Is never wake a sleeping baby true?
Literally EVERYONE on the planet has heard, “never wake a sleeping baby!” and while a lot of people live and die by that, there are actually several reasons why you might want to wake a sleeping baby!
*as always, these are only suggestions in order to “fix” any sleep issues. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. And if you don’t want to wake your baby + you accept the fall out of not waking the baby if there is any, then you’re the parent and you get to decide! 🥰
when to wake a sleeping baby
There are a lot of reasons you may need to wake a sleeping baby during the day. Those reasons include:
For adequate daytime feedings
To maximize night time sleep/decrease undertired night time wakings
To fit in the rest of that day’s naps (so you’re not left with a really long wake time before bed)
When considering nap lengths, for a newborn, I would wake every 1-2 hours during the day to fit in feedings every 2-3 hours. When days and nights are established, you could let a single nap go up to 2 hours and that can continue until they’re roughly 9-12 months old. When they’re on one nap, one nap could go as long as 3 hours!
But remember, this is just a guide and you know your baby best on what nap lengths affect your night time sleep.
is waking a sleeping baby bad
It is never bad to wake a sleeping baby, for whatever reason you need to wake them up. You don’t have to justify waking a sleeping baby, even though it’s painful to do so– especially if you had a short napper and they’re starting to sleep longer stretches!
are you supposed to wake a sleeping baby to eat
Your pediatrician may recommend waking your baby during the day and night when they’re newborns until they’ve regained their birth weight. They may recommend continuing to wake for feedings overnight until a certain age. This is definitely a conversation you’d need to have with them as they’re monitoring your childs growth if you have any concerns!
wake a sleeping baby during the day
Waking a sleeping baby during the day is usually helpful in sorting out day and night confusion. This is because they have underdeveloped pineal glands and are not producing melatonin on their own to help establish their circadian rhythm.
If they sleep all day, chances are they will be up all night. And if you’re not a nocturnal person or have other children at home where you cannot also sleep during the day with the baby, you’ll want them to sort out that pattern super quick!
Getting in feedings every 2-3 hours during the day (meaning you’re usually waking after 1-2 hours) with some intentional wake periods (30-45 mins including feeding) can be really helpful in sorting out day and night confusion.
can daycare wake a sleeping baby
This will vary by state! I recommend googling “daycare regulations naps + your state” in order to find what your state says about sleep in a daycare setting. It varies quite a bit, but a lot of states will say something about infants choosing their own patterns of sleep in the first year in collaboration with parents. (This is what we want to see!)
how to wake a sleeping baby to feed
Those sleepy newborns can be SO hard to wake up and it feels so cruel to have to do so, but once you see your work pay off, you’ll know it’s worth it.
Here are some tips for waking a sleeping baby to feed:
Try to wake during active sleep (ie when you’re seeing more movement, eyelids fluttering, sleepy grins, etc)
Undress them
Change their diaper first
Try less “soothing” feeding positions like a football hold
Tickle their feet
Use a cool wash cloth on their cheeks
Switch sides or burp to keep them engaged in the feeding
So as you can see, there are a lot of reasons for waking a sleeping baby and none of them are wrong! Understanding the why behind the reasons can help you weigh the pros and cons and decide for yourself what you’d like to do with your own child.
Looking for a like-minded community? Join our Raising Happy Sleepers group!
