Having a baby is not only a mass of positive emotions, but also a great responsibility. Feeding for the baby during the neonatal period plays an important role. The further development of the child depends on him. Newly-made mothers often wonder about whether to wake up a newborn for feeding. For example, at night or in the afternoon. What do doctors and experienced mothers say on this issue? How to feed babies?
Why do children sleep for a long time?
It's no secret that newborns sleep almost all the time. However, they regularly wake up to feed. Sometimes sleep is delayed. Why it happens?
In total, there are several options for the development of events:
- Childbirth was carried out with anesthesia. In this case, medicines will slow down the awakening. The baby will not wake up to feed every 2 hours.
- The baby sleeps separately from mom. In this situation, the child simply saves strength and energy. Accordingly, the period of sleep increases.
- Individual feature. Often, kids themselves know how much they sleep. Some rest for more than 2 hours due to individual characteristics.
In any case, each mother faces the question of whether to wake up a newborn for feeding. What do experts say about this? And if a woman decided to wake a child, how to do it right?
Watching baby
It is difficult to give a definite answer. After all, all people have their own needs, each organism is an individuality. Someone needs to sleep longer to get enough sleep, someone less. Therefore, the mother needs to watch her baby.
Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding? If the child is developing well, his analyzes and weight gain are normal, then you can let the baby sleep an additional hour and a half. But when prolonged sleep negatively affects health (poor weight gain, lethargy and fatigue in a child, irritability), you need to wake up the baby for feeding.
How to wake up
Just do it right. Any inaccurate action of the mother in relation to the child can harm him. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding during the day? Yes, if the baby is poorly developed and generally eats little.
To properly wake a child, you need to consider the following features:
- Baby sleep has several phases - active and deep. In the first case, the child sleeps sensitively. He can smile, move arms and legs, make movements with his lips and eyes, and respond to sounds. In deep sleep, the baby sleeps so well that he does not hear anything. Accordingly, you need to wake up the child in the active phase of sleep.
- To wake the baby, you need to open it by removing the blanket. If this does not help, take the baby in your arms, walk a little with it, clutching it to yourself.
- Change the diaper. The child wakes up from everyday procedures.
- Hold the baby in a column, holding the head. The kid wakes up by opening his eyes.
- Perform massaging movements on the back and limbs.
- Sing a song familiar to the child, gently talk with the baby.
- Wipe the baby's face with a damp cloth.
All of the above manipulations will help to wake the child correctly. Often babies fall asleep during feeding. To avoid this, it is recommended from time to time to stroke the child on the cheeks and nose, talk with the newborn and change the pose.
Daytime sleep
You should also pay attention to the time of day when deciding this question. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding during the day?
It's no secret that many babies sleep well on the street. During a walk, which ideally lasts 4 hours (so many pediatricians advise walking), babies can fall asleep and sleep until they return home. Do I need to panic and wake them up?
If daytime sleep is increased by 1.5-2 hours, you can let the newborn sleep. In this case, it is recommended to feed the child before the walk and immediately after it.
Healthy children are not forbidden to wake up for daily feeding. But sick babies, as well as those who become very moody after forced awakening, do not need to be touched during the day.
Night feedings
What other features should be considered? Do I need to wake a newborn to feed at night? The answer will depend on how exactly the baby sleeps.
The first 3 months of the baby’s life is recommended joint sleep. So the newborn will feel calm. Waking the baby at this time for night feeding is not necessary.
With a separate sleep from mom, you can do without interruptions. The baby can sleep all night without waking up. If doctors do not give any advice on this issue, then the mother can wake the baby for night feeding no more than 1 time.
If the child is small and does not eat well / gain weight, then he will have to wake him up. It is advisable every 2-3 hours. More accurate information on further actions and night feedings will be reported by the pediatrician.
Joint dream
A few more words about sleeping together. Is it necessary to wake up a newborn for feeding if the mother sleeps with the baby? As doctors and experienced mothers say, there is no need to do so. If a child gets hungry in the middle of the night, he will not wake up completely. With a joint sleep, the baby will instinctively look for the breast in a half-nap. All that mom needs to do is give the baby a nipple. After that, the baby will take a breast and eat, falling asleep.
The benefits of sharing sleep for mom and baby should not be underestimated. For example, the mother will have more time to relax, and the children sleep better. Rocking a child is not necessary.
In addition, during night-time feeding, milk production begins for the whole next day, and mom can insure herself from milk stagnation.
Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding with a joint sleep? As already mentioned, doing so is optional. Especially if the baby refuses breasts and breastfeeding at night. In this case, it is necessary in the daytime to fill the lack of food.
Lactation and Awakening
Do I need to wake a newborn to breastfeed? It all depends on the amount of milk produced by the mother. In the first days after birth, it is advisable to feed the newborn every 2 hours. And this rule also applies to night sleep.
In addition, at night it is recommended to wake up to feed babies whose mothers have little milk. This approach will help to establish lactation and eventually remove the need for additional awakening of the child.
Prematurity
Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding? Healthy children themselves wake up when they are hungry. But premature babies are not yet able to wake up on their own. Therefore, mothers or employees of the hospital will have to wake them.
If you refuse to force the awakening of premature babies, children will suffer from underweight, and they will not be able to develop normally. More accurate information is recommended to check with the supervising pediatrician. It is possible that a premature baby will be able to control his sleep.
Mix and sleep
Do I need to wake a newborn to feed the mixture? With such feeding, babies develop a strict daily regimen. Children are fed on an artificial mixture every 3 hours. You can increase the intervals between meals up to 4 hours, but provided that the newborn sleeps soundly at night or on a walk.
Feeding the baby with artificial mixtures per day should reach 6-7 times. Accordingly, you still have to wake up the child. The main thing is to do it right.
Komarovsky on awakening
Many women rely on the opinions of renowned children's doctors. For example, mothers are interested in what Komarovsky thinks on this issue. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding?
A well-known pediatrician says that it is difficult to give a definite answer. It all depends on the behavior of the child. If he sleeps well, day and night, then you do not need to wake up to feed the baby. When the children get enough sleep during the day, and then cannot sleep at night, you can wake them up both for feeding and for playing.
Another reason why Komarovsky recommends disrupting the baby’s daytime sleep is a change in daily regimen. For example, when mothers sleep during the day with their baby, and at night they are awake. In such a case, it is recommended to wake the children during the day so that they sleep well at night. At the same time, it is not necessary to interrupt feeding.
Bans and Tips
Now it’s clear what the experts on the topic under study think. Should I wake a newborn for feeding? Ideally, healthy children decide when to sleep and when to eat. Therefore, often additional intervention is not necessary.
If the mother decided to wake up the child, it must be taken into account that this is done in a hurry, calmly. The use of loud sounds or bright lights to wake up is prohibited. Children's hearing and vision are extremely sensitive. Therefore, the wrong actions can scare the baby.
As already mentioned, after forced awakening, children can fall asleep after several sips of milk. In order to prevent this from happening, you will have to support the child in wakefulness.
conclusions
Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding? Often the answer depends on the individual characteristics of the baby and the decision of the mother. The bulk of women do not support the idea of sleep disturbance in children. After all, this approach can adversely affect the further development of the baby.
Nevertheless, sometimes awakening for feeding is a necessity and a necessary measure. It is best to consult an experienced pediatrician on this issue. It is possible that the child may not be awakened in order to feed him.