Newborn sleeping through night?

Shoudl I be letting my 2 week old daughter sleep through the night if she will or should I be waking her up for feedings?  For instance, tonight she fell asleep around 8 or 9 and is still sleeping at 11:30.  Should I let her continue to sleep or should I be waking her up at some point before the morning for a feeding?  We have had some 6 hour sleeping spans and I then feel bad that she didn't eat during that time. She is eating larger meals when she does wake... and she's having plenty of wet and poopy diapers.  I just don't want to harm her in any way by going too long with out a feeding... I'm a first time mom and a major worrier.  :)

[Jenny100]

My mom had 9 children and she always said it was ridiculous to wake a baby to eat. If they were hungry, they'd wake up and cry to be fed!
So that's the opinion of one mom----of course you will get others.

[mommy2aj]

my 1st ds was like your dd early on. he slept for long periods of time. i did not wake him to eat. by 6wks he would sleep for 7 hr stretches. even to this day he is a sleeper. now my newborn ds, 4wks on monday was waking every 2.5-3 hrs to eat. i began to wonder if he was eating too much, although i now don't think so. the last few nights he has started to sleep 5-6 hrs through the night. he has also started to stay awake more during the day, like 30 min-hr at a time. hopefully he is starting to get into a routine.

anyway i say don't wake to fed. the baby will wake when something is needed.

[cutiemama]

My ped said that if they sleep long stretches at night, than I should be waking   baby every 2-3 hrs during the day.

[AnnieBrooke]

My pedi said to wake them.  Not necessarily every two hours, but if a newborn is asleep for more than 3 1/2  hours, do wake them to feed them.  They can get to a point where they are unable to wake up but need to.  Not too weak, but something.  This is NOT the same, once they are a few months old, but it is recommended that newborns do be awakened to eat and should not be allowed to sleep through the night even if they would do it.  Sorry not to have more of the specifics, but maybe someone else will post the medical rationale.

[tmv]

2 weeks is right on the borderline of being close to where you wouldn't necessarily have to. However, if I was still up at 11pm, I would wake her and nurse her. Then if she slept longer then it would be when you needed it as well. While you are awake, I'd wake her every. Hope I'm explaining this ok.

[peekawho]

I'd wake her around 11, as most others said.  Even setting aside the AAP's recommendation of waking a newborn to feed every 4 hours or so, I'd simply worry about a newborn sleeping for prolonged periods of times.  

Sometimes their blood sugar can drop, and they can become lethargic and sleepy and unable to wake.  That's the rationale for not letting them go much longer than 4 hours or so.  

[mum2beagain]

At 2 weeks my little guy was sleeping 5-6 hours at night, but he was nursing about 10 times during the day (I always woke him during the day so he never went longer than 3 hours) and having lots of wet diapers and gaining weight. He was also 9lb at that point too. I would ask your doctor, every baby is different. I always woke my babies to feed then just before I went to sleep just so I could be sure of getting a few hours sleep in before they woke me again!

[anxiousmomtobe?]

Nadia is sleepiing 5-6 hours at night at two weeks.  She is nursing constantly and gaining weight so I am not worried.  Some nights she only does 3-4 hour spans.  I figure she wakes when he body tells her to eat

I have been known to tickle her toes when I think it is time for a feed....

[peekawho]

This is a good read about breastfeeding in general.

http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org/aap-statement.htm

[nikkicole827]

Boy did I jinx myself after this post!  At midnight Leah woke up and was WIDE awake! I didn't get to bed until 6 this morning!  I was feeding her when DH went ot bed around 10 last night and was feeding again when he woke up at 5 to go to work!  Finally at 5:30 I got her bundeled up all warm and fed her and she fell asleep.  I got to sleep from 6-9:30 before she woke up to eat again.  I even got her to sleep in the pack n play during that time so I got to be in my own bed instead of the couch (seriously first time in 2 weeks).  She's back asleep again now at 11!  She loves to sleep during the day haha.  

Anyway, Peek I'm goign to check out your article!  Have a good day ladies!  If I'm smart I'll get a nap in sometime!

[Gili]

I just let my girl feed whenever she needs milk.  She started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks.  That's about 8 hours straight from 9pm to 5am.  Some believe in waking the baby up, but I don't see the point.

[peekawho]

There is a big difference in an 8 week old baby and a 2 week old one.  Until they are feeding well, growing and gaining weight well, they can have problems going for prolonged periods of time without breast milk..

8 weeks is very, very different.  

[tomel]

Newborns sleep anywhere from 16 to 22 hrs a day....don't wanna rain on your parade...but all that sleeping may not last.
They arent supposed to go more than 4 or 5 hrs without feeding...especially if they are nursing.

[tomel]

http://www.marchofdimes.com/aboutus/ttmmm.asp

[ImmortalOne]

I had this concern about Nadezdha as well, however I learned that it wasn't going to last (we've had a few all nighters).  I figure she wakes when she needs to, and if I have 'Let Down' before she is awake then  I start looking for her to finally start fussing a little.  She's got my body on a schedule at this point I think.

[rubyolivia]

Hey Nikki! Not that I'm educated in the subject at all, but I thought I'd give you my 2 cents! :) Little Max will wake up to eat during the day anywhere from every hour to ever 3. During the day, I don't let him go past 3 hours. At night I will let him sleep for 4 hours at a time and then I wake him to eat. It's been working out so that I feed him at 12, 4 and then again at 8 in the morning. So it's not toooo bad time wise! He's up to 8 pounds now....so I'd say he's getting plenty! He'll be 2 weeks old on Thursday already.......time is flying! How are things going with Leah??

[ImmortalOne]

*pokes Jessica in the eye*  go back to Max, you Brag Bug!  

You put him on a schedule?  LOL  daring, I couldn't do that, might regret it come time to return to work though lol.

[Gili]

I meant that I just let my girl get breastfed whenever she needs it, starting from day 1 through 8 months when I weaned her.  8 weeks is when she decide to sleep through the night everyday forward.  Before 8 weeks, she will need to be fed anywhere from 1 hour to 6 hours.  I didn't believe in waking the baby up just to feed.  Every baby's stomach is different.  Some already have a larger stomach to hold more at an earlier age.

[nikkicole827]

Ruby, Hey girl!  I havent seen much from you on here!  I'm sure were on at different times as Max and Leah have us on new schedules!  We are doing well.  I'm still supplementing but really trying to get more breastfeedings in now that we are getting the hang of it.  I got irritated today because dh's sister was sort of talking down breastfeeding saying that formula feeding is just so much easier and blah blah blah.  I think she's frustrated that she can't feed her which means she wont be baby sitting for a while.  I, on the other hand, like it that way haha!
Actually, I was wondering... how are you doing with sharing Max?  I feel bad but I think I'm a little possessive of Leah.  I am good about letting people hold her that are in my family but for some reason the girls in DH's family and his female friends... i just don't like it!  I take that back, some I don't mind... others I do.  I think Im very particular about who is holding my baby... And if they are holding her too long... I start to get really bothered!  Man I'm mean.  I of course don't say anything to anyone about it though haha!