Wake a sleeping baby?

[susmamma]

Hi Pinky,
My four week old has for the last week slept multiple 5-6 hour stretches during the day, if I didnt wake her she might even go longer. Today I woke her 4 hourly as per health care proffessional's advice. I had a seriously cranky baby all day from being woken and she was hard to resettle after each feed. Am now feeding her 2hourly at night tonight, which is more than her usual 4 hour feeds during the night.
Should I continue to wake her 4 hourly for feeds? Will this encourage the longer sleep at night?

Many thanks.

[Pinky McKay]

hi susmama,

Aat this age your baby won't yet have a developed day/night cycle ( this usually takes two to three months). Although you can gently try and wake your baby - and this is reasonable advice to try and correct a reverse day/ night cycle- it isnt worth forcing a baby to try and feed if the outcome is a cranky bub.

Some things to try for now are - taking her out in the fesh air for an afternoon walk each day ( sun protected) - the sunlight will help her body chemistry to adapt to a day night cycle -and rest when your baby sleeps.

If she is happy to feed after 4 or 5 hours during the day, it is a good idea to gently try but dont force feed her - it is probably best to let her settle again for a few days first.

If your baby is contented, having plenty of wet nappies and gaining weight, trust your own isntincts about her feeding patterns - she does need a certain amount of food each day and some sleepy babies need to be woken but this depends a lot on how they are thriving and what their history is - ie premmy/ low birth weight.

I explain feeding and sleep in my book Sleeping Like a Baby (Penguin)

Pinky