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The Best Way to Feed Your Baby Formula at Night – bökee

Middle of the night feedings are no doubt one of the hardest parts of parenting an infant. Though formula-fed babies generally can go for longer stretches of sleep than breastfed babies, they will still wake up to eat for at least several months. And that means dragging yourself out of bed, often multiple times per night, to make sure your little one has exactly what she needs. Though formula feeding at night will probably never be easy, it can go a lot more smoothly if you have a good routine in place. 

We’re here to give you our tried and tested tips to make those inevitable formula night feeds as easy as possible (and a discount to go along with the tips!).

Nighttime feeds won’t last forever but they are part of raising a new baby. You’re likely wondering how often your baby will wake for a bottle of formula and at what point they will start sleeping through the night (like seriously when, though?!)

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there are going to be a lot of wee hour wake-ups while your baby is tiny. But, as the months go by, your baby will grow and so will their tummy.  This means they’ll be able to drink more formula in one sitting and start to go longer between bottles. 

Here’s a good guideline (referencing Stanford Children’s Health) for how often you’ll need to feed your formula-fed baby:

Birth - 2 weeks: 8 - 12 feedings in 24 hours

Feed on-demand every 2-3 hours around the clock and wake your baby every 3 hours if they don’t wake up on their own. 8 -12 feeds per day is normal. At your baby’s 2-week check-up, your pediatrician will likely allow you to let your baby sleep longer stretches if they are gaining weight well.

2 weeks - 2 months: 6 - 8 feedings in 24 hours

Time between feedings will gradually increase to 4 hours. You should continue to feed on demand. At this age your baby may go up to 5 hours between feeds during the night.

3 months - 5 months: 5 - 6 feedings in 24 hours

At this age, your baby will likely still be waking 1-2 times at night for a bottle of formula.

6 months - 8 months: 3 - 5 feedings in 24 hours

Most babies are capable of sleeping through the night at this age. You may want to consider night weaning if your baby is still waking up to eat.

9 - 12 months old: 3 - 5 feedings in 24 hours

By 9 months, almost all formula fed babies should be sleeping through the night. If night wakings are still occurring it’s not likely due to hunger.

The first time your baby sleeps through the night without needing to eat is a milestone to be celebrated. But until then, focus on making those nighttime feeds as routine and as easy as possible.

Types of Formula You Can Feed Your Baby

Before we go over our best tips for nighttime formula feeding, it’s important to understand the different types of formula you can choose to give your little one.

• Powdered Formula

Powdered formula is by far the most commonly used formula as it’s the least expensive. It’s also easy to store and transport. You’ll make the bottle by mixing the proper ratio of formula to water as instructed on the container.

• Concentrated Liquid Formula

Like powdered formula, concentrated liquid formula must be mixed with water before giving it to your baby. It is more expensive than powdered, but may be less messy.

• Ready-to-Feed Formula

Ready-to-feed is just like it sounds. There is no mixing with water, but instead can be poured right into a bottle for the baby to drink. Because of its convenience, it’s by far the most expensive choice.

No matter which you choose, you can be confident that you’re giving your baby the proper nutrition to thrive and grow. 

We recently wrote about how to prepare the perfect bottle of formula, which will give you a great guide to bottle prep, but nighttime feedings can be more tricky. 

Being woken up from a dead sleep by a hungry baby is never easy. But when you have routines in place it makes the process go a lot more quickly.

These are our best tips to getting that nighttime formula feed checked off the list so you can both get back to dreamland.

In order to make your formula nighttime feeds go more easily, you’ll want to have everything ready before you go to bed. We suggest having everything within arm’s reach by your bedside, including the bökee which we'll talk about, so you don’t have to worry about heading to the kitchen every time you need to make a bottle. Especially in those first several weeks when you’ll be up multiple times per night.

As far as getting everything prepped ahead of time, you have a couple of different options. Just be sure to follow safe storage guidelines since you won’t be feeding the formula to your baby right away:

1. Mix formula bottles before going to bed and store them in a cooler bag. (This also works for anyone using “ready-to-feed” formula.
   

 OR

      2. Keep the formula and water separate until it’s time to feed. We recommend pre-measuring the formula and using a formula dispenser like this one. Have your baby’s bottles filled with the correct number of ounces of room temperature water (you can also opt to fill your baby’s bottle with warm water from the tap when they’re ready for their bottle as long as your tap water is safe to drink.)

Once you hear that first cry in the middle of the night, you know you don’t have a lot of time to get your baby’s bottle prepared. Your baby will continue to cry until they’re in your arms. This means you’ll likely be holding them while you put the finishing touches on your baby’s bottle.

The bökee will come in clutch at this point. This bottle prep accessory allows you to make your baby’s bottle one-handed without having to worry about any spills in the middle of the night.

Simply tuck your baby’s bottle snugly into the bökee to complete the final mixing of your baby’s formula. Screw the lid on and pull it out of the bökee. Give it a good shake and it will be ready to feed to your hungry baby you’ve been holding in your arms. (Use BLOG15 to save 15% - Grab yours now)

Needing to warm up that bottle? Read, "9 Genius Baby Products You Need for Your Baby," for our favorite pick along with other product hacks.

Not only will having your baby sleep in your room make the process of night feedings go a lot more quickly, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing  (but not co-sleeping) for the first 6 months ast it can reduce the risk of SIDS by up to 50%. It’s the safest choice as well as the easiest way to tend with middle-of-the-night wake-ups.

To maximize room sharing benefits, we suggest having your baby in a bassinet next to your bed. Instead of having to shuffle to your baby’s room at those first cries, you can simply lean over and lift your little one out of their cradle and into your arms.

This will allow your baby to be comforted and eating more quickly with as little disruption as possible. You’ll both also be able to go back to sleep a lot more easily once your baby has finished their bottle. 

Along the same lines of room sharing is ensuring that the room environment stays as calm as possible for those middle of the night formula feeds. The last thing you want is your baby getting the wrong idea that 2 am means it’s time to party.

Here’s what you can do:

• Keep the room dimly lit - a nightlight should be all you need to be able to see what you are doing
• Make as little noise as possible - by having all of your items set up next to you as suggested above there is less chance of making an unnecessary racket
• Cuddles and gentle kisses is all you need - There is plenty of time to talk and interact with your baby during the day - so keep it to a minimum during the night.

Ultimately you want your baby to know that nighttime is for sleeping. Keeping the room dark and quiet will make the transition back to sleeping a lot easier.

Sleep is important for all of us for many reasons. If one parent is in charge of all of the night feedings - especially during the earliest weeks, it can be detrimental to their health and well-being as the days go on. 

Sharing the responsibility of the nighttime feeds can make a big difference. This also gives the parent who may not see the baby as often during the day a chance for extra bonding time.

Though these tips may seem small, they can make a huge difference in reducing stress for those middle of the night formula feeds. Additionally, they'll help you and your baby maximize your sleep so you can enjoy those precious waking hours by day.

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

05/29/2020

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For any parent, the question of whether to wake up a 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:

1. 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.
2. Babies can sometimes sleep even when hungry, thus malnourished, which affects their development.
3. 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.
4. A short interval between feedings helps to maintain lactation. That allows you to avoid problems with a shortage 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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Should I wake my newborn to formula feed. Feeding baby at night

A newborn sleeps for a long time during the day. When this period is prolonged, young mothers are interested in the question of the need to artificially awaken the child for the purpose of feeding. Is it necessary to resort to such measures, and how harmless they are for a newborn baby.

Is it possible to wake the baby

It is normal for a baby to wake up every two to three hours due to the need to eat. Some babies sleep longer than they should. This indicator is influenced by the following factors:

• When a newborn baby sleeps separately from his parents. If the child sleeps in his crib separately from the parents, then, as a rule, the duration of his sleep is slightly longer. This phenomenon does not go beyond the physiological norm;
• The use of drugs that stimulate labor affects the body of the newborn, making him sleep longer.

If one of the above factors or their combination is present, it is permissible for parents to resort to self-awakening of the child for the purpose of feeding. If the birth proceeded without complications, and the baby is healthy, then he is observed for the first 7-8 days.

It is very important to pay attention to the indicators of weight gain. If this indicator corresponds to the age norm, then it is not worth waking the baby ahead of time. If the baby has increased drowsiness that prevents good nutrition, then the mother should show the baby to a medical specialist.

After the medical examination, the baby will be prescribed appropriate treatment.

Rules for waking up

If parents need to wake up a newborn early, then they must take into account certain rules. These rules include:0003

• Carefully remove the blanket from the baby. If this action is ineffective, take the baby in your arms, hug it to you and walk around the room with it;
• Wake the baby for feeding during the active phase of sleep. You can recognize the onset of this phase by characteristic signs. Such signs include the movement of the eyeballs under the eyelids, twitching of the arms and legs, a smile;
• You can wake up your baby early under the pretext of changing the diaper. A daily and such a familiar procedure can quickly bring the child into a state of wakefulness;
• You can achieve the effect of soft awakening through a light massage, including stroking the arms and legs, as well as the back;
• Very often there are situations in which newborn children fall asleep in the process of eating. To prevent this situation, it is necessary to talk quietly with the baby during feeding.

Important! In order to awaken the baby, it is strictly forbidden to use bright lights and loud sounds. It is not recommended to turn on music and TV. Such actions will provoke fear in the newborn and form in him photophobia and fear of loud sounds.

Is there a need to wake up during the day

Most newborn babies sleep more soundly during the day than at night. If the baby is healthy and his rate of weight gain corresponds to the age norm, then the parents do not have an urgent need for premature awakening of the baby. Over time, the child develops a regimen when the baby will wake up on his own for the purpose of eating. If a child is sick, his quality of sleep suffers, he becomes whiny and capricious. Such a baby is not woken up ahead of time.

Should I wake up during the day?

Feeding at night is also beneficial for women who have problems with insufficient breast milk production. This is due to the fact that the mammary glands work on the principle of "supply - demand". The higher the child's need for mother's milk, the more it is produced in the mammary gland.

If the baby does not need night feeds, parents should not wake him up himself. In the event of a feeling of hunger, the child will wake up on its own. If you have additional questions, a young mother can seek advice from a pediatrician or a breastfeeding specialist. With prolonged and insufficient weight gain, the frequency of night feedings should be at least 2 times per night.

If the baby is fed artificial milk mixtures, then from the first days of life, parents need to pay attention to the formation of a strict feeding regimen. The frequency of feeding of such children is 1 time in 2-3 hours. In some situations, it is permissible to lengthen the interval between feedings up to 4 hours. In 24 hours, the baby should eat at least 6 times. This circumstance forces young parents to resort to artificial awakening of children during the day and at night.

In order for extraordinary feeding not to turn into stress for the baby, parents should follow some recommendations. These recommendations include:

• After waking up and during the feeding period, monitor the child's condition, avoiding falling asleep again. To this end, they change their posture during feeding, and also perform light strokes along the baby's spine. Regular performance of these manipulations will avoid repeated falling asleep of the baby during the period of attachment to the breast;
• It is strictly forbidden to turn on the light in the room before waking up the child. The retina in newborns is especially sensitive to light stimuli, so these actions can cause damage to it. As practice shows, too bright light in the room has the opposite effect on the baby, accelerating his falling asleep.

Compliance with the above recommendations will help avoid gross mistakes in the formation of biological rhythms of a newborn child. If you have additional questions, the answer to them can be obtained during a medical consultation.

Sleep is an important natural process in the life of every person, and if an adult needs 7-9 hours for proper rest and further working capacity, then a child sleeps from 14 to 20 hours a day. Closer to the age of one year, the duration of sleep is reduced. However, young parents often doubt the feeding schedule, because the recommended amount is at least 5-6 times a day, that is, every 3-4 hours. Of course, natural awakening is much better for the psycho-emotional state, but what to do when the newborn is sleeping at this time? Is it necessary to wake him up? Let's figure it out.

Many mothers wonder if it is worth waking up their baby for feeding.

Feeding schedule

After the birth of a baby, a young mother begins to learn proper feeding even in the maternity hospital. At first, eating takes place “on demand”, in the future, your own specific schedule and diet should be developed. As a rule, at night in newborns, sleep is superficial, so often parents prefer to rest with their child (we recommend reading:). When the baby sleeps next to his mother, he gets used to fast attachment to the breast and after a while he begins to ask for milk "on the machine" in a half-asleep. Thus, mom does not have to wake up the baby, and she herself does not need to get out of bed. Smacking and fidgeting are the main signals that a child wants to eat. Night feeding can occur up to 2-3 times, and by the age of six months it can be completely reduced to 1 time.

If the newborn does not wake up on his own, then you will have to carefully wake him up. If you skip feeding, the baby will not receive the necessary vitamins and minerals that contribute to full growth and proper development.

It is mother's milk that strengthens the immune system, and a good appetite indicates that the child is healthy. So how do you wake up a newborn for feeding?

Feeding is the most important process in a baby's life. In order for the baby to receive all the substances necessary for development in time, it is necessary to wake up the baby

Proper Awakening

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The first acquaintance with the baby and, accordingly, the first feeding takes place in the maternity hospital. However, there some mothers, due to certain circumstances, receive an already awakened child from the hands of midwives and nurses according to the principle: they brought, fed, took away. If the baby is in the ward with you, then you should remember a few recommendations; they then need to be applied after discharge, at home:

• Waking up by voice is considered the safest way. Especially effective when the baby is in the active phase of sleep. It is distinguished from sound and deep sleep by such actions and movements as moving the legs or arms, smacking, mumbling, blinking with closed eyelids, attempts to roll over to the other side. At this time, start talking quietly to the child himself or to someone else who is nearby. You can also try singing, but only if the family does not practice falling asleep to a lullaby, otherwise the baby will fall asleep even more.
• Stroke and gently, gently pull the legs and arms. The baby should respond to touch and wake up. Additionally, remove the blanket, and turn the strokes into a light massage, thereby provoking a change in body temperature and improving blood circulation. However, in this case, after feeding, the baby may not immediately fall asleep.
• Take the baby in your arms or start changing the diaper / changing clothes (more in the article: ). Often the baby wakes up on his own due to the fact that he needs to change wet diapers, so such manipulations will lead to automatic awakening. As a rule, feeding passes quickly and calmly, after which the baby falls asleep again.
• Wipe the face with a slightly damp handkerchief. Some newborns react to this like a bath and wake up quickly.

Gently rub the baby's legs and arms to help him wake up.

Try giving a sleeping creature a pacifier. The sucking reflex should work, the baby will think about food and wake up. In extreme cases, you can feed him in a half-asleep state, at the right time changing the nipple to the chest.

Many inexperienced mothers make the mistake of turning on bright lights in the room. From this, the child will not wake up, since the eyes turn on the protective function and close even more tightly. Remember, for example, how you react in a dream to a suddenly turned on light. In a small child, the mucous membrane is more sensitive, so such experiments can even lead to vision problems in the future.

Feeding skipped

The baby is healthy and alert, but capriciousness and anxiety are not his motto? Then occasionally you can skip or delay the time of feeding. In search of a method of awakening, young mothers should not go to extremes. Constant drowsiness and lack of sleep will negatively affect the health and emotional state of both. When receiving enough milk, the newborn will gain weight well and show interest in food. In this case, it is not necessary to interrupt the sound sleep of the child. Mom can afford to take a break and break the schedule for 30-60 minutes both day and night. The baby will definitely not remain hungry, otherwise the “alert” about the lack of milk will not be long in coming.

If a mother has doubts about the feeding schedule, it is better to seek help not from grandparents and girlfriends, but from a pediatrician. Dr. Komarovsky recommends adjusting the schedule depending on the baby's weight, appetite, sleep schedule, and nutritional needs (formula or breast milk). Accordingly, the menu and the neighbor boy or girl mode will not suit you. All this is strictly individual. No wonder our grandparents abandoned the standard strict schedule that doctors imposed on everyone. Severe stomach ailments are the main reason for rejection.

Flexible hours

In today's society, the concept of "flexible hours" has appeared. This means that a young mother does not want to wake her child and feeds only during his wakefulness or when he asks, whether it be 1-2 times a day or 5-6. When the baby is healthy, gains weight correctly and behaves calmly, then this method still has a place to be. However, with capricious and restless children, such free feeding will not lead to anything good.

Firstly, the mother herself will quickly get tired of constant crying and lack of sleep at night and daytime. Secondly, the child may demand too often to "suck the breast" whether he is full or not, for example, to calm down or for insomnia. Such an uncontrolled schedule can lead to indigestion. Then it will be possible to forget about the words “rest” and “peace”, since it will be necessary not only to establish a daily routine and nutrition, but also to treat the stomach, regularly running to the doctors for checks.

When a baby is formula-fed, his nutritional schedule is usually even tougher than when breastfeeding (for more details, see the article:). It is not allowed to increase the interval between meals for more than 3-4 hours. During the day, feeding should occur 6-7 times. The same goes for premature babies. Their weak body needs regular nutrition, special care and vitamins. Such children sleep longer than others and it is very difficult for them to wake up on their own, so do not be afraid to gently wake them up to feed them with milk and all the necessary trace elements. Additional advice on nutrition and proper care of premature babies can be obtained directly from the medical specialist you are seeing.

When breastfeeding a baby, the mother should not have any doubts about whether to wake the baby or not. Feeding the crumbs is necessarily carried out by the hour

Not all women know that it is at night that the largest flow of milk occurs. This is due to the fact that in the dark, a nursing mother produces the hormone oxytocin, therefore, if, due to problems with lactation, you then supplement with a mixture, then try to wake the newborn more often in the evening and at night. This is good for him and for mom.

It happens that the baby falls asleep right during feeding. In this case, gently pull his legs and arms or stroke his cheek. If the baby has not finished eating, then he will definitely wake up. You shouldn't force feed. Food should be for him pleasure and a source of strength, and not an extra burden in a small stomach.

Warning

If the baby sleeps for 20 hours a day in deep sleep and it can be quite difficult and long to wake him up, then this may indicate some kind of diseases and disorders. Be sure to see your pediatrician.

Pay special attention to the health of the newborn if the mother had a difficult delivery, caesarean section, or medication was taken during pregnancy. Due to the ingestion of drugs into the child's body, at the age of 1-3 months, some inhibition of the nervous system may be observed. It manifests itself in the form of excessive calmness, lack of tearfulness and refusal to eat. You should not panic, the specialist will help you deal with the problem and prescribe the right treatment.

In the first month of his life, a newborn baby spends more than 20 hours a day on sleep, and the rest of the time on getting food. Often the baby falls asleep during feeding or sleeps too deeply and for a long time, shifting the meal schedule. How to organize sleep and feeding for a newborn baby?

Many pediatricians (especially older pediatricians) recommend feeding your baby every 2-3 hours. When it comes to night feedings, doctors often insist that a new mother wake up her baby when he sleeps for a long time. Although in reality, not everything is so simple.

Do I need to wake up a newborn to feed

But a newborn, according to WHO pediatricians, cannot sleep for more than five hours: a child's sleep lasting more than five hours in a row can do as much harm as its absence. This is especially true for premature babies or children who are not gaining weight well. To gain sufficient body weight, the child must eat well. A strict sleep and feeding regimen is not suitable for all babies, but an individual (mixed) feeding schedule will be comfortable for both mother and baby. Such a regimen with breaks between feedings of no more than 3.5-4 hours will help the mother and ensure satiety for the baby. Frequent attachment of the baby to the breast will provide a rush of a sufficient amount of milk, and will also become a prevention.

Just a few years ago, pediatricians advised mothers to feed their children strictly at regular intervals. The time span was 2-3 hours. After research, scientists have found that newborns should be fed on demand. But many parents have learned from their own experience that it is better to use a mixed mode for feeding. It consists in feeding the baby on demand, but the interval between feedings should not exceed 4 hours.

Long breaks between feedings during breastfeeding can negatively affect both the baby and his mother:

• In newborns, a long interval between meals can cause dehydration, as well as a drop in sugar levels;
• In a mother, a break can cause milk stasis and a decrease in lactation.

When deciding whether to wake a breastfeeding baby for a feed, you must consider several factors.

Age

If a newborn sleeps for more than 3 hours - this is a reason to think and contact a pediatrician. In the meantime, it’s better to wake him up so that the baby eats, because in the first month of life, a long break between meals will almost certainly negatively affect the condition of the baby.

In older children, the interval between feedings increases and is 4 hours. If your baby wakes up a little while feeding on demand, don't worry. The baby will wake up on his own when his body needs it.

In infants on IV and children who are gradually transitioned to a clock schedule, these temporary schedule disruptions require correction. If the feeding time has come, and the baby is sleeping, you should wait 10-15 minutes, and then gently wake the baby.

Starting from the 2nd month of a baby’s life, you don’t have to worry if he wakes up during night feeding and the regime shifts slightly. The older the baby becomes, the less often he will wake up in the dark.

Weight

When deciding whether or not to wake the baby, you will also need to consider the weight of the baby.

1. Premature babies and babies who are not gaining weight should always be awakened for feedings, as long intervals can further weaken them and worsen the condition.
2. If your baby is gaining weight well, sometimes you can let the baby sleep longer. The child himself will wake up when his body rests, or he feels hungry.

Health status

1. If your baby was born prematurely and is very weak, you will need to wake up with an alarm at first and feed the baby by the hour. Newborns need to eat every three hours. This regimen will be temporary until the child gets stronger and gets used to this schedule. Gradually, with an increase in the amount of milk drunk, the intervals between feedings will increase.
2. A baby who has a cold with a fever should be given the opportunity to sleep a little, because it is known that sleep heals. All the forces of the body are now focused on fighting the infection, so it is better not to disturb the child when he is resting.

When to wake up a newborn

• During an examination by a health visitor or a doctor - every mother should be prepared for such obligatory wake-up calls;
• To comply with the feeding regime: between meals should not allow breaks of more than four hours;
• If the mother has to leave for a long time, then it is better to wake the child and feed before leaving;
• If the family is going to travel, then the baby should be awakened in advance, fed and prepared in the normal way for a future trip;
• Often, the drowsiness of the baby is a reaction to the medications taken by the mother - such a dream of the baby should be interrupted for mandatory feeding so as not to disturb the sleep and wakefulness regimen;
• If the baby sleeps unusually long and misses the prescribed feedings, you need to take a closer look at him: check the temperature and breathing.

How to wake up

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To wake up a newborn baby, parents must use gentle but effective methods. If the manipulation is done incorrectly, then there is a risk of scaring the baby. The baby should move from the sleep phase to the wakeful phase comfortably so that his nervous system does not suffer from the unsuccessful actions of adults.

1. Dim lighting is considered the most suitable for awakening. Bright light can frighten the baby and cause him to cry.
2. Pediatricians advise waking up the baby when he is in the active phase of sleep. It can be determined by the characteristic motor activity - the baby slightly twitches his arms and legs, smiles in his sleep, his eyelids and lips tremble. This period of sleep is superficial, so it is much easier for a child to get out of it than from a deep phase of sleep. If the baby is sleeping soundly, and when you raise his handle up, he does not react in any way, then his sleep is in a deep phase. It is not recommended to wake the baby at such a moment. In order not to frighten the baby, it is better to wait a bit. The deep phase lasts no longer than 20-30 minutes.
3. Call the baby by name in a quiet, calm voice, without changing intonation. The calmness of the mother is transferred to the baby.
4. Tactile contact also contributes to a soft awakening: the child can be stroked on the arms, head and body, gently tickle the heel, slightly move the arms and legs. You can speed up the process by taking the baby in your arms: contact with the mother will not let the baby get scared, but a change in position and the closeness of a loved one will drive away sleep.
5. A sleeping wrapped or swaddled baby should be freed from blankets, diapers and top layers of clothing: lowering the temperature will also help the baby move into the waking stage as easily as possible.
6. After waking up, it is important not to let the baby close his eyes again, distracting him from drowsiness by talking, soft strokes, habitual actions (for example, changing a diaper).

A month after birth, the baby and his mother find their own individual regimen, which allows you to make the processes of feeding, sleeping and waking up as comfortable as possible for both parties. Make sure the baby is fully awake before putting the baby to the breast. Talk to the newborn, change his clothes, change his diaper, play with him. Often the baby at the breast begins to fall asleep, because the closeness of the mother and the warmth of the breast for the child is an island of stability. You can distract a newborn from sleep by active actions: stroke him on the head and cheeks, talk to him, hold hands.

Should I wake my baby up for a night feed?

The maximum allowable interval between feedings should not exceed four hours, so that all parents have to wake the baby for feeding at night. Night feedings are necessary to improve the digestion process, since regular food intake for newborns ensures the normal functioning of the intestines and stomach.

It is night milk (produced by a young mother from 3 am to 8 am) that is considered the most nutritious for the baby. Feeding a newborn at night is important for the full development of his body. This is especially true for premature or weakly gaining weight children. Even if the baby does not wake up to feed at night on his own, which often happens with premature babies (weak or premature babies may not wake up at night because their hunger is slightly weaker. Such babies need to be woken up) or babies sleeping separately from their mother, then they should be woken up and apply to the chest. Attaching the baby to the breast at night stimulates lactation, maintaining the amount of milk in the volume necessary for the child.

A healthy baby up to six months of age needs several meals at night. As the child grows older, the number of feedings will decrease.

Baby fell asleep while feeding: parental actions

Which of the young mothers did not fall asleep while feeding? Inexperienced parents can upset the baby's daily routine by being afraid to wake him up or by waking him up too abruptly. So that the mother does not have to wake up the baby who fell asleep while eating, pediatricians advise following these recommendations:0003

• talk to your baby in a soft, calm voice during feeding to keep him awake;
• so that the baby does not fall asleep, he should not be wrapped up or dressed in several layers of clothing: a light vest and sliders, a “man” or bodysuit without blankets and diapers is the best option for eating;
• if the baby starts to fall asleep, stroking the baby's forehead over the eyebrows will help keep him awake;
• no less effective way to fight falling asleep is to change the position of the body or change the breast during feeding: if you hold the baby by the handles, he will be distracted from sleep.

Changing breasts can be a problem for the mother: as a rule, the baby has enough milk from one breast to saturate. In this case, he will drink only foremilk and poorly dissolve the seals in the mammary gland. In order to avoid stagnation and the appearance of seals, the mother needs to monitor the condition of the mammary glands.

Pediatricians note that the right sleep schedule and feeding frequency for a particular baby guarantee not only physical health, but also peace of mind for the child.

Newborn feeding: where to start?

For a newborn baby, feeding is the most important process that lays the foundation for future health, guaranteeing active growth and development. That is why parents have to ensure the regularity of meals. What steps should be taken to make feeding as natural and comfortable as possible for both the baby and the mother?

1. The hands and breasts of a nursing mother should be washed with plain laundry soap, bottles and nipples (in case of artificial feeding) should be disinfected: this will reduce the risk of developing.
2. If you feed lying down, then take care of a fresh diaper on the bed - cleanliness is the key to health.
3. A comfortable posture will make the whole process easier and more comfortable for both parties. Each mother is free to choose the position on her own, taking into account her needs and the wishes of the baby. Among the most preferred are the classic options - sitting and lying down ().
4. Proper latch on the nipple guarantees active and productive sucking that is not a problem for both mother and baby. With an incorrect grip on the nipple, the baby eats with difficulty, making additional efforts, quickly gets tired and begins to act up. In this case, the mother's breast suffers even more: cracks are likely to appear, as well as stagnation of milk due to inactive sucking. The basics of putting a baby to the breast should be taught to a young mother in a maternity hospital (midwife or doctor), since the success of all breastfeeding () depends on the first steps.
5. If the baby falls asleep within a few minutes of feeding, try waking him up to continue eating. If the child immediately falls asleep soundly, then feeding can be postponed.

Output

1. Premature or debilitated baby. When a newborn is born prematurely and/or has a fairly small weight, he may not wake up for feeding due to lack of strength. In this case, it is really necessary to wake up the baby, it is even possible to do this more often than once every 2-3 hours. Otherwise, he will gain weight very slowly.
2. In the case of a healthy strong child, everything is different. Here it is better for mom to focus on her instinct and intuition than on the advice of others. Each child is individual. Someone regularly wakes up every two hours to eat. And someone from birth sleeps at night for 6-8 hours. You should not wake your baby for feeding if: he is gaining weight well, his mother has enough milk. If these two conditions are met, there is no need to worry. Here you can only be glad that the young mother has the opportunity to sleep and recover after childbirth. This is much more important than following the formal rule of feeding the baby every 2-3 hours.
3. The baby's weight gain must be assessed not by one's subjective feelings ("he eats little and does not grow at all"), but by objective parameters - how many grams the child has added, how many centimeters it has grown (). In this case, it is necessary to evaluate a sufficiently long period of time - a month or at least a week. If the child really does not change much in weight over time and at the same time practically does not eat at night, you can try to wake him up. However, do not go to extremes: if you regularly wake up the baby, but he still does not take the breast and falls asleep again, do not force him to wake up. A hungry child will definitely eat. Otherwise, you simply run the risk of knocking down the child's natural sleep and wakefulness patterns.
4. When a new mother does not have enough milk, breastfeeding experts recommend increasing the frequency of feedings. It is especially important to put the baby to the breast at night. It is during the dark hours of the day when a baby suckles the breast in the mother's body that a hormone is produced that affects the amount of breast milk that is produced the next day. Therefore, if you have difficulty with lactation, and the baby sleeps all night without waking up, you should wake him up and apply to the breast as often as possible.

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When should you wake up your baby for feeding?

In some cases, it is necessary to wake the newborn for feeding. First of all, this applies to mothers whose babies are not gaining weight well. After all, with prolonged sleep, the child does not receive the necessary nutrients. Critical weight loss can lead to a decrease in the development of the child.

Neonatologists and paediatricians also recommend feeding every 2 hours during the neonatal period. In the first 28 days, waking up a newborn for feeding is simply necessary both for establishing mother's lactation and for the development of the baby. At the same time, doctors often recommend in the first days to apply the baby for one feeding to both breasts.

If the mother does not practice co-sleeping with the baby, then if the baby sleeps too long, it is better to wake him up for feeding. If the mother practices joint sleep, then the child can eat half asleep.

If you have a lactation crisis, you should breastfeed your baby as often as possible. Otherwise, the milk may burn out.

If a mother has a blockage of the milk ducts - lactostasis, then you need to apply the child to the diseased breast as often as possible, preventing it from overflowing. In this case, it is imperative to wake the newborn for feeding. Otherwise, complications in the form of mastitis are possible.

It is also worth considering the fact that the older the child gets, the longer the intervals between feedings become.

How to wake up a baby for feeding

To prevent the child from waking up for feeding into hysterics and nervous breakdowns, you need to follow some simple tips:

• Each sleep is divided into active and deep. When you need to wake the baby for feeding, you just need to wait for the active phase and remove the blanket. As a rule, the child will immediately wake up on his own. If the baby has not woken up, then you can stroke him along the body to the legs. When the newborn opens his eyes, it is better to take him in his arms and hold him for a while. It is also advisable to change the baby's diaper before feeding.
• If you hold the child in a "column", pressing it to the chest, then he will definitely open his eyes.
• Some parents begin to quietly hum a nursery rhyme to wake up their baby. But in no case should you turn on the radio or TV, make a lot of noise next to a sleeping baby, or turn on bright lights. Such actions of parents are likely to bring the child to fear and hysteria.
• Stroking and massaging the newborn's back will help improve blood circulation and then the baby will wake up faster.

Do not worry that after waking up the child will arrange a "sleepless night" for the parents. As a rule, having eaten milk, the child quickly falls asleep.

Human sleep has a phase of deep and superficial sleep. During light sleep, the likelihood of awakening is much greater, since the activity of the brain is still quite high. In small children, most of the total sleep is occupied by the REM phase.

Physiology - a hint for solving the problem

The presence of shallow sleep directly affects the proper growth and full development of the child. Newborns, for example, can only sleep for up to 40 minutes.

But what causes almost no inconvenience during the day turns into torture at night. We are talking about restless sleep and the awakening of the child. Only 15 minutes of sleep in the crib - and the child, foreshadowing parents a full-fledged "serenade".

At such moments there is no need to fall into despair, irritation will be transmitted to your baby. All he needs is timely feeding.

Night feeding as a basis for a child's healthy sleep

What is the relationship between breastfeeding and successful overcoming of the child's shallow sleep phase? The bottom line is that there are a lot of substances in mother's milk that help the baby fall asleep, because they have an effect on the inhibition of the nervous system. The baby calms down and quickly falls asleep right in the process of feeding.

The secret to a long, restful sleep of a child and mother depends on the establishment of a system of feeding on the first demand of the baby. The process of sucking milk during sleep helps him to sleep continuously for a long time. It is important for mom to ensure that she feeds on time, at the first “call” of the child.

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