Should a newborn be awakened for feeding at night and in the daytime?

The birth of a child is not only a mass of positive emotions, but also a great responsibility. Feeding for the baby during the newborn period plays an important role. The further development of the child depends on it. New mothers often wonder about whether a newborn should be awakened for feeding. For example, at night or in the afternoon. What do doctors and experienced moms say about this issue? How to feed the kids correctly?

Why do children sleep long?

It's not a secret for anyone that newborns sleep almost all the time. Nevertheless, they regularly wake up for feeding. Sometimes sleep is prolonged. Why is this happening?

There are several variants of the development of events:

1. The birth was performed with anesthesia. In this case, drugs will inhibit awakening. The baby will not wake up for feeding every 2 hours.
2. Baby is sleeping separately from mom. In this situation, the child simply conserves strength and energy. Accordingly, the sleep period increases.
3. Individual feature. Often kids themselves know how much to sleep. Some rest more than 2 hours because of individual characteristics.

In any case, each mother faces the question of whether a newborn should be awakened for feeding. What do specialists say about this? And if a woman decides to wake a child, how to do it right?

Watching the baby

It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer. After all, all people have their own needs, each organism is an individuality. Someone needs to sleep longer to sleep, someone less. Therefore, mother should watch her baby.

Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding? If a child develops well, his tests and weight gain are normal, then you can let the baby sleep an extra hour and a half. But when a long sleep has a negative impact on health (poor weight gain, lethargy and fatigue in the child, irritability), it is necessary to awaken the baby for feeding.

How to wake up

Only to do this is necessary correctly. Any sloppy action of the mother in relation to the child can do him harm. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding during the day? Yes, if the baby is poorly developed and generally eats a little.

To properly awaken a child, you need to consider the following features:

1. At a children's dream some phases - active and deep. In the first case, the child sleeps sensitively. He can smile, move handles and legs, make movements with his lips and eyes, react to sounds. With a deep sleep the baby sleeps so well that he can not hear anything. Accordingly, it is necessary to wake the child in the active phase of sleep.
2. To wake the baby, you need to open it by removing the blanket. If this did not help - take the baby in his arms, walk with him a little, pressing to him.
3. Change the diaper. The child wakes up from everyday procedures.
4. Hold the kid in a column, holding the head. Baby will wake up, opening his eyes.
5. Perform massaging movements on the back and limbs.
6. To sing a song familiar to the child, to speak tenderly to the baby.
7. Wipe the face of the baby with a wet napkin.

All these manipulations will help to properly awaken the child. Often babies fall asleep during feeding. To avoid this, it is recommended from time to time stroking the child on the cheeks and nose, talking to the newborn and changing the pose.

Daytime sleep

You should also pay attention to the time of day when solving the question posed. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding during the day?

It's not a secret for anyone that many babies sleep well on the street. During the walk, which ideally lasts for 4 hours (as pediatricians are advised to walk), babies can fall asleep and sleep before returning home. Do I need to panic and wake them up?

If daytime sleep is increased by 1.5-2 hours, you can let the newborn sleep. In this case, it is recommended to feed the child before the walk and immediately after it.

Healthy children are not forbidden to wake up for daytime feeding. But sick babies, as well as those who become very moody after a forced awakening, do not need to touch the day.

Night Feeding

What other features need to be considered? Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding at night? The answer will depend on how exactly the baby sleeps.

The first 3 months of a child's life is recommended joint sleep. So the newborn will feel calm. To wake a child at this time for night feeding is not necessary.

With a separate from the mother's dream, you can do without interruptions. The kid can sleep all night without waking up. If the doctors do not give any advice on this issue, then the mother can wake the baby for night feeding no more than 1 time.

If the child is small and poorly eats / gaining weight, then it will have to awaken him. It is desirable every 2-3 hours. More accurate information on further actions and night feeding will be reported by the pediatrician.

Joint sleep

A few words about a joint dream. Should a newborn be awakened for feeding if the mother sleeps with the baby? As doctors and experienced mothers say, there is no need to do so. If the child gets hungry in the middle of the night, he will not wake up completely. With a joint dream, the baby will instinctively look for the breast in a half-sleep. All that's left for mom to do is give the baby a nipple. After that, the baby will take the breast and eat, falling asleep.

The benefit of sharing sleep for mom and baby should not be underestimated. For example, the mother will have more time to rest, and the children sleep better. There is no need to soak a child.

In addition, during the night feeding begins the production of milk for the entire subsequent day, and the mother can insure herself against dairy stasis.

Should a newborn be awakened for feeding when sleeping together? As already mentioned, it is not necessary to do so. Especially if the child himself refuses to breastfeed and feed at night. In this case, it is necessary to fill the lack of food in the daytime.

Lactation and awakenings

Do I need to wake a newborn for breastfeeding? Everything depends on the amount of milk produced by the mother. In the first days after birth it is desirable to feed the newborn every 2 hours. And this night rule also applies to night sleep.

In addition, at night it is recommended to wake up to feed the babies, whose mothers have little milk. This approach will help to establish lactation and eventually remove the need for additional awakening of the child.

Prematurity

Is it necessary to wake a newborn for feeding? Healthy children wake up themselves when they are hungry. But premature babies are not yet able to wake up on their own. Therefore, mothers or employees of the hospital will have to wake them up.

If you refuse to force the awakening of premature babies, children will suffer from underweight, and they will not be able to develop normally. More precise information is recommended for clarification from the observing pediatrician. It is possible that the premature baby can control his own sleep.

Mixture and dream

Is it necessary to awaken a newborn for feeding with a mixture? With such feeding, babies develop a strict regime of the day. Feed the children on artificial mixture every 3 hours. You can increase the intervals between meals to 4 hours, but on condition that the newborn sleeps at night or on a walk.

On the day of feeding the baby with artificial mixtures should reach 6-7 times. Accordingly, to awaken the child still have to. The main thing is to do it right.

Komarovsky on awakening

Many women rely on the opinions of famous children's doctors. For example, mothers are interested in what Komarovsky thinks on this issue. Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding?

A well-known pediatrician says that it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer. It all depends on the child's behavior. If he sleeps well during the day and at night, then it is not necessary to awaken the baby for feeding. When children get enough sleep during the day, and at night can not sleep, they can be awakened for feeding and playing.

Another reason why Komarovsky recommends breaking the day's sleep of the baby is a change in the regimes of the day. For example, when moms sleep with a child during the day, and at night they are awake. In such a case it is recommended to wake the children during the day so that they sleep well at night. At the same time, feeding is not necessarily interrupted.

Prohibitions and advice

Now it is clear what the experts think about the topic being studied. Should a newborn be fed for feeding? Ideally, healthy children decide when to sleep, and when they are. Therefore, often additional intervention is not necessary.

If my mother decided to wake the child, it is necessary to take into account that it is required to do this without hurrying up, calmly. Use loud sounds or a bright light to wake up is prohibited. Children's hearing and vision are extremely sensitive. Therefore, wrong actions can scare the baby.

As already mentioned, after a forced awakening, children can fall asleep after several sips of milk. In order for this to happen, you have to support the child in wakefulness.

conclusions

Do I need to wake a newborn for feeding? Often the answer depends on the individual characteristics of the baby and the decision of the mother. The bulk of women do not support the idea of disturbing children's sleep. After all, this approach may adversely affect the further development of the baby.

Nevertheless, sometimes awakening for feeding is a necessity and a compulsory measure. It is best to consult on this issue with an experienced pediatrician. It is possible that the child can not be awakened in order to feed him.