Few things are more peaceful than seeing your sleepy baby nap quietly. She looks adorable, and you and your partner can finally take a moment to relax. It’s wonderful — until the slumber starts cutting into your baby’s mealtime. You’ve heard the old saying “Never wake a sleeping baby,” but when it’s past feeding time and your little angel is still sound asleep, should you ignore that advice?
How Often Do Babies Eat?
Breastfed newborns nurse about every one to three hours, while formula-fed newborns need a feeding every two to four hours, explains Elizabeth Pantley, the author of the best-selling “No-Cry Solution” series. “Your baby’s health care provider can guide you on what’s right for your baby,” she says. Pantley adds, “A full-term, healthy baby might stretch the feeding schedule at times, but you should get the OK from your baby’s health care provider for longer spans.”
For more information on the needs of newborns, check out Taking Care of a Newborn.
Do You Have to Wake a Sleepy Baby to Eat?
Experts say it depends on each individual baby’s circumstances. Linda Roberts has worked with thousands of parents of infants as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, certified doula, childbirth educator and director of the Belly Beautiful program. She says that breastfed babies usually let Mom know when they’re ready to eat on their own, so in most cases, it’s OK to wait for baby to wake up to feed her. However, “babies born early — before 37 weeks — can be sleepier and require our help to wake,” she explains.
How Do You Wake a Sleepy Baby for a Feeding?
Roberts likes the skin-to-skin method. She advises stripping your baby down to his diaper and laying him down on your bare chest. Most babies will start to stir when they smell their mother and feel her touch, she says, and will then want to eat. Not able to expose yourself to get skin-to-skin contact? Roberts also suggests lightly tickling or flicking the bottoms of your baby’s feet.
Pantley acknowledges that “If your provider tells you to wake your sleepy newborn, it’s not an easy job to do! They can be very sound sleepers.” She offers several suggestions.
- Try to Wake Your Baby During a Lighter Stage of Sleep
Watch for movement in her arms, legs and face. If your baby’s limbs are dangling limply, it means she’ll be especially hard to wake.
- Give Your Baby a Diaper Change
Or, wipe his face with a washcloth.
- Unwrap Your Baby
In a warm room, undress her down to her diaper and T-shirt.
- Burp Your Baby in a Sitting Position
Alternately, give him a back rub.
- Move Your Baby’s Arms and Legs
Gently, of course.
- Prop Your Baby in an Infant Seat in the Middle of the Family’s Activity
If you keep holding her in your arms, she may not wake up.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests starting with gentle methods, like singing or stroking baby’s cheek, and then, if necessary, progressing to more startling activities, like bathing. Your baby probably came without an instruction manual, so figuring out the best method for waking him up is a matter of trial and error.
For more on feeding baby, read Should You Dream Feed?
Rachael Moshman, M.Ed., has worked with hundreds of babies and their parents in two decades of working in early childood education. She’s also a mom, so she understands the difficult choices parents must make on a daily basis — like to let baby sleep or wake her to eat.
