do i need to wake him up?

Kristen - posted on 07/26/2012

I had that exact question for my pediatrician, i was waking my daughter up every three hours, when she would easily sleep all night...he thought i was crazy... He said, "if she wants to sleep, by golly, you let her sleep! You can get a full nights sleep too!"

Mary - posted on 07/23/2012

I do not think you should! Babies always let you know when they are hungry and plus it would only be a concern if he is drowsy and very ard to wake up to eat and if he is not gaining weight consistently, other than that i think he is fine! Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 07/22/2012

Not with him gaining weight well. Enjoy that fact that you are blessed with a baby who sleeps well.

Laura Juliana - posted on 07/22/2012

I wouldn't pump at night. So long as you keep pumping your milk keeps producing at those times because your body thinks the baby needs it. You might feel engorged the first couple of nights but it should regulate quickly.

Hella - posted on 06/26/2012

no, don't mess up his own sleep cycle! Be happy, that he sleeps through the night, and still gaining weight. You can feed him more often during the day, if he needs to, but let him sleep, when he wants to sleep! Good luck. ! You are lucky to have a good sleeper! :))

Charlotte - posted on 06/26/2012

If hes gaining weight right on track let him sleep and count your lucky stars. :)

Margarita - posted on 06/24/2012

Are you bragging or complaining??!!! LOL! Consider yourself lucky and enjoy the respite. My munchkin slept beautifully for some nice stretches until she had to stop being swaddled around 4months (she would flip to her stomach in her sleep and both the ped and I were concerned she wouldn't be able to turn herself back if she remained swaddled). Hopefully yours will last longer and you will be able to keep her on a schedule. I know your colleague means well, but all children are different. At birth, my daughter nursed very inconsistently, sometimes she would nurse for 5 minutes and fall asleep, sometimes she'd nurse for over an hour. Sometimes she'd sleep for several hours, and sometimes she'd wake up to nurse again 30 minutes later. My SIL, who is a nurse, encouraged me to start a schedule then and there because the frequent nursings would cause soreness (they didn't). I made the mistake of listening to her and trying to wake up my munchkin. Nothing worked of the tips that had been suggested, and I remembered someone mentioning on a forum that she had to put wet washcloths on her baby to keep her awake long enough to nurse. I tried that, and it did indeed wake my munchkin, and she proceeded to cry for almost two hours and finally cried herself to sleep, all the time refusing to nurse. I vowed then and there to listen to my baby, and not my friends, about when she needed to eat. Obviously now that she's older (37 months - yes, I still count them, but mostly go by half years now) and gets distracted by playing I do have to enforce a schedule or she'll do all her eating right before I try to put her to bed, but that's a bridge you won't have to cross for a little while.

On the pumping issue, do you work at home or away from home? If you work away, then I would continue as you are since you need to keep a good stock anyway (it's my understanding that pumping doesn't encourage production as well as actual nursing), but if you are home, I would only pump enough to relieve the pressure, rather than until emptying. Otherwise, you will create a vicious cycle of increasing production and having to continue pumping instead of getting the sleep you need.

Good luck ;)

Caitlin - posted on 06/24/2012

As long as he is showing sufficient weight gain.....let that baby boy sleep momma and you do the same!!!!!!! My daughter is 2 months and I let her sleep as long as she likes. In the beginning, when we were having trouble with weight gain, the pediatrician told me to wake her every 3 hours during the night, but since she has gotten on track weight wise we sleep!!! :)

Gale - posted on 06/24/2012

Never wake a sleeping baby. If he is gaining weight and doing well with the feedings while he is awake. Let it be. If you wake in the middle of the night and engorged just pump. During the day nurse every 3-4 hrs or go on his command. I never woke my son he started sleeping through the night at 2mths old.

Enjoy that time. (((HUGS))))

Olga - posted on 06/19/2012

According to our prediatrician there is no need as long as he is gaining weight. Let him sleep. My little one is 4 months and we put him down at 8-9pm and is up at 5-7am for a feeding. Enjoy the sleep! We are, and our baby is growing and is very healthy.

Helen - posted on 06/19/2012

My opinion would be no to this....My eldest was exclusively breast fed and slept through from 3 months old your baby is obviously healthy and happy and babies do need their sleep. I breastfed my son for 6 weeks as he wouldnt take properly i had to bottle feed and bam slept through the night too. hope this helps a little x

Natalie - posted on 06/19/2012

My son did the same thing around the 3 1/2 month mark. He was sleeping through the night, then started waking up every 3-4 hours again. It's tough to go back to that!! It's probably just a growth spurt. I've read that sleep could also be interrupted if your baby is approaching a milestone. My son was trying to roll in his sleep and it kept waking him up! He's 4 1/2 months now and sleeps through some nights, but wakes every 3-4 still on others. Good luck!!

Nazima - posted on 06/19/2012

hopefully it stays this way ;) its much easier for my husband to take care of him when im oncall.. but since yesterday he's been waking up frequently.. hopefully its just a growth spurt..

Cassandra - posted on 06/19/2012

You are so lucky no dont wake him.. Hopefully for you his sleeping pattern stays...

Natalie - posted on 06/18/2012

Let him (and you!) sleep! Rule of thumb I follow is let a sleeping baby lie!! He'll wake up if he's hungry! And he's gaining so you're a lucky mama!

Nazima - posted on 06/15/2012

thank u so much mommies for d opinions.. im glad i didnt follow a fellow colleagues advice to wake him up at least once to feed him.. i do wake up twice to pump though.. ;)

Michelle - posted on 06/15/2012

NO!! Oh my gosh no! Let him sleep through the night! you dont want him getting into the habit when he doesnt need it, when hes hungry at night he will let you know! You are blessed to have him sleep that much enjoy it!

Shelly - posted on 06/14/2012

I wouldn't. He's obviously thriving from what you have stated. Far more moms complain about having to get up too often in the night, so just enjoy the fact that he's a good sleeper!

Melissa - posted on 06/14/2012

Nope, this sounds like he's doing great.

Brittany - posted on 06/14/2012

I wouldn't. If he's gaining weight well, why bother?

I will second the pumping though. I would get extremely engorged with my daughter, to the point that I was desperate to feed her in the morning.

Melissa - posted on 06/14/2012

Mine just turned four months. I do not wake him to nurse. But I do set my alarm to wake up around 1 am to pump. This way I don't get engorged and I have the ability to build up some milk stash.

Louise - posted on 06/14/2012

If he is alert and responding well in the morning then I would leave him, if he is sleepy then may be his blood sugar levels are dipping during the night, then he would need feeding.

If you are happy that he is thriveing, and alert then count yourself very lucky!

Celeste - posted on 06/14/2012

I wouldn't. He's gaining weight and sounds like he's doing great! So,I'd let him sleep. Count yourself lucky!