Sleepy baby not waking for feeds

Breastfeeding a Sleepy Baby - Breastfeeding Support

Newborn babies feed a lot and sleep a lot. But what if a baby seems to sleep all the time or keeps falling asleep as soon as they start breastfeeding? Can a baby be too sleepy? This article looks at newborn sleep, how often babies need breast milk and how to feed a sleepy baby. It is a companion article to How Often Should a Newborn Feed?

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How long do newborn babies sleep?

Newborn babies sleep a lot, they may sleep for 18 hours out of every 24—usually for two to three hours at a time¹ with perhaps one longer sleep of four to five hours² . It is common for a baby to be particularly sleepy in the first 24 hours after birth.³

How often should a newborn feed?

A breastfed baby generally feeds every two to three hours or more around the clock because breast milk is quickly digested and they only have small amounts at a time. For much more information see How Often Should a Newborn Feed? The excerpt below explains:

Excerpt from

How Often Should a Newborn Feed? Breastfeeding Support, 2023

Breast milk is easily and quickly digested—even as quickly as one hour—and babies have tiny tummies so they need to feed little and often. It is usually recommended that a baby has at least 8-12 feeds in 24 hours i.e. that they breastfeed every two to three hours from the start of one feed to the start of the next and this ties in with a newborn’s sleep patterns. Some babies may feed more frequently e.g. every hour at first.

Newborn babies sleep a lot, they may sleep for 18 hours out of every 24—usually for two to three hours at a time

How long should a newborn sleep without feeding?

How long a baby should sleep in one go will usually depend on how much milk they are getting at the breast during a breastfeed. How much milk a baby can get will depend on how much milk a breast can store (breast storage capacity), the latch (the way a baby attaches to the breast) and how many total feeds the baby has during any given 24 hour period. Feeding in clusters with occasional longer periods of sleep is normal especially when there are at least 8-12 feeds over a 24 hour period. If a baby is waking for lots of frequent feeds, is feeding actively with plenty of swallows of milk, has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and is gaining weight; they can usually be left to sleep and feed on demand to their own timetable. If not, then reminding and encouraging a sleepy baby to breastfeed every two to three hours during the day, and every four hours at night, can be important to avoid them being underfed.

Breast milk is quickly digested and babies need to feed every two to three hours or more often

Can babies be too sleepy?

Yes, sometimes babies can be too sleepy and if they are not getting enough milk because they are so sleepy or not feeding very well, they can begin to sleep even more and feed even less. A baby who is not feeding frequently or not feeding well may become more and more difficult to rouse. If a baby is very sleepy, they could be at risk of higher than normal weight loss or poor weight gain, and higher than normal levels of jaundice. A sleepy baby is a big risk factor for low milk supply because removing milk from the breasts regularly is an important signal to make more milk. If a baby continues to be sleepy and not feed well after a mother’s milk comes in, there is a higher risk of the mother’s breasts getting engorged or getting mastitis. Mastitis or engorgement can make a mother feel very poorly and reduce a milk supply further.

Encourage a sleepy baby to feed

Encouraging a sleepy baby to have regular breastfeeds and helping them to stay awake long enough to finish a feed will both protect the mother’s milk supply and keep baby well fed to protect their health (see below).

Why might a baby be too sleepy?

Reasons for being particularly sleepy might include:

A difficult birth or birth interventions such as ventouse, forceps or if a mother has received any pain relieving drugs that have affected baby.
Prematurity, health issues or other medical reasons can make a baby sleepy.
Breastfeeding problems. If a baby is not getting enough milk they will have less energy and this can quickly make them more sleepy. Sometimes a baby may seem to be breastfeeding but actually they are sleeping with the breast in their mouth and not swallowing anything or very little.
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin due to a build up of bilirubin) can make a baby sleepy and is more likely in a baby who is not getting enough milk creating a vicious cycle. See Jaundice in Breastfeeding Babies for more information.
Overstimulation. If a baby is overstimulated by excessive handling by strangers or even family members, bright lights or constant loud noise they might tend to shut down and go to sleep to escape.
Missed feeding cues. When a baby is swaddled ⁴, has a pacifier, is too warm or is not in close contact with his mother there is a higher chance of missing feeding cues so that a baby sleeps for longer and feeds less.
Severe breast engorgement. Severe breast engorgement after the birth may hinder baby getting milk and any unrelieved engorgement will tend to reduce a milk supply. If less milk is available a baby may become sleepier. Conversely, if a baby is already very sleepy and not feeding well there is a higher chance that a mother may experience painful engorgement (swollen breasts full of milk) leading to a vicious cycle of sleepy baby getting less milk, breasts reducing supply due to the engorgement, less milk for baby and so on. See our articles on Engorged Breasts and Engorgement Relief When Milk Won’t Flow for more information to deal with engorgement.

When a baby is swaddled, has a pacifier, is too warm or is not in close contact with his mother feeding cues can be missed

How can I wake my sleepy baby to feed?

If your baby is not waking at least 8-12 times in 24 hours he may need reminding when to feed. Ideas to wake and feed a sleepy baby include:

Look for light sleep and feeding cues. A baby can breastfeed in light sleep and it’s easier to latch or wake a baby in light sleep i.e. when his eyes are moving under his closed eyelids (rapid eye movement or REM) and he is starting to move, fidget or fuss in his sleep. Other feeding cues include a baby sucking his fists or fingers, opening his mouth and turning his head from side to side to search for the breast (rooting). It can be helpful to cluster feed in these light sleep/more active periods.
Hold your baby. Sometimes just picking up and holding your baby in a breastfeeding position will motivate him to begin rooting and latch on (attach to the breast). Holding your baby as much as possible allows you to spot those moments when your baby is in light sleep and try to latch him on.
Skin-to-skin. Remove your baby’s clothes so that he is skin-to-skin or lightly dressed against his mother’s chest. Being held in skin-to-skin contact in a tummy down position against a mother’s chest is a great position to trigger a baby’s feeding reflexes. In this position, babies will often start actively searching for the breast using their hands and mouth even if they are not fully awake. Skin-to-skin contact can therefore encourage more breastfeeds⁵. The mother’s body will keep baby warm, a blanket can be draped over mother and baby as needed. See Why Skin to Skin? for more explanation of how helpful this technique can be used at any time in the early weeks not just after the birth. Remember to remove any scratch mittens.
Change baby’s nappy. Changing a baby’s nappy will often rouse them. Some parents combine this with gentle massage of hands and feet.
Different positions. Try holding your baby in different breastfeeding positions to see if any help him to stay awake. Some babies may be more wakeful in a rugby hold or in an upright position such as a straddle hold compared with a traditional cradle hold. Some may be more active in reclining positions while some may fall into a deep sleep. You can see the different positions to try in Breastfeeding Positions for Newborns.
Dimming the lights. Bright lights can make a baby want to shut their eyes which encourages sleep, try soft lighting instead.
Quiet time. Try to create a peaceful atmosphere so baby does not get overstimulated. Passing a baby around family members and constant loud noise can cause some babies to “withdraw” and go to sleep to escape.
Avoid a dummy. A dummy can encourage a baby to sleep longer. Sucking releases hormones to pacify or calm baby back to sleep and can therefore lead to missed feeding opportunities. See Pacifier, Dummy or Soother, Yes or No?

How do I keep my baby awake during feedings?

Getting baby latched and drinking well at the start of a feed is not always the end of the story. Once the initial let-down subsides, a sleepy baby is quite likely to fall asleep again before he has finished the feed. The following ideas can help your sleepy baby to feed effectively:

Skin-to-skin. Undressing your baby and placing them skin-to-skin on your chest maximises their feeding reflexes and helps stimulate feeding cues.
Position and latch. If your baby is not latched and positioned well it will be difficult for them to get milk (and breastfeeding may hurt!). Check positioning in Breastfeeding Positions for Newborns and see Latching Tips and Why Does Breastfeeding Hurt? Try different positions, upright positions may help your baby stay awake to breastfeed longer.
Breast compressions. Putting gentle pressure on the breast with a free hand while baby suckles can help to keep milk flowing at a faster pace and so keep a baby feeding longer. See What is Breast Compression?
Keep switching sides. As soon as sucking slows on the first breast offer the other breast before baby falls asleep. By switching and repeating you can help to keep baby awake and feeding actively for longer.
Look for active feeding. Watch your baby carefully. Is he actively moving his jaw to suck and can you hear swallowing or see the pause in his suck as he swallows? Watch for the baby who is frequently flutter sucking or comfort nursing but not swallowing anything. If your baby isn’t getting enough milk he will probably fall asleep hungry and your milk supply will continue to drop.
Express and top up if needed. If baby is still falling asleep before he has had enough to eat, pumping and topping him up with expressed breast milk will help his energy levels for feeding longer at the next feed. The more breast milk your baby gets the sooner he will be more wakeful and better able to breastfeed effectively. And pumping will protect your supply, only by frequent emptying of the breasts will they know to make more milk.
Get support. Mothers across the world have traditionally taken several weeks to nest with their newborn baby and get breastfeeding established. Finding support with preparing meals or looking after older children can be invaluable. Your sleepy baby will benefit from your focussed attention to get breastfeeding established. And if your otherwise healthy baby continues to be sleepy or is not feeding very well seek the help of a breastfeeding specialist e.g. an IBCLC lactation consultant.

How can I tell if my baby is feeding well?

Our sister article How Often Should a Newborn Feed? explains:

Excerpt from

How Often Should a Newborn Feed? Breastfeeding Support, 2023

When a baby is feeding actively, even if they look like they are asleep, the baby’s jaw will move as they suck and they will swallow regularly e.g. in a pattern of one or two sucks per swallow for 10-15 minutes or more at a time from one or both breasts. The length of time a baby is attached to the breast is not as important as how effectively that baby is feeding. Even if a baby is latched on for an hour, if he isn’t feeding actively with plenty of swallows of milk he might not be getting enough milk.

It is important to be aware that just being attached to the breast and making mouth movements alone doesn’t guarantee that a baby is drinking well. Although a baby can feed well in their sleep sometimes, other times they can be dreaming about sucking but not swallowing, sometimes for hours at a time. It’s helpful to be able to tell the difference between active feeding and flutter sucking and comfort nursing. The way the baby is attached to the breast is important too—see Latching Tips.

Even if a baby is latched on for an hour, if she isn’t feeding actively with swallows of milk she might not be getting enough milk

Is my baby getting enough milk?

There are lots of ways to determine whether a baby is getting enough breast milk without seeing the volume that has been drunk e.g. looking for active feeding, plenty of dirty nappies and weighing baby regularly. See Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk? and Breastfed Baby Poop for more reading. How Often Should a Newborn Feed? has a guide to the volumes of breast milk a newborn baby might need at each feed.

Being held in skin-to-skin contact in a tummy down position against a mother’s chest can trigger a baby’s feeding reflexes Holding your baby as much as possible allows you to spot those moments when your baby is in light sleep and try to latch him on

What if my baby is too sleepy to breastfeed?

If, despite trying the ideas above, your baby is still not waking up to breastfeed, or is latching but not actively getting enough milk, supplements of expressed breast milk will keep them well fed. Topping your baby up every two to three hours will give him more energy to wake up to breastfeed at the next feed. A baby is much more likely to be able to breastfeed effectively if they are gaining weight. Expressing your milk as often as baby ought to be feeding (at least eight times a day) will stimulate the breasts to make more milk and provide the perfect supplement for your baby. If you can’t express any breast milk to keep your baby well fed, and if donor milk is not available, your baby may need infant formula until you can get more help with your milk supply.

Check in with your health professional if your baby is consistently too sleepy to breastfeed to make sure they are not poorly or getting dehydrated.
Hand expressing or pumping your milk will protect your milk supply and provide a breast milk supplement to keep your baby fed until they can breastfeed. See Hand Expressing, How to Increase Milk Supply When Pumping and How Long Does Breast Milk Last?
Supplementing a sleepy baby. A sleepy baby can be given small amounts of expressed breast milk (or formula if needed) by teaspoon, syringe or bottle. If your baby is alert and awake but not ready to latch on, another option is to offer a cup feed. Although a bottle teat could introduce a bottle preference or teat confusion it can be helpful for a very sleepy baby who needs larger volumes. Following the ideas in Tips to Bottle Feed your Breastfed Baby and Best Bottle for a Breastfed Baby can help minimise any problems. If a baby is too sleepy to breastfeed properly a supplemental nursing system is probably not going to be helpful at this stage as it relies on a baby sucking actively.
Check in with a breastfeeding specialist for tailored suggestions to help your baby breastfeed well and maximise your milk supply.

Poor weight gain

A sleepy baby who is not feeding well is at risk of not gaining enough weight or losing weight. This situation can be prevented or quickly reversed by expressing your milk to both protect your milk supply and to keep your baby well fed until you can get more urgent help with breastfeeding. With more milk inside him, your baby will have more energy to stay awake and breastfeed. See Baby Not Gaining Weight, Supplementing an Underweight Baby and How Often Should a Newborn Feed? for much more information.

Try different positions, upright positions may help your baby stay awake to breastfeed longer

Babies do sleep a lot but they will normally wake every two to three hours to feed. If a baby is not waking to breastfeed and is constantly sleeping longer than two to three hours, reminding them to breastfeed can both keep your baby well fed and healthy and also protect your milk supply. Hand expressing or pumping your breast milk to provide a supplement for a sleepy baby may sometimes be needed for a while. There is no advantage to keep weighing a sleepy baby every few days and watching their weight stay the same (or go down) hoping it will pick up eventually. Getting help with breastfeeding as soon as possible will be much more effective in protecting your milk supply and getting breastfeeding on track.

Footnotes & References

Normal Sleep Development, Baby Sleep Info Source (BASIS), 2019 [accessed 9 Mar 2023]
Mohrbacher. Breastfeeding Answers: A Guide for Helping Families 2020. p78
ABM Clinical Protocol #5: Peripartum Breastfeeding Management for the Healthy Mother and Infant at Term, ABM Revision 2013
Franco et al, Influence of swaddling on sleep and arousal characteristics of healthy infants. Pediatrics, 2005
ABM Clinical Protocol #3: Supplementary Feedings in the Healthy Term Breastfed Neonate, Revised 2017

Sleepy Baby – Why And What To Do

Nobody likes to disturb a sleeping baby, but sometimes a baby can be too sleepy for their own good. At times like this they may need you to take action.

Your newborn baby needs to nurse actively for one or both breast at each feed. Offer the second breast after they seem to have finished at the first, although they may not want both sides at every feed.

What makes a baby sleepy?

Recovering from birth: In the first few days, some babies are sleepy or uninterested in feeding. It’s especially true for small babies, after a difficult labour or birth, or if you received drugs for pain relief during labour.

Jaundice or an infection may make a baby sleepy. Newborn jaundice is normal but frequent breastfeeding helps prevent it becoming a problem.

Not enough milk: Your baby may sleep to conserve energy if they are not getting enough food. They may also sleep longer that is good for them if they are apart from you.

Is my baby too sleepy?

To gain weight and stimulate your milk production, expect your newborn to:

Breastfeed effectively at least 8–12 times in 24 hours
Feed actively from one or both breasts at each feed, swallowing regularly.
Nurse at least every 2–3 hours from the start of one feed to the next, with one longer sleep of 4–5 hours.
Have periods where they breastfeed on and off for several hours, usually in the evening.
Gain weight from day 4 and regain birth weight by about two weeks.

Look at our page Beginning Breastfeeding for more information. If your baby is too sleepy to do all these things they may need your active help to ensure they are nursing effectively and getting enough milk.

Is my baby getting enough milk?

A baby may lose up to 7% of their birth weight during the first few days. From around day 3-4, expect them to start gaining, and to regain their birth weight by 10-14 days. Many breastfed babies gain around 200-235g (7-8oz) as week for the first 2-3 months. If you baby consistently gains less, or they haven’t regained their birthweight by 14 days, seek skilled help to assess whether they are getting enough milk. What comes out is a sign of what has gone in, so counting dirty nappies can be a useful guide between weighing sessions. For more information to help you know if your baby is getting enough milk in the first few days, you could read our article here about signs of effective feeding in the early days. And then after the first few days, this article will help you decide if your baby is getting enough milk.

Age	Dirty nappies per 24 hours
1-2 Day	1 or 2 greenish-black tarry meconium poos
3-5 days	At least 3 green transitional poos
5+ days	At least 3-5 yellow, loose unformed poos the size of a 2p coin or larger

Remind your baby to nurse

If your baby is too sleepy or groggy to rouse themselves every few hours, you will need to wake them to feed to ensure they get enough milk. This will be easier if your baby is in a light sleep cycle: watch for rapid eye movements under their closed eyelids, arm and leg movements, sucking activity and changes in their facial expression.

Aim for your baby to feed at least 10 times in 24 hours, including at least once at night
Encourage active nursing on the first breast, watching and listening for signs of swallowing.
Use breast compression (see below) to keep your baby nursing actively.
Offer the other side in the same way. You can switch back and forth several times if it helps your baby stay awake and feed.
Encourage cluster nursing whenever your baby is more alert.
Give expressed milk if they aren’t feeding well.
Keep them close by—day and night—so they don’t sleep too long and you don’t miss their feeding cues.

Also try

Dimming the lights and keeping your surroundings quiet and peaceful.
Keeping the room temperature at around 18°C or undressing your baby a little if the room is warm. Being too hot can make a baby sleepy.
Unwrapping any blankets.

Newborn feeding cues

Signs of interest in feeding include:

Mouth movements; smacking or licking his lips
Sucking on lips, tongue, hands, fingers, toes, toys or clothing
Rooting, head bobbing or nuzzling against whoever is holding them
Fidgting and squirming a lot
Fussing
Crying – a late sign of hunger.

Do offer feed generously. A newborn won’t find it easy to feed well, if they have to wait and reached late hunger signs.

Helping your sleepy baby

Positioning and attachment

Getting a deep, comfortable latch is crucial. If your baby is not latched on well at the breast, they will have to work harder to get your milk. They may tire easily and fall asleep. Sometimes just a small adjustment to the way your baby comes to the breast can make a huge difference. An LLL Leader can provide individual suggestions tailored to your circumstances. If your breasts are engorged, gently hand express a little milk and/or ease swelling back with your fingertips to make it easier for your baby to latch on deeply and prevent you getting sore. See our longer article about Positioning and Attachment for more help on how to help your baby latch well, feed effectively and be comfortable for you.

Seek skilled help early on if you are finding breastfeeding difficult or uncomfortable.

Laid back breastfeeding

Try letting your baby lie on your body with their chest and tummy against you as you recline at about 45 degrees. If they can snuggle up close to your chest for periods of time, even when sleepy or during light sleep, they will often instinctively seek the breast and attach deeply and comfotably even during light sleep. This can be done skin-to-skin or with you and your baby lightly clothed. Watch for signs your baby is stirring and gently encourage feeding. Spending time relaxing like this can make a real difference to how well your baby feeds and how much milk you make. Our page on Comfortable Breastfeeding has more ideas.

Breast compression

If your baby starts to doze at the breast, this technique will help him breastfeed actively and take more milk.

Cup your breast with your hand, near your chest wall, thumb opposite fingers in a C shape. Keep your hand well back from the nipple area.
Wait while your baby breastfeeds actively, with their jaw moving all the way to his ear. When they stop swallowing, compress your breast firmly. They probably start swallowing again. Hold it squeezed until they stop nursing actively, then release your hand.
Rotate your hand around your breast and repeat step 2 on different areas of the breast as needed. Go gently—this should not hurt.

Switch nursing

Try switching breasts at least two or three times during each feed—when your baby comes off the first breast on their own or when breast compression no longer keeps them breastfeeding actively.

Express milk for your baby

Until your baby gets the hang of feeding you may need to do some work for your baby. If they aren’t latching at all, or is not feeding well and gaining weight, then expressing your milk will help establish milk production. The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll produce plenty of milk. Hand expression is often easiest at first but when your milk comes in combining hand expression with pumping can be most effective.

Giving expressed milk

First, encourage your baby to nurse at both breasts. Watch for swallowing and use breast compression an switch nursing until they stop drinking and start to doze.

Next, give your baby expressed milk until they have had enough. (For more on how to give additional milk, our article here). Giving your baby your expressed milk after breastfeeding can help them overcome sleepiness and feed more effectively next time.

Then, once your baby has settled, express from both breasts switching back and forth and using compressions and hand expression to get the available milk. Store this milk in the fridge ready for the next feed.

Aim to complete this process within about an hour.

Avoid bottles and dummies

You can give small amounts of expressed milk using a spoon, flexible feeding cup or syringe. If you decid to use bottles for larger amounts, you can give the bottle in a way that helps protect breastfeeding. For more information on ways to give your baby milk and bottles see our article on Bottles and other tools. An alternative is to use a nursing supplement: this acts like a straw to deliver extra milk through a tube along your breast as your baby nurses, avoiding the need for bottles. Our article Nursing Supplementers explains more.

Don’t give up too soon

If your baby doesn’t respond quickly to your efforts to get him to breastfeed more often and more effectively, don’t give up. Keep your baby fed, Keep your supply protected and Keep your baby close. You may find our article on Getting breastfeeding back on track after a tricky start helpful. Check with your doctor to eliminate any medical reasons and contact your local LLL Leader to find one-to-one breastfeeding help. You can find support and encouragement from breastfeeding mothers in your local LLL Group too.

Written by mothers of LLLGB. Photos courtesy of Ellen Mateer and Suzanne Tobin.

Further Reading
Comfortable Breastfeeding
Positioning and attachment
Engorged Breasts – Avoiding & Treating
Hand Expression of Breastmilk
Is my baby getting enough milk?
My Baby Needs More Milk
Nursing supplementers
Jaundice in Healthy Newborns
Getting back on track after a tricky start – the Three Keeps
My baby won’t breastfeed
Bottles and other tools

Other websites
Biological Nurturing™: www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html
Natural Breastfeeding Position video, Nancy Mohrbacher:
Benefits of skin-to-skin contact: www.kangaroomothercare.com

Books
The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding. LLLI, London: Pinter & Martin, 2010

This information is available to buy in printed form from our shop.

Updated June 2022

How to wake up a baby for feeding and whether it is necessary to wake up a baby in the afternoon

05/29/2020

For any parent, the question of whether to wake up the baby is not easy. On the one hand, there are fears that a child who has been sleeping for a long time will not be able to fall asleep later, and on the other hand, how to raise such an angel who has been put to bed for so long...

so that his sleep is not affected.

Let's start with the smallest children. You've probably heard the phrase "never wake a sleeping baby." But it is not always fair. Some newborn babies wake up on their own for feedings, while others need to be awakened. Whether or not you need to wake your baby depends on their age, weight, and overall health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waking your baby for feedings if he sleeps more than 4 hours in the first two weeks of life. On average, a baby needs feeding every 2-3 hours.

Frequent feeding is very important for several reasons:

The baby's stomach is very small, the baby quickly digests breast milk. Faster than a mix. Therefore, physiologically, the child necessarily needs frequent feedings every 2-3 hours.
Babies can sometimes sleep even when hungry, thus malnourished, which affects their development.
After birth, the baby loses 5-10% of its body weight. And in the first weeks he needs to gain weight. Lack of milk or formula slows down this process.
A short interval between feedings helps to maintain lactation. That allows you to avoid problems with a lack of milk in the future.

Tears already signal strong hunger. Therefore, it is better to breastfeed the baby before the baby starts crying. Learn to recognize the early signs of hunger: the baby puts his hand in his mouth, smacks his lips, tossing and turning when he sleeps.

Should the baby be woken up to feed during the day? In general, if an infant sleeps for more than 3 hours in one dream during daylight hours, he must be awakened. Then the mother can feed the already awakened baby. This makes it possible to adjust the work of the biological rhythms of the baby.

How to Wake Up

Help your child gradually fall asleep by stroking their arms, legs or lightly tickling them.
Change diaper. Often this is enough for the baby to wake up and be ready to eat.
Undress and place skin to skin on your chest. You can squeeze a few drops of milk onto your baby's mouth. He will smell and taste it and begin to suck on the breast.
Speak - he will hear your voice and wake up.
Do not turn on bright lights. A dim light is sufficient. The bright light will blind your eyes.
If the baby has attached to the breast but has not begun to suckle, stroke his cheek.

How long to feed

As soon as the baby wakes up and starts to eat, make sure that the feeding is long enough to empty at least one breast. So we will know that he ate hind milk, which is necessary for the growth of the child's body. Some babies take 45 minutes or more to feed one breast, and some do it in 10 minutes.

The sucking reflex promotes falling asleep. Therefore, make sure that the baby does not fall asleep while feeding. If he falls asleep, change position, lift him up to burp, and then start feeding again.

By 6 months you will have a more or less predictable eating schedule. But each baby will have his own. Some of the children eat every 2 hours, and someone is able to stay without food for 3-4 hours by the second month of life. This is especially true for children who are formula fed.

The length of time between feedings increases as the child grows older. By the age of six months, many babies can already go without supplements at night or are able to sleep for longer periods.

If a child wakes up too often after 6 months and asks for food at night, perhaps this is no longer hunger, but a way to relax and fall asleep.

Avoid using a pacifier in the first weeks after delivery. The pacifier helps the child to calm down and prolong sleep. So you may not notice that your baby is hungry. Therefore, start using a pacifier no earlier than 4-6 weeks and when you are lactating.

Should the baby be woken up to feed formula? As with breastfeeding, the newborn needs frequent formula feeding. But the interval will be more than 3-4 hours.

When it is necessary to wake up the child

It is important to wake up the baby in the morning if he has fallen asleep later than 7.00. This is especially true for children who still sleep 1-2-3 times during the day and have already developed a relatively stable routine. So you create the perfect routine in the morning.

After waking up, children need time to work up their fatigue for their next nap, the ideal window for which is around 9 and 1 pm (depending on age).

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

In order for the baby to wake up calmly without tears, you can enter a wake-up ritual. It allows the child to smoothly transition from a sleepy state to wakefulness.

Example of a wake-up ritual:

Open curtains/turn on lights
Welcome words and a kiss
Snacks, nursery rhymes after sleep
Happy song

Then you can get up and start breakfast. For older children, such a ritual is also necessary.

The awakening ritual has different purposes:

Marks the end of sleep,
Teaches a child that everyday sounds are not a reason to wake up,
Helps prevent baby from crying when waking up.

It will also be useful to have a light alarm. If the baby wakes up early, he will stay in bed until he sees the light on the clock.

When to wake your baby up after a nap

Many babies from 4 to 8 months sleep three times a day.

In this mode, it is important to wake up the baby after the third nap no later than 17.00. The duration of this segment is about 45 minutes, but not more than an hour. Then you can easily put the baby to bed by 19 o'clock.

Transition to one nap

At the age of 15-18 months there is a transition to one nap. It can be long and take place in different ways.

For example:

In the morning, the baby falls asleep easily and sleeps up to 2 hours. But then it is difficult to put it in lunch. And by the evening without rest at lunchtime, he is already overworked and falls asleep with difficulty.

So if this is your case, you can pick up the baby after 60-75 minutes. At the same time, move the start of the second sleep 15 minutes later. But if the baby sleeps for 1 hour in the morning and then it’s already difficult to fall asleep a second time, start putting him down only at lunchtime.

One nap after 2 years

Between 2.5-5 years, naps may disappear. Here again, the story described above is often repeated. It seems that the child falls asleep perfectly during the day, sleeps for a long time, but in the evening, laying down is 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 duration of daytime rest. Wake your baby up after 60 minutes first, then skip the daytime so your baby sleeps better at night.

Keep an eye on your baby while doing this. If he is calm in the evening and falls asleep easily, and wakes up later than 6 o'clock in the morning in a good mood, then you are doing everything correctly.

If you notice excessive moodiness in the late afternoon or regular awakenings too early, then it is worth giving the baby more time to rest at lunchtime.

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Displaced feeding schedule: why does your baby eat all night and how to change it?

03/12/2017

165958

Feeding and sleep

3-6 months --9 months --18 months

Natalya Trofimova

Senior Consultant for Snip, Pediatrician

222 Mom of two daughters

Does your baby eat little or rarely during the day, but hangs on her chest for a long time at night or often asks for a bottle? This is called a "shifted feeding schedule". With this organization of nutrition, the child receives the bulk of the calories at night. During the day, feedings are either short or rare, or the baby refuses the breast or bottle altogether. After six months, there may be difficulties with the introduction of complementary foods, especially with unformed nutritional interest.

Child crisis calendar

Why is this happening?

During periods of crisis in a child's development (a developmental leap, teething, an acute illness, any strong emotional experiences), a temporary and sharp increase in the number of feedings is normal, it just needs to be waited out.
Babies in their first months of life can “mix day and night” and, accordingly, stay awake and eat mostly at night.
Older children become interested in everything and are easily distracted during the daytime feedings, butting for a short time, because they have too many important things to do during the day.
With the introduction of complementary foods, mothers sometimes begin to replace daytime feedings with breast milk or formula with low-calorie fruit and vegetable purees, and the baby has to “get” calories at night.
Mixed, when breast milk and formula are clearly separated by time of day. When breastfeeding only during the day, the baby may refuse the breast if he prefers a bottle that is given only at night. And vice versa, when feeding during the day with a mixture, and at night with a breast, if the baby prefers the breast.
Breastfeeding mother works outside the home or is separated most of the day from the baby (even with the possibility of pumping). Breastfeeding at night helps the baby make up contact with the mother and stimulate lactation. This is a good option if you manage to organize a dream so that everyone gets enough sleep.

Answer a few questions to understand if your feeding schedule is shifted:

How many times does the child eat during the day and how, how many times does he wake up at night?
Does he eat for a long time every night when he wakes up, are sips audible, or is it mostly short attachments with superficial sucking for a couple of minutes?
Are the daily feeds long, does the baby let go of the breast when it is full, or is it often torn off and distracted?
Can a baby fall asleep without breastfeeding or a bottle (both day and night) or is this the only way to fall asleep?

Frequent nightly "snacking" does not always indicate that the feeding schedule is shifted. If feeding is a way to relax and fall asleep, then when awakened at night between sleep cycles, the breast or bottle will again be required to fall asleep. This is an association with sleep, the way and habit of falling asleep.

What such feedings usually look like:

The baby wakes up every 1–1.5 hours at night and asks for food, and during the day he usually eats after 3 hours, which means that he is unlikely to experience hunger.
The child eats very little at night: he kissed his chest for a minute or a bottle, ate 10-20 ml and fell asleep - in this case, he does not have a goal to eat.
If there is an association for sleep, but the daily appetite does not suffer, mother and baby get enough sleep, there is nothing to worry about. In order for the number of nightly awakenings and feedings to allow sufficient sleep, even if there is an association for sleep, the child must be well suited to sleep and wakefulness.

Is it possible to change the habit of eating at night and when should I wait?

As much as one would like to reduce the number of night feedings, there are situations when they are necessary. For example, a baby in the first months of life does not gain weight well, there are problems with lactation (little milk, false breastfeeding), adaptation to a therapeutic mixture with a specific taste and refusal to wake up, the baby feels unwell (sick, teeth are being cut), a child is experiencing a developmental leap, stress, a long separation from her mother.

The assistance will depend on the age and the reason for the predominance of night eating. In the first months of life, with the "confusion of day and night," it is important to show the baby when it is day and when it is night. For daytime sleep, you do not need to create a strong blackout, and at night you need to ensure maximum darkness in the room. Limit overly long naps. All activities, walks, communication - during the day, no games at night.

If the baby is distracted during feedings and “forgets” to eat, you need to create the most calm atmosphere during feedings: turn off the TV, do not use the phone, retire to a darkened quiet room, turn on white noise. You can put a bright scarf around your neck, slingobuses, any baby rattle on a ribbon. Try a different position with less visibility, such as kneeling facing you or in a sling.

With the introduction of complementary foods, do not rush to replace breastfeeding or mashed formula. The first vegetable or fruit purees are not comparable in calories to breast milk and formula. Occupying volume in the stomach, they reduce milk intake during the day. Complementary foods can fully replace feeding only after 8 months, when it will make up about 20–30% of nutrition and the baby will eat cereals, meat, and vegetables.

On mixed feeding, it is desirable to supplement the baby with the mixture in the required amount after each application to the breast, or feed the mixture by the hour (at regular intervals), and breastfeed on demand.

A breastfeeding working mother has the hardest time reducing the number of night feeds. To do this, you need to feed the baby often enough during the day, a maximum of 3–3.