BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I've heard so many things back and forth to feed him every 3 hours and wake him if hes sleeping. And then I heard dont wake a sleeping baby he will wake up and eat when he's hungry. I just wanted to know what you guys have done.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I think it totally depends on how they're doing - ie gaining weight, etc. DS always gained weight at every weigh in, so the doctor told me I didn't need to wake him. HTH!

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

DD was EBF for 5 months and i never woke her to eat.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

DS was in the NICU for a couple of days. When he was discharged, I was told to BF him at least every 3 hours. He could have 1 4 hour stretch at night. Once he no longer had weight issues, I didn't wake him. He always woke up when he was hungry, which tended to be at least every 3 hours.

Some people will wake babies up during the day to BF often b/c they think DC will sleep longer stretches at night. Others won't wake a sleeping baby at all. IMO, it's all about trial and error. You need to find what works best for you and DC.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I never woke DS to eat. He was pretty regular around 3 hours but I always let him sleep.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

We have our 1st ped appt tonight. DS has at least 4-5 bowels a day so I think he's eating okay where I dont think I need to wake him. I was just asking bc he hasnt eaten in 4 hours now and thats the longest he has gone and he's still sleeping.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

noooooooo! DD was sleeping in 6-hour clips by the time she was 2 weeks old, and I never woke her!

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I had issues with supply so I made sure ds ate at least every 3 hours to keep my supply up. He usually ate every 1.5-2 hours so I rarely had to wake him.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

if it was approaching 4 hrs since last feed, yes i woke him. i wanted to keep my milk supply up

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

i did for the first 2 weeks per my ped since my DS was so little (5lbs when he came home)---now i let him sleep as he is gaining well

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I would ask your pediatrician. For the first few weeks, they said not to let him go more than 4 hours between feedings, because he was so little to start.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I voted no because overall I never woke her. The exception was for the first few weeks because she had mild jaundice, I had to make sure she ate at least every 3 hours.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

ds is 5 weeks. for the first 1.5 weeks i woke him up to feed him b/c the ped said to. i stopped b/c he doesn't really sleep much, the longest stretch w/o being fed has been 3.5 hours.

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I always did bc I was nervous, but would NOT for the next one. I realized within a few weeks that I should have let him sleep when he was tired bc he was def eating enough!

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

my doctor said that once the baby got back to his birth weight, we didn't need to wake him to eat.

i've been trying to follow a modified "babywise" plan though, so i try not to let him sleep TOO long between feedings. he usually is up every 3 hours on the dot - but if we go out, he can sleep up to 4 hours. after 3.5-4 hours though, i usually wake him (during the day - if it were at night, i wouldn't, but he hasn't slept more than 3 hours at night yet)

Re: BFing moms, did you wake up your newborn to eat?

I voted no but his first week I did because he was jaundice and the ped wanted him to eat every 2 hours. After that, I never did. He would wake up when he was hungry.