Do I wake my 4 week old in the night to be fed?

[Blueclass]

Hi I'm a first time mum and people tell me.not to wake my 4 week old for night feeds. What did you do with your babies? Is it ok to leave them till they wake up?

 

[kittykitchn]

We've completely done baby led feeding, only feeding when she wants it really. If she needs to be changed in the night, I'll change and feed, but if she doesn't need it/doesn't wake up I leave her. No harm in either way though xx

 

[northerngirl]

I think it depends on how much they're feeding when awake really, by 4 weeks though I'd say you're fine to let them sleep though, they'll wake when they're hungry xo

 

[Nic_M]

I always worked on the basis that if they're hungry they'll let you know about it. Never work my lb up to feed him

 

[Becky1]

I wouldn't have done unless there is a big issue with weight gain. x

 

[Kitten1991]

I've never woken my little lady up for feeding during the night.

If she needs to be changed because her nappy is full i will be as gentle as possible, usually she doesn't move.

The only time she has ever woken up in the night is when she has done a poo. So then i will change her and feed her to help her get back to sleep.

She has slept through the night pretty much since she was 6/7 weeks old.

Now at 19 weeks she sleeps through from 8/9pm until 7/8am... occasionally she will wake up like i said because she has pooped .

You need to do what you feel is best for baby. Baby will tell you when he/she is hungry

 

[redbear]

I never wokeep a sleeping baby, they let you know when they are hungry. I'd get your much needed sleep mine both went through a sleeping through stage at about 3 months for a while and then went back to waking again. Must have been a growth surt xx

 

[Phoenix85]

Breastfeeding is different. First of all, night feeds help maintain supply. Another consideration is that night feeds help delay periods returning (though that's more a benefit for mum LOL.) Night waking is also normal and biologically adaptive.
But at 4 weeks the worry is that a baby can be sleepy and not feed when they ought to. Also if a baby is in their own cot they may wake but go back to sleep without waking you, especially if they have a dummy. Personally I wouldn't be happy letting a baby under 12 weeks old go more than 5 or 6 hours overnight. After about 12 weeks as long as they are getting plenty of feeds during the day and weight gain is good then I wouldn't wake them, but before then I would.

 

[fingers-crossed]

I wouldnt bother at 4 weeks, get the rest whilst you can

 

[JamsMom]

I went completely baby led with my son, IMO don't poke a sleeping bear!! The other thing you risk when waking to feed is training their minds to wake them at that time to expect a feed and therefore it can be much tougher to work on sleeping through the night. If he/she is happy, healthy and sleeping it's because they don't need to feed as much as they need the sleep at that time