Premature Babies

This question is actually for a friend of mine who had a little girl on October 2. She was only 31w 6d when she delivered. She was wondering if she should still be waking her little girl in the night to feed her. She said she wakes up on her own for at least one of the feedings but not always the other. She is feeding her every 4 hours. Her little girl is doing great and last I knew was 6 lb 6 oz.

She didn't know what to do so I told her I would post a question on here because there are so many people with preemie experience. Thanks ladies for your help!!!

 

Your friend should definitely talk to her pediatrician. Preemies need their calories!

 

Yes, talk to her dr.

However, I am beleiver of letting babies sleep. She is being checked regularly I am sure and even much more since she is a preemie. As long as her growth stays good I say let her sleep. It sounds like she is not sleeping 12 hrs or anything like that, she is just skipping one of her feedings. Mommy needs that sleep too. Personal, if baby is growing as they should be I would let them sleep. If her growth stops or backsteps then yeah, maybe she needs to be woken-up. Babies wakening patterns at night also changed basid off there needs. Right now she might be skipping a feeding but next week she might wake-up for all plus a few more. Right now, I say sleep.

 

my doc had me feed the kids round the clock every 3 hours till they hit their due date and then he said we could let them wake us up to eat...

 

Thanks for the replies. I told her earlier to check with her pediatrician but I would see what everyone on here had to say also. I know she appreciates the replies!

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Nov 19 2008, 06:29 PM) [snapback]1077905[/snapback]
Your friend should definitely talk to her pediatrician. Preemies need their calories!

I agree! We were told when ours came home from the NICU to feed them every 3 hours and that meant waking them if they were sleeping. We had to do this for a few weeks, the ped gave us the okay to stop waking them at night, but we still fed every 3 hours during the day.

 

QUOTE(mollyjm+2 @ Nov 19 2008, 03:44 PM) [snapback]1077932[/snapback]
However, I am beleiver of letting babies sleep. She is being checked regularly I am sure and even much more since she is a preemie. As long as her growth stays good I say let her sleep. It sounds like she is not sleeping 12 hrs or anything like that, she is just skipping one of her feedings. Mommy needs that sleep too. Personal, if baby is growing as they should be I would let them sleep. If her growth stops or backsteps then yeah, maybe she needs to be woken-up. Babies wakening patterns at night also changed basid off there needs. Right now she might be skipping a feeding but next week she might wake-up for all plus a few more. Right now, I say sleep.

That may be true for a full term baby but having preemies is a completely different ball game. All preemies that I have ever known, (my 28 weekers included) it was vital to make sure that they were getting a certain amount of oz/calories in a day. Preemies have to be taught how to suck, swallow and breath which can hinder the volume that they take in. Most preemies are on a high calorie formula for this very reason. This is why it is important that she talks to her pediatrician before deciding to skip feedings. I understand that it's tiring, I had to get up and feed two babies as have many other moms on here, but it is important for their health and vitality.

 

I did for a bit, not as long as they told me to, but long enough that I knew that they would wake when they wanted to eat and knew that they were growing and getting the oz they needed. For preemies sleep is just as important as eating. I would say wake them up for the first wk or so just to get a feel of the growth, if the baby will wake itself etc, then calm down after that if things seem to be going ok.

 

QUOTE(chris629 @ Nov 19 2008, 09:37 PM) [snapback]1078197[/snapback]
I did for a bit, not as long as they told me to, but long enough that I knew that they would wake when they wanted to eat and knew that they were growing and getting the oz they needed. For preemies sleep is just as important as eating. I would say wake them up for the first wk or so just to get a feel of the growth, if the baby will wake itself etc, then calm down after that if things seem to be going ok.



In the NICU, at first our twins we were told at least 'X' amount every 3 hours. When we took them home, we were told on demand- every 3 to 4 hours, but no more than 4 hours (wake them up after 4 hours). Most of the time the twins are eating every 4 hours.

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Nov 19 2008, 06:16 PM) [snapback]1078155[/snapback]
That may be true for a full term baby but having preemies is a completely different ball game. All preemies that I have ever known, (my 28 weekers included) it was vital to make sure that they were getting a certain amount of oz/calories in a day. Preemies have to be taught how to suck, swallow and breath which can hinder the volume that they take in. Most preemies are on a high calorie formula for this very reason. This is why it is important that she talks to her pediatrician before deciding to skip feedings. I understand that it's tiring, I had to get up and feed two babies as have many other moms on here, but it is important for their health and vitality.


I understand that, however, it sounds to me like in the op the baby is not doing this every night and It's only for one feeding. there has to be a healthy balance. Sometimes that extra couple of hrs of sleep can be the difference between suffering with baby blues and having enough energy to make it threw the day. If the baby is healthy and growing then moms health also needs to be considered. Just my opinion.

 

My girls were four weeks early and my pedi told me I had to feed them every 3 hours minimum no exceptions. We had to do that until he told us we could back off a bit. It was probably a good month or more that we feed them every three hours.

 

i was told to wake mine every 2 hrs until they hit gestationale age, after that as long as they took the volume of food needed they were ok.
each preemie is different though. so she should ask her doc to make sure

 

Hannah was 5 weeks early, and came home from the NICU on a strict 3 hour schedule. She stayed on that schedule for at least 2 months, as she had trouble gaining/issues with formula. I am surprised they didn't let her know before she went home, and would definitely ask the ped!

 

Thanks for all of the replies! I talked to my friend about it again today. She had put in a call to her pediatrician but she was also wanting some other opinions from experienced moms of preemies. She said to tell everyone thanks!

 

Mine were 36 week and my doc wanted me to wake them until they were 7lbs. By then they woke up on their own.

 

We were told to wake ours every 3 hours to eat. They were 35.3 weeks but a little smaller than your friend's baby. We woke them until they were 1 month old.

 

Our doctor told us that preemies will sleep as long as you let them - so you need to wake them to eat. We woke up every three hours during the day and we were told to wake them after 4 hours at night. A few weeks after then we were allowed to let them sleep 6 hours at night (But that didnt happen.)

 

She should definitely check with the pedi. I woke mine every 3, then every 4 hours, until the pedi okay'd letting them go longer.

 

Thanks for all of the advice for my friend. She called today and said her pediatrician said to let her sleep for a little while past the scheduled feeding and see if she wakes up pretty soon. Basically her little girl woke up just an hour after her scheduled feeding. So basically, all is well.....both baby and momma now get an extra hour of sleep without worrying about her little one not eating enough! She said she did this both last night and the night before! Thanks again!

 

My son was born at 36 wks, he was 5 lbs 13 oz, and imagine my surprise when he was in the NICU, I asked them to call me to come nurse at night so I could get some sleep, and I slept 5 hours!! I woke up in a panic thinking they had forgotten and given him a bottle, I called the NICU and as I'm talking to the nurse she goes "Oh, wait, there he is crying, guess he heard you call!" lol

So, an hour or so extra at night for my ds was not a big deal. I fed him on demand round the clock and he gained like a little chunker! I think it really depends on the baby, how they are eating, how much they are eating, how they are gaining weight, how much they weighed at birth....etc. That's probably why there is such differing opinions on this thread!

Glad she called her ped and got it straightened out tho!!