Let sleeping babes lie?

[MajikalFaeriePrincess]

My LO is 5 weeks old. He tends to sleep well when he decides he is bored with being awake (He likes to stay up anywhere between 1 and 5 hours at a time to make sure he's not missing out on anything). Should I go wake him up after 3 hours of sleep to feed him or let him sleep until he wakes up? My mother keeps telling me to let him sleep and he'll wake up when he's hungry, but all the while I have the "Feed every 2-3 hours" rule in the back of my mind. He has plenty of heavy wet and poopy diapers, gaining weight all too well, and seems content while he's awake more times than not. I'm just not sure which way to approach feeding him when it comes to his sleeping. TIA.

[lolabear]

i would let him sleep. my kids wouldnt eat if i tried to wake them up when they were that small, my ds is 3.5 months old and will still just get mad at me if i wake him up to try to nurse him lol babies wake up when theyre hungry. as long as hes doing what hes supposed to diaper wise then he is fine :)

[MajikalFaeriePrincess]

That's nice to hear. I hate setting my alarm to go off every couple of hours (Especially at night). Now with this "let them sleep" Is there a length of time that would be considered too long to let him go?

[lolabear]

I dont know ... the dr's say 5 hours is enough but my dd at 8 weeks started sleeping 8 hours a night but she would cluster feed in the evenings before bed so she was kinda storing up. every baby is different, as long as my kids are happy i let them sleep as much as they want to LOL

[MajikalFaeriePrincess]

No worries then, he doesn't sleep that long in one stretch yet. Thank you for the help. :)

[lolabear]

no problem :) i would enjoy it while you can lol my ds wakes up 3x a night sometimes! he sleeps his long stretches after dinner.

[bfmomworries]

I used to set my alamr every 4 hours at night til the doc said to quit that:) weight's good, diaperr's good, let them sleep. Doc said she wouldn't sleep but 4-5 hours probably, but would wake when she's hungry. She was 6-8 hours almost right off the bat, still a great nighttime sleeper. Won't nap worth beans tho:) LOL

I say let them sleep, they, like us, will wake if they are hungry.

[kohlby]

I was told to not let them sleep more than 4 hours during the day or 6 hours during the night as newborns without waking to feed and that's from day 1. However, at 5 weeks old, you have more info than a brand new baby - you can tell if he's gaining enough and if he's having enough wet diapers. If he's eating enough then I wouldn't wake him to eat.

[trylyn5]

I had to wake my dd at that age but she wasn't gaining. I agree that as long as your baby is gaining appropriately and having enough output, let him sleep and count your blessings! :)

[monkeysmom]

I would let him sleep, my DD is not a good sleeper, hates to sleep and apparently thinks life is just too exciting to waste time sleeping. I would definitely let him sleep, and appreciate the fact that he does actually sleep :)

[madelsmama]

If your baby is gaining well and giving you at least 6 wet diaper per day, it's probably fine to let the baby sleep.

[SingingMom]

I'd start worrying if he were sleeping for ten hour stretches, but what you describe sounds fine.

[jodyvo]

I would feed my DD at least every 3 hours during the day and would wake her up. I would let her sleep at night