I can't wake my baby up for feeding. Do I need to wake up and in what cases? The child sleeps during the day. Is it worth disturbing a child's daytime sleep

15.06.2019

Looking at a peacefully snoring baby, many young mothers are worried about the question: “Should I wake the baby for feeding?”. Some begin to disturb him after a couple of hours of sleep, fearing that the newborn baby, weakened by hunger, will not be able to wake up. Others believe that a hungry child will not be able to sleep for a long time and will loudly notify his mother of his desire to have lunch. Of course, the child’s sleep should not be interrupted - natural awakening is much better for the psycho-emotional state of the crumbs. However, not everything is so clear and, when deciding whether or not to wake up a newborn for feeding, it is necessary to take into account a number of specific factors: the age, weight of the child, health status, type and method of feeding.

Baby feeding techniques

Many young mothers have probably heard about feeding the baby "by the hour" from their mothers and grandmothers. Some people still follow this method. Its essence lies in the fact that daily feedings take place in strict accordance with the schedule: every four hours, starting at six in the morning, there is a large six-hour break at night. Naturally, under this regimen, the question of whether to wake up a newborn for feeding is not even discussed: the daytime sleep of the child, which coincided with the time of the next meal, is mercilessly interrupted, and the nightly cries of a hungry baby, on the contrary, are ignored. In this case, a young mother, her child, family members, and neighbors can only wish to be patient: sooner or later, the baby will adapt to the regime imposed on him. However, a nursing woman should be aware that, apart from constant stress, such a diet can cause her problems with lactation (it is no coincidence that in Soviet times there were so many "artists"), and the baby can cause stomach disorders.

Another technique involves feeding the baby "on demand". As a rule, at first it often has to be applied to the breast (sometimes several times per hour), but already during the first month of life, the child develops the most optimal regimen for himself. The method of feeding "on demand" does not oblige you to strictly observe the time intervals between feedings, so you do not need to wake up a slightly overslept baby - in the next feeding, he will definitely catch up with the lost time.

Baby's age and weight

When deciding whether to wake a baby for feeding, it is important to consider his age. For example, a baby a few days old, sleeping soundly for more than three hours in a row, is a serious reason to be alarmed and seek advice from a pediatrician. Prolonged sleep of the baby can be a sign of a number of diseases. On average, the approximate interval between feedings for a one-month-old baby is 2–3 hours, then it gradually increases to 4–4.5 hours. The child increasingly prefers sleep to night feedings. By six months, many babies stop eating at night altogether.

The weight of the baby at birth and subsequent increases are also of no small importance for the mother in solving the pressing issue. No need to disturb a healthy child, even if he sleeps 4-5 hours in a row. For premature, weak, poorly gaining weight babies, such long intervals between feedings can be dangerous. This can lead to dehydration, further weakening of the body, aggravation of existing diseases. Such babies require intensive nutrition and, accordingly, more feedings. In this case, it is simply necessary to interrupt the child’s sleep.

Wake up, little one!

Even if the baby is quite healthy, remarkably gaining weight and fed “on demand”, the mother sometimes needs extra-curricular feeding. This can be caused by going to the clinic, taking tests, passing a medical commission and other reasons. That is why parents should know how to properly wake up a child.

Sometimes parents who try to talk in a whisper and move around the apartment exclusively on tiptoe, so as not to wake the child, are surprised to find how difficult it is to wake the baby.

Holding the child in your arms, walk around the room with him, talk, sing a song, gently stroke his back, do a light massage, try to bend and unbend the arms and legs. As a rule, these actions are enough for the baby to wake up and show interest in food.
Change the child's clothes, change his diaper - children are very sensitive to such manipulations, loudly expressing their protest.
Little Sonya does not have to be completely pulled out of the arms of sleep, it is enough to get him to suck on his breast or nipple. Take the baby in your arms and take a comfortable position for feeding. Usually, when stroking the cheek or lips, the baby, smacking his lips, turns his head to his mother, and, grabbing the breast, begins to suck, not really waking up. If the child is still asleep, you can tickle his heels, cheek, ear, and also slightly shake the chest or bottle.
If there is no reaction to the actions described above, try gently bathing the baby. This is an extreme measure that should be used in exceptional cases. It should also be noted that the state of drowsiness of the child, in which it is so difficult to wake him up, requires close monitoring by a pediatrician.

When deciding whether to wake up a newborn for feeding, a young mother should not go to extremes. It is necessary to observe the child for at least a couple of weeks in order to make sure that he is healthy, receives enough milk, gains weight well and shows interest in food. Only after that, the mother can afford the opportunity to relax for several hours while the baby is sleeping soundly. But if the constant drowsiness of the child does not allow him to fully eat and negatively affects the general condition of the child (he is lethargic, capricious and unfriendly), you should immediately consult a doctor for advice.

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To wake up or not to wake the baby for feeding if he is sleeping peacefully? More than one generation of pediatricians and parents are trying to find a universal answer to this question. Let's think about this important topic today: what is more important, feeding a newborn or his restful sleep?

We all know that a person spends almost a third of his life in a dream. Eight hours of healthy sleep is the minimum necessary for an adult to rest and rejuvenate. An even greater place is occupied by sleep in a child's life: a newborn baby sleeps an average of 18 hours a day, and the sleep of a child at the age of one year is about 13 hours.

In the process of sleep, a lot of very important processes take place in the child's body, which are necessary for the growth and development of his body. Good sleep is one of the most important components of the health and growth of the child, his mental and physical development. Research by scientists from the University of Helsinki and employees of the National Health of Finland has shown that lack of sleep increases the risk of behavioral problems, the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Full sleep and a properly formed physiological rhythm of sleep and wakefulness have a positive effect on the development of the child's brain and his cognitive activity. On the contrary, inadequate, insufficient sleep has a negative impact on the development of the child's brain, especially in the early stages of its development.

On the other hand, it is impossible to underestimate the importance of good nutrition for the development of the baby. It is very important that from the first days of life a newborn baby receives all the elements necessary for his life and development. Proper and timely feeding of a newborn lays the foundation for a full-fledged life of the child, ensures his growth, physical and mental development in accordance with age norms. It is very important that the child receives the nutrition he needs regularly, constantly replenishing the deficiency of certain substances in the body. This is especially important for children who are weak, premature, with insufficient body weight.

It's time to feed the newborn - and he sleeps. What to do?

Many new moms feel sorry for waking up the baby, and they let the baby sleep until he wakes up. But after all, breastfeeding (HF), as well as feeding with artificial mixtures, as we have already found out, should occur at regular intervals, nutrients should enter the child's body evenly, regularly, in equal portions. Yes, now you will feel sorry for the baby, you will not wake up for feeding, but what next? He will oversleep, wake up unnecessarily hungry, irritable, eat more than he needs - and possibly get digestive problems. The next feeding will also have to be postponed - or the baby will eat less than usual, because he will not have time to get hungry. At the same time, his brain and the whole organism as a whole will not receive the necessary nutrients, or, having received an overabundance with a delay, they will not absorb at all. And so time after time...

Do I need to wake up a child with enuresis at night (video):

Therefore, it is best to adhere to a certain feeding regimen for a newborn from the very first days and, of course, wake up the baby if he begins to “sprinkle”. This is especially true for premature babies and children with insufficient body weight.

When is it necessary to wake the baby for feeding?

If the child is less than a month old, he and his mother were given epidural anesthesia or other drugs that cause a hypnotic effect in the baby. Remember, dear mothers: if you have been taking medication or taking pain relief, be sure to wake your baby up for feeding every three to three and a half hours during the day. The break between night feedings can be 6 hours, but no more.

In what cases can a child be allowed to sleep?

You should not wake up a baby for feeding if he is unwell, has a fever, or is too exhausted from travel or other reasons. A healthy tired baby after sleep will quickly catch up: but at the same time, make sure that further feedings take place exactly according to the established schedule.

If the baby is sleeping. Should I wake him up?

A sick baby should not be woken up for feeding either - it is in a dream that his body fights the infection, the immune system works at full capacity. After a while, you won’t need to wake up the baby, he will wake up and demand to eat.

When to wake up a newborn for feeding?

The time after which you will wake up your baby for feeding depends on his age. Feeding a newborn in the first month of life is recommended by pediatricians and healthy nutrition experts at intervals of two hours, from a month to three - three and a half hours. Such crumbs usually sleep between meals and spend a minimum of energy - not like active four-month-old little ones. Already from three to four weeks, the baby sleeps less, spends some time studying the world around him. He spends energy on new impressions and movements and more often needs to be “recharged”. Therefore, start waking up a two-month-old baby after three hours of sleep.

Further, from three to twelve months, the interval between daily feedings can be kept equal to four hours. In general, a four-hour interval between meals is considered optimal throughout life.

The best newborn feeding regimen (video):

The question remains: is it worth waking the baby for feeding at night? Here you can leave the decision to yourself. When breastfeeding, many mothers leave the baby in their bed for the first months - and then during the night feeding the child does not wake up properly: he smacks his lips, grunts, gets his mother's breast, eats and falls off to sleep further. But in the daytime, both the baby who is breastfed and the "artificial" equally need to comply with the regimen.

But if you leave the baby in your bed for the first time, do this for up to three months, and then transfer the baby to a separate bed. If you feed a three-month-old baby well in the evening at 11-12 o'clock, he will sleep peacefully for six hours without waking up, providing himself and you with a good night's rest.

How to wake up a newborn for feeding?

This is also a very important question. Because a sleeping child cannot be disturbed and frightened by harsh light, sounds and movements. A frightened, suddenly awakened baby will be nervous, grunt, cry, and may refuse to eat at all. Therefore, wake up for feeding the child should be very careful and delicate. This warning applies in particular.

Therefore, try to wake up the newborn for feeding with soft, gentle strokes on the forehead, cheeks, and arms. Sometimes it’s enough just to remove the blanket from the baby or begin to carefully release from clothes, change. The change in temperature and the usual actions will allow you to quickly wake up the baby without any problems and hassle.

Do I need to wake my baby up for feeding? - Dr. Komarovsky (video):

Dear mothers! Remember that good and timely nutrition, as well as strong, full and properly distributed sleep during the day, are the main conditions for the good development of a child of any age. But compliance with the diet and sleep for babies in the first months of life is especially important: after all, the smaller the baby, the more his health, well-being and activity depend on whether he is fed in a timely manner and whether he sleeps well. Therefore, do not hesitate, wake your children at the right time - and in a few weeks your efforts will pay off handsomely. This will be confirmed by the scales and height meter, which will record the excellent and harmonious development of your child! We wish you and your children good health and every success!

Is it okay to wake a sleeping baby or is it a bad idea?

Newborn babies often have day and night confusion. We know that light (natural or artificial) helps to normalize our biological clock, but in the mother's belly, the baby receives very little light. In addition, your child is more active when you are resting (that is, at night) and calm during movement: after all, you act as a rocking chair for him, lulling him with constant movement.

As a result of these two factors, children often end up having their longest sleep during the day instead of at night. In the first weeks of life, sleep is distributed evenly throughout the day.

The task of the first months of life: to normalize the circadian rhythm.

As we grow older, daytime sleep shortens and nighttime sleep lengthens. Sometimes there is too much daytime sleep and this interferes with nighttime sleep.

There are several situations when it is worth waking up the child:

If your baby is at least two months old and still hasn't made it through their long nap. Then it is worth limiting the length of daytime sleep and stimulating the lengthening of night sleep.
If your baby has trouble gaining weight in the first weeks of life and sleeps too long at night or during the day, you should consult with your pediatrician as soon as possible. Too long is if the uninterrupted stretch of sleep exceeds 5 hours at a time.
It is worth limiting the length of sleep during the day at any age to protect the regime. The only exceptions are newborns and babies up to two or three months. In the first weeks, it is better to let the child work out his own rhythm. How to determine if a child sleeps a lot during the day? See below.

Your baby sleeps too much during the day if:

At 3 months: a single sleep of more than 3 hours,

At 4 months: one nap of more than 2.5 hours and / or more than 4.5 hours of total daytime sleep,

At 5 months: one nap of more than 2 hours and/or more than 4 hours of cumulative daytime sleep,

At 6 months: one nap of more than 2 hours and/or more than 3.5 hours of cumulative daytime sleep,

At 7/8 months: one nap more than 2 hours and/or more than 3.25 hours of cumulative daytime sleep,
At 9-13 months: one nap of more than 2 hours and/or more than three hours of cumulative daytime sleep,

After 13 months: more than 3 hours of cumulative daytime sleep,

After 3-4 years according to the situation. Daytime nap avoidance can occur as early as this age. Daytime sleep can interfere with nighttime sleep.

However, these standards are only guidelines. Some children need more sleep than others. Prolonged sleep will not hurt your child if there are no problems with sleep at night. In addition, an increased need for sleep may be during a period of physical discomfort.

It's no secret that for any parent, the question of whether to wake up a child is like a torture punishment. On the one hand, there are fears that a long-sleeping child will not be able to fall asleep in time later, and on the other hand, how to wake up such an angel? Today we will discuss those situations in which it is worth waking up the baby, as well as how to do it without stealing the rest time he needs so much.

First of all, the baby should be awakened if he fell asleep later than 7 in the morning. This is especially true for children who still sleep 1-2-3 times during the day and have already developed a relatively stable routine. In this way, you will create the perfect daily routine from the very beginning.

After waking up in the morning, babies need time to work up their tiredness for their next nap, the ideal window for which is around 9 and 1 pm (depending on the age of the baby).

Therefore, it is logical that if the baby slept until 8 am, he simply will not be able to fall asleep in his first daytime sleep.

Many babies under the age of 8 months can sleep three times a day. And if it is proved that the first two have very specific tasks - to sort and lay out new knowledge (morning sleep) and enhance the growth and regeneration of tissues (second dream), then the third does not carry such functions.

The task of the third sleep is to prevent the accumulation of excessive fatigue before a night's sleep, to become a bridge between day and night.

At the same time, it is important that evening bedtime is assigned to a relatively early time, so the third sleep should not last later than 17 hours on average. The exact time for this sleep is highly dependent on how the baby slept during the day. The duration of this segment is about 45 minutes, but not more than an hour. Then you can easily put the baby to bed at night by 19 o'clock.

Between 15 and 18 months of age, there comes a time when your child begins to change his schedule from two daytime breaks to one. Sometimes in such cases the following situation arises - the first daytime sleep is easy and the child sleeps with pleasure for up to 2 hours in a row, but on the second he cannot fall asleep, and it is still very long before evening bedtime. As a result, by the time the child goes to bed for the night, he has already “overwalked” and again falls asleep with difficulty, often choking in tears. This is another situation where waking the baby is absolutely necessary.

The transition from two naps to one can be lengthy and gives the child time to adjust, so it's not a good idea to just get rid of morning naps all at once.

To begin with, limit this period to 60-75 minutes and at the same time try to shift your lunchtime nap 15 minutes later. For a while, this will fix the situation. But when you see that even limiting morning sleep per hour still prevents lunchtime sleep, then it's time to exclude it - sleeping less than an hour is still practically useless.

Once again, children's sleep undergoes major changes between the ages of 2.5-5 years, when daytime sleep completely disappears. And here again the story described above can repeat itself. It seems that the child falls asleep perfectly during the day and sleeps for a long time (is this not an indicator that this sleep is necessary!), But in the evening, laying down can be delayed until 10-11 pm. The problem is that getting up early in the morning to the garden usually does not allow you to sleep the necessary 10-11 hours per night. And again, you will have to gradually limit the time of daytime sleep, first bringing it to an hour, and then abandoning it altogether so that the baby sleeps better at night.

You brought a tiny package with a little man from the hospital. At first, everyone in the house walks on tiptoe, talking in whispers and not rattling dishes, so as not to accidentally wake the baby. However, over time, young parents realize that waking up a baby is not so easy. Surely you have noticed that in the room where a small child sleeps, you can watch TV and even vacuum. If the baby is sleeping, he is unlikely to respond. Therefore, some mothers have a question - how to wake up the baby so that it is as comfortable and painless as possible.

Do I need to wake up my baby to feed?

There is a lot of controversy about whether or not to wake the baby for feeding. On the one hand - the baby is sleeping - mom, rejoice! Mind your own business, relax. However, not everything is so rosy. Pediatricians in many countries are reduced to the opinion that the child should be awakened if he sleeps for more than five hours in a row. The fact is that such a long sleep without a break for food is quite harmful, the baby may be exhausted. This is especially true for children who do not gain weight well, grow slowly. This is also true for premature babies - they need to be fed more often and more.

There are two types of feeding - on demand and on schedule. If you are breastfeeding your baby on demand, you can afford not to wake your baby until he wakes up on his own. If you have chosen for yourself feeding by the hour - you can not break the regime. The child must eat at the set time, otherwise the whole schedule will go down the drain.

The need to wake the baby for feeding also provides the calmness of the mother. If the baby is not applied to the breast for a long time, mastitis may occur, and the milk in the glands will begin to turn sour. Frequent or hourly feeding is also important for those who suffer from insufficient lactation. If you have little milk, you must definitely feed your baby between 3 and 8 in the morning, at least a couple of times. This is due to the fact that the hormone prolactin is produced during this period - the pre-morning time. Stimulating the nipple and feeding the baby at this time increases the amount of milk produced.

When to Wake a Baby

As noted, you need to wake up the baby at the time when he is supposed to eat. If you feed your baby by the hour, you should not allow breaks between feedings for more than four hours.

It often happens that the baby should be woken up because a doctor has come to examine him. Waking up the baby is necessary if the mother is going to leave somewhere and she needs to feed the baby before leaving. Also, waking up is important before the trip, when the child needs not only to be fed, but also to change clothes.

It happens that during childbirth, painkillers were given to the woman in labor, and she, along with milk, transferred their meager share to the baby. The child is then under the influence of sedatives and simply cannot wake up on his own. This has nothing to do with natural long sleep. Therefore, at such moments, the child must be woken up for feeding without fail.

The best time to wake your baby is during the light phase of sleep. At this time, the baby slightly twitches his leg, handle, his pupils run under his eyelids. If there are no signs, raise the child's arm. If the pupils began to move, and the mouth opened for sucking, you can start awakening the child. If the baby does not react in any way, leave it alone for another 20 minutes.

Do you like being woken up? The kid probably won't like it either. But it needs to be done, no matter what. Therefore, all actions should be as soft and gentle as possible. In no case do not frighten the child, do not turn on a bright light, do not shout "Rise". You can scare the baby and shake his nervous system. There are several ways to help you painlessly wake your baby.

To get started, go to the crib and call the baby by name in a low voice. Speak affectionately to him, sing him a song, call him gentle words.
If the child does not respond, it can be gently stroked. Run your hand over the head, arms, legs. From a warm mother's touch, most babies wake up.
To wake the child, you can deprive him of heat. Open your baby to get cool, most kids react to temperature changes. If your actions have not brought any results, start undressing the child.
You can start changing your baby's diaper. He will not be afraid of this action, because it is familiar to him. On the contrary, diaper changing is associated with feeding that occurs before or after this process.
Move your baby's legs and arms. Active movements awaken even the most sleepy babies.
Some children wake up from the tender kisses of their mother. Kiss your son or daughter on the ears, forehead, hands. So you can not only wake up the baby, but also convey incredible love and affection to him. The kid must be sure when he wakes up that he is moving from sweet dreams to no less sweet reality.
Many mothers eventually find their own ways to wake the baby. Sometimes it's just a tickle. Tickle the little man in the area of \u200b\u200bthe feet and your little one will certainly wake up.
Take the child in your arms. Press his body to you, feel the warmth of a sleepy child. It is not only insanely pleasant, but also effective. Once in an upright position, the children quickly open their eyes. But do not forget to hold the head of the crumbs.
As soon as the baby opens his eyes, it is possible that he will immediately close them for further sleep. Don't let him do this. Talk to him gently, make eye contact.
There are babies with a very sound sleep, on which all these manipulations do not work. If your baby is just such a sleepy, you can use water to wake up. No, do not think that the child should be doused with a tub of cold water. You need to prepare warm water, moisten a sponge in it and wipe the face, arms and legs of the baby. Or just dip the baby in a bath of warm, comfortable water. After this, the child will certainly wake up.

When the baby wakes up, you will start feeding him. Don't be surprised if after two seconds of feeding, baby starts falling asleep again - mom's breasts are so soothing! To prevent this from happening, wait until the baby is fully awake, change his clothes and diaper, play and talk with him before you start feeding him. If the baby still falls asleep, gently stroke his head during feeding, talk to him, pull his hand, change feeding positions.

The frequency of feeding a child depends on his age. Newborn babies eat every 2.5-3 hours, older babies every 4-5 hours. At the age of six months, the child already needs night feedings less, he wakes up only early in the morning when he gets hungry. Children are more likely to suck at the breast during illness, during teething. The rest of the feeding regimen is dictated by the needs of a particular baby.

Awakening is different - sharp and irritable or gentle, calm, soft. And it depends only on you with what mood your baby wakes up. Love your baby, wake him up right!