Do you ever wake a NB?

[rugbywife]

So my NB (does 7 weeks count as NB?) doesn't sleep by any real schedule - totally normal, and doesn't bother me in the least. It has occurred to me though that sometimes I wake him from sleep to go out, and at times I even feed him if he isn't asking for it because it is convenient to do it then, rather than when we are out.

Do either of these things matter?

Essentially, I want to go to Wal-Mart right now, I don't feel like waiting til he wakes. I could wait til tomorrow too, but I would still be interested in hearing people's replies.

[longtimenopost]

When DD was a newborn she had tons of doctors and therapy appointments that we had to wake her for. I wouldn't have for what you are describing, or for visitors.

[hermione]

At that age I could just move her to the car seat and strap her in and go without waking her. I only fed when she indicated she wanted it but we EFF and she ate like a beast from day 1.

[Deleted]

Eh, like you're saying, if I had shit to do, sometimes baby got woke. Especially baby #2. I didn't wake either because I thought they needed it, I did it because it made my life easier.

[rugbywife]

Jul 6, 2015 15:33:38 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Eh, like you're saying, if I had shit to do, sometimes baby got woke. Especially baby #2. I didn't wake either because I thought they needed it, I did it because it made my life easier.

Essentially it is this, lol. This is why I asked the question because I feel like it is more about my needs than his. And yes, probably way more with #2 because I have to also plan around DDs schedule (although not in this specific instance right now).

I am not going to this time, because he was really unsettled/unhappy earlier and now he is finally peaceful and sleeping. 

[junebug]

I would transfer a sleeping NB to the car seat if I was going out. I didn't really worry about waking them, because at that age, they just fell back to sleep. I would also wake to feed if I knew we would be out at a time that they would need to be fed again.

[Deleted]

A family has to be about all the people in it. The more people, the more everyone (new baby included) gives and takes to make it work.

Sounds like you're finding a balance of not annoying him too much, but not being trapped by a little baby's whims. That's about right.

[leeluu]

Yes, I woke DD all the time so that I could feed her before going out somewhere. When you only have an hour or two between feedings, logistics in getting out of the house are tight!

[nessness]

I would wake DD sometimes if I wanted to go somewhere, and she'd usually fall back asleep in the car.

If we're going out for a couple hours, I still offer to nurse before we go (at 8.5 months) even if she's not due to eat. She usually just snacks for a few minutes and it holds her over until we're home.

[namasteak]

I never did but that was probably because I was exhausted from a kid who never slept.

And yes 7weeks is a NB...I thought anything under 3 months was?

[jln]

Jul 6, 2015 15:33:38 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Eh, like you're saying, if I had shit to do, sometimes baby got woke. Especially baby #2. I didn't wake either because I thought they needed it, I did it because it made my life easier.

This is what I do.  It's necessary with two kids.  If I have to go somewhere it's easier to wake DS2 to feed him before we get in the car than try to BF while out with him and my 3 year old.  

[linz]

Mine usually ate every 3 hours but if I had plans and needed to tweak their schedule then yes I would.

[jewel]

In theory, I would, for my own convinience, but not because I thought he needed it.

That said, my kid was such a shitty sleeper, I'd never intentionally wake him for any reason short of the house catching on fire.

[hski2349]

I wake dd2 all the time to feed her. If I didn't she woul sleep all day and then would not sleep at night.

[Deleted]

Jul 6, 2015 16:18:19 GMT -5 jln said:

Jul 6, 2015 15:33:38 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Eh, like you're saying, if I had shit to do, sometimes baby got woke. Especially baby #2. I didn't wake either because I thought they needed it, I did it because it made my life easier.

This is what I do.  It's necessary with two kids.  If I have to go somewhere it's easier to wake DS2 to feed him before we get in the car than try to BF while out with him and my 3 year old.  

Exactly this. It's way easier to wake and/or feed DD before we get in the car, than to nurse her while out with 3.5yo DS. I "top off" DD before we leave the house.

Like @tokenhoser said, I try to find a balance. Some days we stay home and DD gets great crib naps and gets to nurse when she wants to. But some days we all have to go someplace, and we can't wait around for her to wake up or eat.

[sillygoosegirl]

I didn't start trying to avoid waking her until she stopped putting herself back to sleep as soon as she was in a car seat or carrier. This happened around 3 months or so.

[rugbywife]

Jul 6, 2015 16:14:58 GMT -5 namasteak said:

And yes 7weeks is a NB...I thought anything under 3 months was?

I figured. I just couldn't remember at the time.

[sporklemotion]

I think it's fine for now, and I do the same with my 6 week old NB. I will be less likely once she gets on more of a schedule and is doing fewer, but longer, naps. At that point, I would worry that a wakeup will lead to grumpiness and crying, at least from what happened with DD1, who was a terrible napper.

[Wonderwall]

Never ever wake a sleeping baby. We did but I totally regret it.

[Deleted]

J I never really did unless we had to go to the dr or something. The girls we woke more often. We tried to work around them napping but sometimes we had to go somewhere - pick J up from daycare, the Dr, or just a planned family outing. And of we waited for both to be awake we may never leave because they often slept on opposite schedules. If it was a matter of going to the store, I'd probably let them sleep unless I was going stir crazy and needEd out of the house. Sometimes waiting for them to wake up would mean we would never leave.

I also fed the girls before we left the house every single time. I don't care if they ate 10 mins ago. Tandem nursing in public is a huge pain so I tried to cut down on it anyway I could.

Eta: once they were a bit older, sometimes around 2/3 mos or so, we could predict their naps based on when they woke up, even though it wasn't an actual schedule, and at that point we sort of worked around that rather than wake them.

[formerlyllizzyb]

I never woke DS. Ever. He was a shitty sleeper.
Poor second born DD gets woken all the time. But she sleeps a ton. I'd never leave the house if I didn't wake her.