With caresses and whispers: the best way to wake up a baby to eat

That the baby eats as much as he needs is one of our main concerns as mothers.And this concern can increase about whether we are practicing breastfeeding, since it is not so easy to check how much the baby eats the same way as with a bottle.

The reality is that babies need to eat several times a day, but it also is that they sleep almost all the time, even if they do it at intervals.For this reason, it is usual to ask if it is necessary to wake them up at some time to eat.And in the event that it is so, what is the best way to do so so that they do not start.

The sleep and hunger of babies

A newborn can sleep about 17 hours a day, even if we, as we have said, at intervals.But this does not prevent, as a general rule, that the baby wakes up when he is hungry or needs to change the diaper.So, in principle, if there are no alterations, it is not necessary to wake up the baby to feed him, since he will do it alone when he needs it.

In fact, this would be one of the principles of offering breastfeeding on demand, that it is the baby who asks to eat and, of course, it will be given.Over time you will not only be able to set what time it eats, but it will be good to establish guidelines and eating habits.

In what cases is it necessary to wake up the baby?

There are different reasons to wake up the baby and feed him.Experts say that if a newborn sleeps three hours in a row, it is not necessary.In the same way that the baby needs to sleep to develop correctly, it also needs to eat frequently to maintain the optimal levels of hydration and blood glucose.As the baby grows, the hours that sleep increases, and can spend 5-6 hours without eating without any problem.

There are more concrete cases in which you have to respect the feeding guidelines that marks the pediatrician, such as when the baby is premature, he has been born with low weight, does not gain weight or lose it, or has any disease.Then we will have to be more rigorous with the hours we feed and, surely, many times they agree that he is sleeping.Then there will be no choice but to wake him up, and here are our suggestions to do so.

How to wake up a baby to eat

We like it or not, the baby has to be awake to suck correctly and take the amount of milk necessary.It is not enough to bring him closer to the chest on many occasions, but we have to encourage him to remain awake, always carefully and love.

When we take him in his arms to bring him closer to the chest, he may wake up at first, but that the suction makes him fall asleep again.Avoid it gently stroking your cheeks and speaking you in a whisper.

When we take it in my arms, we have to do it delicately, speaking or singing, with a dim light, and just turn on a more powerful if you are completely awake.Before bed again, hold on to him in his arms to expel the possible accumulated gases and, incidentally, you can change the diaper.

If it is hard to wake up, insist.It will not be more pleasant than you try a few minutes later.If you resist, try to give you a slight massage on your feet that you get activated and make you wake up.

There are also those who recommend, if the thing is complicated, changing clothes or diaper.They are still everyday gestures, and they can be very useful to achieve our goal.

MÁS

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