Newborn Getting Too Much Sleep??

In the first two weeks, the 'rule' is to wake baby until birth weight is achieved. It would be good to rouse the sleeping baby by changing his diaper and then feed him. I would not worry about his long sleep pattern. Just monitor growth, which you can do at La Leche groups through the hospital. Generally baby will grow 1/2oz-1oz daily. Congratulations!

As long as he's gaining weight it's fine. Otherwise, wake him to feed every 2 hrs and then let him go back to sleep.

looks like you have much good advice.. My son was a sleeper too. I was very worried. So I learned a few tricks..

I would hold him in arms perpendicular to me and rock his head from right to left. This gently wakes him up enough to maybe eat. I would only wake him to feed him. Also because my breasts were getting full. Often he would eat and them go back to sleep. In general he is now a very good sleeper. So this trend may continue.

sleeping is definitely a good thing..

My 4 week old son was the same way... and being my second child I just let him sleep as long as he wanted. Unfortunately at the one week checkup he had lost too much weight. I ended up having to wake ever 2 hours and supplement with bottles for a week, at which point he was gaining weight like a champ. He was just too sleepy and too lazy to nurse. But don't worry... he is a great nurser now and has gotten himself on a 3 hour feeding/sleeping schedule. I would get your son's weight checked and decide from there what needs to be done! I hope you get to enjoy the long naps!

If your baby is under 10 pounds or has not reached his/her birth weight then he should be eating every 3 hours or so. You do not want your baby to lose weight. I would wake him up for the first few weeks until his weight is up to at least 10 pounds. Talk to your doctor if you are really concerned.

Firstly, congratulations on the new addition to your family! My son was like yours. Somedays it was 2 to 3 hours, then 4 to 6. His doctor told that as long as he was eating and not acting lathargic when awake to let him rest. Newborns are geting used to so many new things. If it really concerns you, call his pediatrician. Peace of mind is always a good thing!

Pediatricians can vary on this. Some say, let the baby sleep. Others say, because he is SO young and just a newborn, to still nurse/feed him every 3 hours + or -.

Some babies, do not wake when hungry and will just sleep right through it. They each have their own temperament and ability to give you "cues." So you can't just assume that a BABY will tell you when they are hungry. I knew a friend's baby that did NOT indicate hunger very well... and it caused various stresses for her.

For my son, when he was just a newborn, I did give him feedings every 2-3 hours if he was sleeping. And as a newborn, my son slept a lot. Then, when he got older, I just let him sleep and then nursed him as soon as he woke.

But, ask your Pediatrician. If your baby has no health issues, then I think he's fine. But make sure you feed him ON DEMAND, no matter what.

C. Congrats on your new baby! I know that people usually say NEVER wake a sleeping baby, but I found out the hard way that that isn't sound advice! My daughter had jaundice which i didn't know and got really bad because she just slept and slept! She ended up in the hospital for 5 days with IVs and was under the Bili-Rubin light! The doctor at the hospital said that a mom should always wake the baby for the first couple weeks to a month every 2 to 3 hours to feed until they reach their goal weight! Your doctor will tell you what that should be! Plus they do need the stimulation so that at bed time some routine has been set! I am not saying that your baby will get jaundice, i am just letting you know what the ER doc told me so that you won't have to ever go through that :) Good Luck and enjoy every moment!
E.

Hi C.,
In all of the 12 books I have read in the past six months (studying for doula certification), a newborn baby needs to eat every 2-3 hours. There are health risks associated with not feeding often enough, regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Their little systems are still developing and they have not established regular digestion processes yet. Their stomachs are tiny and cannot hold enough to sustain them for 6 hours, let alone enough to help them grow & thrive. Wake him up! If he's tired, he can go back to sleep after feeding, but I think you will find as he eats more frequently he will also have more alert awake times. Enjoy him, & congratulations!

Are you nursing? The only thing I would worry about with this is your milk supply, especially right now, the most crucial time to establishing a good supply is NOW and you must feed way more often then every 4 -6 hours to get a good one! I had a very sleepy baby as well and everyone said just let him sleep, you're so lucky!! But it has it's own set of problems, if the baby doesn't get enough milk he will not gain enough weight and if you don't nurse often enough (if you are nursing) you won't have enough milk to give him.

My son, who weighed 9 lbs. 15 oz. at birth, slept through the night, his first night of life. (he was rooming in with me). The next day the hospital staff told me I should have woken him up because he could loose too much weight. He lost 15 oz. by the time we left the hospital the second day. The doc. had me come in for a weight check one week later and he was gaining really well on nothing but breastmilk, so he said not to worry about sleeping. For a smaller child it might have been more of a problem. I would take your child in to have him weighed. If the doc. feels he is gaining well, let him sleep.

I would enjoy the long sleeping times now! That will change when he gains his sight at about 8 to 12 weeks, then because things are so clear, he won't want to sleep. Take advantage and catch up on your sleep too. He won't starve, he will wake up when he needs too. Just don't let him get his days and nights confused with his sleeping habits.
Just enjoy! It might not last long!!

Hello C.. Your post caught my eye, because I have a 6 week old son who has been sleeping a lot since birth. I was told to nurse him every 2-3 hours and to wake him to do so if need be. I have to admit I didn't follow that advice, as I was too busy trying to get some sleep myself. I nurse him on demand, which seems to work well for us both, but I'm not sure what the "right" thing to do is. If you do find out from a pediatrician, I'd love to hear what he or she has to say about this. The advice you received all sounds great, but it is confliciting :( I'm extremely curious about this and I have two more weeks before we meet our new pediatrician!

Enjoy!!!!! Don't worry about it!

Count your blessings and let that baby sleep! As long he has wet and poopy diapers, and is growing, I'm sure all is fine.
Best,
S.

If your newborn is small (7 pounds or less) I would definitely wake him to feed. If you have a 9 or 10 pounder, I would probably let him sleep a little more. In between - it's your call. GOod luck!

Babies NEVER get too much sleep. My first son slept 6 hours during the day and was awake for 6 hours - but it 2 hour intervals AND slept through the night since the day he was born, so that's 18 hours out of 24 he was asleep. My second son only took 1, maybe 2 naps each day from the time he was born. I never woke them to feed them. I figure they are establshing their own sleeping patterns and they won't starve themselves to death.

Dear C., you don't know how lucky you are... As long as the baby is breathing, let him sleep...He will let you know when he's hungry or when he needs to be changed. in teh mean time, take advantage of that & try to get some rest yourself. My personal advis eon this one is to put a b aby monitor in his crib so that & if you're taking a nap with you can hear his breathing or when he's waking up. I have 3 kids myself, and advised by my Kaiser pedriatician ( God bless him) is to let a child sleep and not wake him/her up every two hours to be fed. Enjoy while you can as he will get older and his sleeping pattern may change,
Have a good one.
D.

Is he eating, peeing and pooping? If he's doing all those things, then count your blessings and get some sleep! If babies are peeing and pooping then they're getting food. Are you breast-feeding? Getting lots of poopy diapers? If so, double-count your blessings and get some sleep. If your baby seems content and is filling out, you are one mama who will be envied by her peers.
If not of the above is happening, you should see your pediatrician.
God bless and enjoy your darlings!

Hey C.,
My son came into the world practically sleeping, he slept for the first few weeks 4 to six hours at a time. The first week of him being in the world he mostly slept and didn't want to eat, but some of that may be due to the dinner I had the night before he came (steak, chicken, smash potatoes, soup, .....) so he was feasting on that for a minute, ha ha. Then as the days went by he stayed up longer and begun to eat more, but he was more of a snacker then a eater. So don't worry just keep your mommy eyes on him and he'll be fine. When he's ready to eat he will. But right now if you can, get your naps in!!!

Lift Him Up Higher,
K.

My son was up every 2-3 hours for feedings until he was about 4months, so this one is new to me. But, every baby is different. If he is getting enough intake and is gaining weight, then I'd say let it be. You never want to wake a baby to feed them, unless they are just not eating.

If you are super worried, then call the Pedi and let him/her know of your concerns.

C. G.

As you probably already know, babies sleep a lot. Some children require more sleep than others, so I wouldn't worry too much. Your son is growing while he sleeps, so he will sleep a lot for a few months. Just remember every child is different, complete with different personalities and different habits. Enjoy the time you get to relax, when you can (having two other children). I know I did, if you are still concerned, speak to your pediatrician and the doctor can let you know if there is a problem. Good Luck!

Ahhhh, the two week bliss! I dunno, I was always so intent on getting my girls on a schedule that I did wake them to be fed every three hours on the dot. I made sure they ate a full meal, too - I would wake them up with wet washcloths, change diaper, etc, whatever it took to make sure they ate both sides and got full. I also would hold them off, even if they were hungry, to get to 3 hours, so some might think it cruel. But it sure made my life more manageable, and once the schedule was established as 3 hours, I knew I could go to the store, run errands, etc, without having to whip it out and stop what I was doing for 1/2 hour to feed the baby. Don't worry, he will wake up next week, and you'll wish you had the sleepy baby back!

no let him sleep. my daughter at 1 month old slept for 11 hours straight one night and i did not wake her up. i never woke her up because she knows when shes hungry and will let me know. i would wake up every 3 hours (because i pumped my milk) and she would still be sleeping and i would touch her to see if she moved then pump and go back to sleep.

I have a 5 month old. Our pediatrician said to not let her sleep during the day more than 3-4 hours at one time since the last feeding. I think this was primarily so she would not mix up her days and nights. But, this is definitely a question for your baby's doctor.

I would wake him to eat if you are breastfeeding to keep your supply up. If you are bottle feeding I would let him be. Is that at night or during the day? Even a bottle fed baby, I'd wake the first month during the day to eat every 3 hrs. They don't always wake up on their own. YOu could have a lazy feeder.

I have three sons. The oldest was a few weeks premature and slept a great deal. The second was post mature and hardly napped. Took me until the third time to get it right.
Anyway, I actually had to wiggle my first son's foot or stroke his head to keep him awake to eat...otherwise he would fall back to sleep while nursing. If he is nursing well when he is awake every 4 hours and was a decent size at birth, I think I would not worry. If he is tiny, I would get him up every 3-4 hours to feed him. You can always call the peditrician and get a medical opinion.
Congratulation on the third son! I am partial to boys:)
H.

If he is sleeping that much he must not be hungry. Feel blessed if he is sleeping that long at a time. Enjoy! He may all of a sudden decide that he is going to wake up every hour or 2 & want to eat.

I wouldn't worry. A lot of sleep is good and natural. One thing I would consider if he is having nighttime difficulties or what not is to feed him every three hours regardless if he is awake or asleep. You will find that you can get him to eat while asleep and then put him back down. I have found that this works well for sleep and overall contentment of a baby. Let him sleep at night as long as he wants- don't continue the feeding every 3 hours past 10pm.

C., mother of 3, sleep consultant and blog writer www.lullabyluna.com

Congrat's! Be happy!!! People would LOVE to be in your position. If he's gaining enough weight and your dr. has no concerns that he's not gaining, let him sleep!!!!!!!!!

C., congratulations!! If you are nursing, wake your baby every two hours, round the clock. We did this for the first couple of months, then let her sleep 3-4 hours and would wake her for nursing. I only have experience w/ nursing, not formula. Our baby has co-slept with us, and this helped tremendously w/ the nighttime nursings. Best of luck!

Congratulations on your baby! I have an 11 week old baby and from the beginning our pediatrician said to wake her every 3 hrs. to eat during the day so her longer stretch of sleep would be at night. Newborns sleep a lot and will not necessarily wake up when they are hungry. Remember in the hospital how the nurses probably told you to feed the baby every 3 hrs. & how the baby loses weight those first few days? I would ask your ped. what to do on the subject as it depends on the weight of your baby. My baby regained her birth weight within 4 days so the Dr. said I did not need to wake her at night, but to feed her every 3 hrs. during the day. I am exclusively breastfeeding & my baby is a champion sleeper (unlike my 2 yr. old son). She regularly sleeps 4-6 hrs. at night, and last night she slept 7.5 hrs. But she definitely nurses a lot in the evening to tank up for the night! I would say to wake your baby during the day to feed him.

Let him sleep! I've never heard of a newborn sleeping himself into starvation...

Hello C.,

Same time happened to me when I first bring my little man home the first week.(he is 2 1/2 now) He slept better at home than at the hospital. So the first couple days, I would wake him up for his bottles, like the good nurse at the hospital told me to. But when my mom heard that, she told me not to worry, if he wants to sleep, just let him. He will wake up when he is hungry. And also make a note to yourself, sleep when he sleeps, very important. Because before you know it, he would wake up every 1 1/2 hours and want you to feed him. Just count as blessing that he sleeps. I did.

Good Luck!

Wake him up. If you're breastfeeding, it should probably be about every 2 hours. If on the bottle, every 3-4 hours (breast milk is digested faster, because it's meant for the body).

If he's not waking its because he doesn't have the energy. And you also need to worry about your milk supply if you're breastfeeding.

Some will think the following is bad advice, so it's up to you, but it's what I did and it worked especially well: Bring him either into your bed (family bed) or a co-sleeper (3-sided bassinet that attaches to the side of the bed) so that you can feed him without him coming fully awake.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sleep/sleepnewborn.html

Congratulations on your little one, and good luck! :)

NO! Let the baby sleep... never wake a sleeping baby! He will wake when he is hungry.... we have enough fat babies in this world who are being overfed and learning to override their internal mechanisms that tells them that they are hungry. Just go with the flow and don't try to control it all.

Hi C., don't worry be thankful, have a new born baby girl in my daycare, she gets to my house at 5:30 AM, she falls back a sleep and sleeps sometimes untill 8:30, wht I do where she sleeps a long time, I touch the bottom of her foot, to get some movement from her, and i let her sleep, the rest of the day she hardly sleeps at all. Remember when their sleeping, their growing. Always if you have a concern about your baby call his ped, for piece of mind. J. L.

just make sure he is getting enough to eat. My daughter slept alot as a newborn and it was because I wasn't creating enough breast milk. I didn't know until the doctor told me to go home and pump and see how much I was actually producing. Is he peeing enough? Check with your doctor