks she dropped her 3am feed, so was sleeping 8hrs from 11pm to 7am (she went down at 7 and woke 11 for a feed). It never got worse, she was sleeping nearly 12 hrs by 4 months. She's a teen now, always been the picture of health, tall and strong.

Obviously DC2 had to prove it wasn't anything I'd done, he'd eat just enough to drop back to sleep for a wee while. He was littler and needed to be woken to feed for a few months. He ate a lot more often but a lot less each time. He also turned out totally healthy, it just took a bit longer.

If you needed to wake your DC, you'd have been told specifically. Otherwise let him sleep and enjoy it.

Don’t wake him! Think about total feeds in a 24 hour period, as long as he is having plenty, sleeping through is fine. Most of us don’t have this issue (mine fed ever 2-2.5 hours day and night!)

Try and remember that your DSis is experienced and probably highly trained in looking after sick babies. Your LO is not sick. He’s feeding regularly during the day and seems to be setting up his own routine.

Maybe ask your DH what is making him so anxious?

My first was sleeping 8+ hours a night at 6 wks. Noone batted an eyelid . No health professionals ever suggested waking her. Mind, this was the 90s and she had almost doubled her birth weight by this age and was around 12lbs.

Nah I wouldn’t wake him at night (I would if it was daytime)

If he’s gaining weight and drinking enough milk in the daytime then I would let him sleep! My DS is 11 months old and has slept through the night since 5.5weeks. He would have a feed at 10pm and would sleep through til 6am. At 11 months he still loves his sleep!