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Letting a baby sleep?
Added: 1063 days ago.
Added by: brendalee
Section: General.
Status: This question is Closed. (Questions will be closed after 10 days.)


The NICU nurse told me to wake my daughter up for feedings every 3 hours, unless she drank more than 50 mL then go 4 hours but sometimes she just won`t wake up and when I manage to get her up she won`t eat and just falls back asleep right away. She usually wakes up on her own at exactly 3 or 4 hours if she`s hungry so would there be anything wrong with letting her wake up on her own? She was a premie that was underweight for her age but at her appointment with a nutritionist today they said she`s gaining plenty of weight and currently is probably getting in double the calories she needs per day.

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that1mommy - 1062 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I am a Registered Nurse that has spent time working in the NICU. It is very important for her to take in the recommended volume of formula the doctor prescribes. If she is stretching her feeds then she may not meet the daily calorie requirement. Once she reaches full gestational maturity (her due date), you can start basing it off of her cues. Just talk to your doctor and as long as she continues to gain weight it's all good!

GoonieMomma - 1062 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I'm a strong believer in trusting your child. It doesn't sound like she's one of the very few "happy to starve" babies, especially if she's putting on weight. Maybe a call in to her pediatrician to get the "okay" or to have the doc schedule more frequent weight check ups? A couple ways to deal with anxiety you may have about feeding her less at night: 1. don't make an appt at the doc. Just go in, walk to where the baby scale is, and weigh her yourself! Make sure to use a clean paper pad and dispose of it (my nurses totally ignored me doing this... less copay!) and 2. Tank her up in the evenings; let her eat as much as she wants, even if it means parking yourself on the couch for three hours straight (well, that's what we did for breastfeeding... I'm not sure how it goes if you're using formula). Find power in your instincts... that's what they're there for. NO ONE will know your precious daughter as well as you will. Never. Also, remember that "double the calories she needs" means double what she needs to live... she needs more than "single the calories" if you want her to put on those pounds and be a fattie fattie baby.... mmm, I love those cheeks!

aprilraine - 1062 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) from the beginning my daughter slept 5-6 hours straight through the night, at the hospital they had me wake her every 3 hours to feed her, but she was never hungry and would just get upset, so I just fed her on demand at home and she always slept those 5-6 hours through the night.

ohiomomof3boys - 1062 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I would let her sleep. We let all of our boys (1 was a preemie) sleep until they woke up on their own. They seemed to be more interested in feeding then, and then seemed to stay awake a little longer.

AubreyP - 1062 days ago Rating: 0 (0 votes) I think it's ok to not wake her. With my daughter (she was not premie though) they told me to wake her to feed her. It was so hard she would barely suck and fall right back to sleep and it was making me exhausted. Plus by the time they told me I could quit waking her (she had passed her birth weight) she wasn't sleeping in the night anymore and I didn't have to wake her. I think with my 2nd baby if it wants to sleep I'm going to let it.