By Victoria Roselli
Many parents of newborns are told to wake their baby every two to three hours to feed. In taking this advice, they set alarms clocks and smartphones using the loudest (and possibly most annoying) sounds to be sure they don’t oversleep.
But is all that really necessary? Let’s take a closer look...
Many experts suggest feeding about eight to 12 times in a 24-hour period. This is to ensure baby’s steady weight gain and to establish your milk supply, especially in the early weeks. But what does eight to 12 times mean? And how far apart should feedings be spread throughout the day?
Well, the same research indicates it doesn’t matter if feedings you feed your baby two, three, or four hours apart, as long as baby eats eight to 12 times during a 24-hour period.
In the end, if you feed baby seven times throughout the day, you may only need to wake him once for a nighttime feeding, as opposed to every two to three hours. When you find yourself needing to wake your newborn, here are some simple techniques to help you and baby along:
Gently wake your baby. Try to avoid having your alarm abruptly awaken the baby
Rather than changing a diaper before feeding, just undress baby, keeping the diaper on
Place baby skin-to-skin
Try burping first, while skin-to-skin
Release your first let-down by doing a breast compression before nursing. For help, go to newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/HandExpression.html
Do breast compressions throughout feeding and allow baby to fall off. This will help with weight gain
Burp and change baby’s diaper after feeding
Offer second breast, and then allow baby to fall off again. This will also help with weight gain
If baby keeps fussing, try burping and placing skin-to-skin again, then reintroduce the breast (or bottle). It may take several attempts, but it’s important to stay calm rather than become discouraged. Also, try using pillows, laid-back nursing positions, or continue with skin-to-skin nursing.
For support on laid-back nursing positions, visit biologicalnurisng.com.
Victoria Roselli is a Certified Lactation Consultant, Lamaze instructor, and newborn care specialist. Visit her maternal blessings website here.
[Original article from: https://memphisparent.com/features/should-i-wake-my-newborn-to-feed]
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