What to do?
If the child eats well during the waking period, is gaining weight, then there is no need to wake him up additionally. Again, for one child it may be enough to hang on the chest for 2-3 minutes, and the second "hangs" for 15 minutes.
If the baby was born premature and weak, then you need to wake and feed. Depending on the condition of the baby, this should be done every hour, maximum two.
In any case, it is important to consult a pediatrician watching the child.
In the first days, babies are constantly weighed: at first they lose a little weight, but then they quickly gain. Already on the 4-5th day it becomes finally clear whether the child is gaining weight well or not. It is important not to be nervous that the child is "starving" in a dream, but to deal with the flow of milk in order to prevent lactostasis.
Frequent applications are also important for normalizing lactation. In some mothers, milk arrives poorly - and it needs to be stimulated (more often in those who gave birth for the first time). For others, on the contrary, the breast is full of milk and you want to relieve it. A breast pump is ideal for this if the baby is asleep and does not want to help.
In the first days after childbirth, the situation is still not very stable both with milk and with how the baby eats - doctors may even say to feed the baby with a syringe if he is not breastfeeding well.
But when you have already been discharged from the hospital, having been recognized as healthy and prosperous, then you do not need to specifically wake up the baby for feeding. Yes, he can sleep 5-6 hours without food, this is a lot, but not dangerous for him.
Newborns stay awake for about 2 hours or less. In this interval, you can feed him twice: after waking up and before falling asleep again. So you can definitely be sure that he does not sleep hungry.
If suddenly the child does not want to eat after such a short period of time, it means he was full last time, even the smallest children know how to control their satiety.
It is important to listen to your intuition. If you want this moment of unity with the child, you want to feed him and he himself does not mind, then do not listen to the advisers who point you to the clock, they say, the necessary interval has not yet passed.
You will also be interested to read:
- 5 reasons not to visit a woman in the hospital
- 5 things you definitely don't need to take to the hospital
- 5 things pregnant women don't do in vain
