LO Won't Wake Up!

[Bluewings]

LO's pediatrician asked that for a little bit I need to wake LO every 2-3 hours throughout the night to feed.

Trouble is... LO won't wake up! I change his diaper and just now I even fully undressed him because he was somewhat damp from his bili blanket. It woke him but only temporarily. He latched, he suckled and fell back to sleep after 2-3 minutes of feeding.

I tried tickling him, rubbing his head, holding him upright, putting him back on my chest (skin to skin). Nothing. Literally passed out drunk LOL

How do I wake him!?

 

[Elmo5]

You just have to keep trying, it can be hard at times. Rubbing feet can help sometimes. Assume he wakes okay during the day?

If struggling to wake at all I would contact the midwife - as it possible to get into a cycle of not enough milk so too tired to wake.

 

[missk1989]

I would put him down and try again in an hour. If it was a regular thing then maybe call the midwife but the poor thing may just be tired and want to sleep!

 

[Tesa]

i used to get a damp cloth and wipe her face - it feels like baby cruelty but they need to feed - i was in this position just a week ago and now my lo wakes herself to feed. It is a shortterm problem - hope it works for you soon x

 

[New Mrs W]

Are you in hospital? Is lo jaundiced? (Just with you saying about a bili blanket) if so, just tell your paed. It is completely normal for newborn babies to do this, especially jaundiced babies. It might be that your lo has a tube fitted whilst he is on the blanket for top ups (can be bm or f) so that he doesn't get dehydrated whilst on the blanket. This is what we did with Frankie. Sorry if I've got the wrong end of the stick!

 

[noon_child]

All bf Mums in UK are told to wake LO every 2hrs till they regain birthweight (and it keeps the supply up) but it was a pain in the bum just like you mentioned. LO was alert in the day so I knew she wasn't lacking energy so I gave up on 2hrs and made it closer to 3hrs. With that extra bit of sleep I was able to persevere a lot more with the constant undressing/dressing, wet wash cloth, tickling, boob swapping etc. that it took to keep her awake. By 2.5 weeks old she was waking herself up every 2hrs 45mins to feed - 5 mins before my alarm went off like clockwork!

 

[Kimber]

My LO had very high bilirubin. The doc wanted us on a 2 hour feeding schedule, and waking her was a nightmare. I felt like I was always just torturing her! I would change her diaper, tickle her tummy, rub and tickle her feet, play with her ears, tickle her face. I would resort to taking a cold baby wipe and touching it on her, which would work to wake her for a minute, but as you said, she'd fall back asleep quickly. Yes, can be very frustrating. Just stick with it. If it's because your LO is jaundiced, you'll be amazed by the change once you get it down.