When a child appears in a woman's life, a lot of questions arise. Probably, you will not meet a woman who wants to consciously or not harm her child. Feeding is one of the most important issues. After birth, the child develops a regimen consisting of sleep and feeding. But sometimes the whole regime gets lost due to prolonged sleep. Whether to wake up the newborn for feeding or let him build his own regime - in any case, the choice is for the mother of the baby.
When do you need to wake up a baby for feeding?
In some cases, it is simply necessary to wake up the newborn for feeding. First of all, this applies to mothers whose babies are poorly gaining weight. Indeed, with prolonged sleep, the child does not receive the necessary nutrients. Critical underweight can lead to a decrease in the development of the child.
It is also during the neonatal period that neonatologists and pediatricians recommend feeding every 2 hours. In the first 28 days, it is simply necessary to wake up the newborn for feeding to establish the mother's lactation and for the development of the baby. At the same time, doctors often recommend in the first days to apply the baby for one feeding to both breasts.
If the mother does not practice joint sleep with the baby, then if the baby sleeps for too long, it is better to wake him up for feeding. If the mother practices sleeping together, then the child can eat half asleep.
If there is a lactation crisis, then you need to apply the baby to the breast as often as possible. Otherwise, the milk may burn out.
If the mother has a blockage of the milk ducts - lactostasis, then you need to apply the baby to the diseased breast as often as possible, preventing it from overflowing. In this case, be sure to wake up the newborn for feeding. Otherwise, complications in the form of mastitis are possible.
It is also worth considering the factor that the older the child gets, the larger the intervals between feedings become.
How to wake up a baby to feed
So that the awakening of the baby for feeding does not turn into hysteria and nervous breakdowns, you need to follow simple tips:
- Each dream is divided into active and deep. When you need to wake up the baby for feeding, you just need to wait for the active phase and remove the blanket. As a rule, the child will wake up immediately. If the baby has not woken up, then you can stroke him along the body to the legs. When the newborn opens its eyes, it is better to take it on the arms and hold it for a while. It is also advisable to change the baby's diaper before feeding.
- If you hold the child "in a column", pressing it to the chest, then he will certainly open his eyes.
- Some parents begin to hum a little nursery rhyme to wake up the baby. But in no case should you turn on the radio or TV, make a lot of noise next to a sleeping baby or turn on a bright light. Such actions of the parents are likely to drive the child to fright and hysteria.
- Stroking and massaging a newborn's back will help improve circulation and wake up faster.
Do not worry that after waking up, the child will arrange a "sleepless night" for the parents. As a rule, after eating milk, the child quickly falls asleep.
