Hi everyone. I just had a new baby girl (a month and a week ago) and she is doing well. She was born at 9lbs 8oz and now weighs 11lbs 4oz...She has been almost exclusively breastfed from the start. At her second well baby visit (3 weeks) the doctor was very pleased with her weight gain. In the past few days she has been stretching out her feedings a bit...she sleeps 5-6hrs at night and then wakes every two hours for the next two feedings...then she has another pretty long stretch (about 5 hours) and then eats again every two hours for about two feedings...(that's not all of her feedings, just the chunks of time i am concerned about...). my question is whether it's ok to let her sleep during the day for those stretches??? Is she still getting enough?? At over a month old should i be waking her to eat still or is it ok to let her sleep? She still poops and wets enough so it seems she's still eating enough...i just am not sure how much she is getting because i am not bottle feeding...she nurses very well and seems to adequately empty at least one breast per feeding if not both....i just want to know if i can let her have her "naps" during the day or if i should still be waking her to feed every few hours....thanks everyone!!!
Thank you guys. I appreciate your help. It may be my third baby, but neither of my boys ever slept like this!!!! I guess I just got lucky this time. After losing my son this January, I am just a little paranoid about things and feel like a new mom all over again so I really appreciate all your help!! thank you again, I will just let her sleep and tell me when she needs to eat...that has been working for us so far :)
Don't wake her. She is gaining weight well and having enough wet/dirty diapers....she is getting enough. Congrats on the nursing and the new little girl.
Since she is well established with breastfeeding, I would most definitely not wake her! Otherwise she could get into the habit of waking to eat (out of habit not necessity). Enjoy those extended hours of sleep-- you need and deserve it! :)
Don't wake her...enjoy the down time and try to get some rest!
Congrats.
N.
You have a big healthy baby who is growing and sleeping well. If she sleeps longer at night, God bless her! You certainly don't need to wake her - the only reason to do that would be if she weren't gaining. Ideally, you'll try and get it so that those long stretches of sleep occur during the night, rather than during the day. But otherwise it sounds like you're doing great! Congrats!
Don't wake her. She will wake when she is hungry. I read somewhere the magic number is 10. When babies reach 10 lbs. they sleep longer and can hold more in their tummies. My daughter was a bigger baby when she was born also, 8lbs. 9 oz, and she didn't follow the text book on waking/eating/sleeping. Smaller babies wake more often to eat because they hold less in their tiny tummies. My daughter slept for long stretches as an infant, and now she refuses to sleep as a toddler. Enjoy the rest while you can!
Oh my gosh I remember mY MIL telling me to wake up my children. So then they never slept. Goodness gracious you have a dream baby. And your little angel will always let you know when she needs somthing. You can of course peak and see if she is okay, but unless you have to, just enjoy the fact that she's sleeping happily.
