How to wake a newborn for feeding

You brought from the hospital a tiny bundle with a little man. At first, everyone in the house walks on tiptoe, speak in a whisper and do not rattle the dishes, so as not to accidentally wake the baby. However, over time, young parents realize that waking up babies is not so simple. Surely you noticed that in the room where a small child sleeps, you can watch TV and even vacuum clean. If the baby is sleeping, he is unlikely to react. Therefore, some mothers have a question - how to wake a baby so that it is as comfortable and painless as possible.

Do I need to wake the baby to feed

There is much debate about whether to wake a baby for feeding. On the one hand - the baby is sleeping - mom, rejoice! Go about your business, relax. However, not everything is so rosy. Pediatricians in many countries come to the conclusion that a child should be awakened if he sleeps for more than five consecutive hours. The fact is that such a long sleep without a break for food is quite harmful, the baby may have exhaustion. This is especially true for children who are poorly gaining weight, slowly growing. This is also true for premature babies - they need to be fed more often and more.

There are two types of feeding - on demand and on schedule. If you feed your baby on demand, you can allow yourself not to wake the baby until he wakes up. If you choose for yourself feeding by the hour - you can not violate the regime. The child must eat at the set time, otherwise the whole schedule will go down the drain.

The need to awaken the baby for feeding ensures the calmness of the mother. If the baby does not stick to the chest for a long time, mastitis may occur, and milk in the glands will begin to sour. Frequent or hourly feeding is also important for those who suffer from insufficient lactation. If you have little milk, you must feed the baby from 3 to 8 in the morning, at least a couple of times. This is due to the fact that the hormone prolactin is produced precisely in this period - early morning time. Stimulating the nipple and feeding the baby at this time increases the amount of milk produced.

When to wake a baby

As noted, you need to wake up the baby at a time when he is supposed to eat. If you feed your baby hourly, you should not allow breaks between feedings for more than four hours.

It often happens that the baby should be woken up, because a doctor has come to examine him. Awakening the crumbs is necessary if the mother is about to leave somewhere and she needs to feed the baby before leaving. Awakening is also important before the trip, when the child needs not only to feed, but also to change clothes.

It happens that during childbirth anesthetics were made, and she, along with milk, gave them a tiny fraction to the baby. After this, the child is under the influence of sedatives and simply cannot wake up. With natural long sleep, this has nothing to do. Therefore, at such moments, the child needs to be awakened for feeding without fail.

It is best to wake the baby during the superficial phase of sleep. At this time, the baby jerks a little leg, pen, his pupils running under the eyelids. If there are no signs - raise the handle of the child. If the pupils began to move, and the mouth opened to suck, you can begin to awaken the child. If the baby does not react in any way, leave it for another 20 minutes alone.

How to wake a newborn

Do you like to be woken up? Probably the kid will not like it. But you need to do this, anyway. Therefore, all actions should be as soft and gentle as possible.In no case do not scare the child, do not turn on the bright light, do not shout "Rise". You can scare the baby and undermine his nervous system. There are several ways to help you wake up the baby painlessly.

1. To get started, go to the crib and in a low voice call the child by name. Gently speak with him, sing a song to him, call him gentle words.
2. If the child does not respond, it can be gently stroked. Run your hand over the head, handles, legs. Most babies wake up from their mother’s warm touch.
3. To awaken a child, you can deprive him of heat. Open the baby to make him feel cool; most of the kids react to a change in temperature. If your actions did not bring any results, start undressing the child.
4. You can start changing your baby's diaper. He is not afraid of this action, because it is familiar to him. Conversely, diaper changes are associated with feeding that occurs before or after this process.
5. Stir the baby's legs and arms. Active movements awaken even the most sleepy babies.
6. Some babies wake up from the tender kisses of their mother. Kiss your son or daughter in the ears, forehead, pens. So you can not only wake the baby, but also convey to him incredible love and affection. The baby must be sure when waking up that he moves from sweet dreams to an equally sweet reality.
7. Many mothers eventually find their own ways to wake the baby. Sometimes this is a simple tickle. Tickle the little man in the foot area and your little one will certainly wake up.
8. Take the baby in your arms. Press his body to yourself, feel the warmth of a sleepy child. It is not only insanely pleasant, but also effective. Once upright, the children quickly open their eyes. But do not forget to hold on to the crumbs.
9. As soon as the baby opens his eyes, it is possible that he will close them immediately for further sleep. Do not let him do this. Talk to him gently, make eye contact.
10. There are babies with very sound sleep, on which all these manipulations do not act. If your baby is just such a dream, you can use water to wake up. No, do not think that the child should be doused with a tub of cold water. You need to prepare warm water, moisten a sponge in it and wipe the face, hands and feet of the baby. Or just dip the crumbs in a bath with warm, comfortable water. After this, the child will certainly wake up.

When the baby wakes up, you will begin to feed him. Do not be surprised if, after two seconds of feeding, the baby begins to fall asleep again - Mom’s chest acts so soothingly! To avoid this, wait until the baby is fully awakened, change his clothes and diaper, play and talk with him before you start feeding him. If the baby falls asleep anyway, gently pat it on the head during feeding, talk to it, tug at its handle, change the feeding position.

The frequency of feeding the baby depends on his age. Newborn babies eat every 2.5-3 hours, older children every 4-5 hours. At the age of six months, the child is less in need of night feedings, he wakes up only in the early morning, when he is hungry. Children suckle more often during illness, during teething. The rest of the feeding regimen is dictated by the needs of this or that baby.

Awakening can be different - sharp and irritable or tender, calm, soft. And it depends only on you with what mood your baby will wake up. Love your baby, wake him right!

Video: Best Newborn Feeding Route