Really sleepy 2 week old - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

E1979 · 07-19-2007, 09:57 AM

So I have another question! My almost 2 week old son really sleeps a lot. We have to wake him up to nurse him almost 99% of the time. In the middle of the night it is a fight to get him to nurse. We spend like 20 minutes trying to wake him up enough to nurse and then another almost hour of nursing.
Should we just be letting him sleep if he is that uninterested in nursing at the time and wait until he asks for it? I just worry that he'll get dehydrated.
Thanks.

jmcummins3 · 07-19-2007, 11:50 AM

My DS is still really sleepy too. At about 2 weeks, they go through a growth spurt and are extra sleepy. I wake him up to eat during the day and he'll wake himself up a couple times at night to eat. I don't know how it works with nursing, though, since your milk supply is affected when they sleep through a feeding.

sem627 · 07-19-2007, 03:41 PM

I keep waking him until you have a doctor's visit and have him weighed. If he's gained enough weight, your doctor might say it's okay to let him sleep at night as long as he's getting enough during the day. I breastfed mine and was told that a minimum of 8 feedings is needed at that age. You're to make sure he eats every 2-3 hours during the day and I allowed for one 5 hour stretch if they were sleeping at night.

My second daughter was a huge sleeper. I had to wake her for feedings as well. Since I was told I could let her go for one 5 hours stretch, I nursed her at 10 p.m. and then woke her at 3 a.m., then let her go back until 6. During the day I fed her every 3 hours. I remember taking her to her 2 or 4 week visit (don't remember, but I'm thinking it was the 2 week) and her weight gain was good, so her doctor said to let her go as long as she wanted to at night. But check with your pediatrician.

E1979 · 07-19-2007, 04:14 PM

Well he already had his 1 week visit on Monday. He's already gained back his birth weight plus 3oz. He has another visit this coming monday so we'll see what the dr says then.
I am not too concerned about my milk supply, I am producing crazy amounts of milk.

mkgbrook · 07-19-2007, 06:47 PM

0-3 months babies sleep 16-20 hours a day on average. Average liquid intake is 3-6 oz BM (breast milk) every three hours. So as long as your child is at least consuming 24 - 48 oz of milk a day you are good. I had to pump because I was extremely ill after my sons birth. However, this allowed me to follow my son's milk intake and I was able to keep track of fluid intake.

Dehydration becomes a concern when the child stops wetting diapers on a regular basis. Early signs are dark strong smelling urine. Some babies sleep longer at night (for all those lucky parents) and eat like piggies during the day. Maybe your child will eat every 2-3 hours during the day while sleeping longer at night.

Best of luck.
MG