A major concern for young parents, baby food is the subject of many theories. Among them, the idea that you should wake up your toddler to feed him. But is it really necessary? We take stock with Carole Hervé, IBCLC lactation consultant.
In the maternity ward, some health professionals recommend wake up sleeping baby to eat. Others believe, on the contrary, that it is not necessary and even somewhat violent. Carole Hervé, IBCLC lactation consultant, agrees. It is formal: you don’t wake a baby to feed it, neither in the morning, nor in the evening, nor at night! “No one would like to be woken up in the middle of the night to eat! In other words, if baby is sleeping, rather than trying to wake him up at all costs, it is better to pick up on the subtle signs that reveal that he might suckle and bring him closer to the breasteven in a state of restless sleep”argues the specialist.
When to wake up baby to eat?
No situation justifies suddenly waking a baby to feed him. Nevertheless, it is possible to offer him to suckle the breast or the bottle while he is dozing. “Breastfeeding constitutes a continuity with pregnancy. Researchers and clinicians like Suzanne Colson* have succeeded in demonstrating that the baby behaves at birth as it behaved in utero, and as we cannot tell the difference in utero between the waking and sleeping phases of the fetus, it highlighted the fact that the babies suckle very well when they are drowsy. In the days following their birth, babies will suckle, not out of hunger because they don’t know what it is, but out of reflex., develops the lactation consultant. In other words, if he has not eaten for some time, it is advisable to approach him to the breast at times when you perceive activity under his eyelids and he will begin to suckle on his own, by reflex. Waking him up would be irrelevant and would create unnecessary stress. What works best then is to keep your baby close, which allows us to secrete oxytocin, the love hormone. This hormone promotes nipple erection and milk ejection.
What if he loses weight the first few days?
One newborn typically loses weight in the very first days after birth. However, it is not relevant to wake him up to make him eat. “Making sure baby is gaining weight and drinking milk is a normal medical concern, but this vigilance can very quickly turn into fear, pressure, and behaviors that will cause more cortisol to be secreted. (the stress hormone, editor’s note) than oxytocin both in the mother and in the baby, which becomes deleterious for both”comments Carole Hervé.
What if baby skips a bottle or a feeding?
Skipping a breastfeed is not a problem a priori if we ensure that the baby receives the rest of his ration of milk throughout the day and night. And for good reason, the baby is naturally endowed with a self-regulation ability regarding the amounts of food eaten. In other words, a properly nourished baby knows how to regulate his appetite and eat his fill. If he misses a bottle or a feeding, he will catch up at the next meal! We obviously make sure that everything is going well for him by keeping an eye on his weight curve.
How long between two feedings or two bottles?
In the days following his birth, a breastfed baby can suckle at a frequency that surprises us: every hour or even every two hours. Then, the feedings are spaced out over the weeks. But, it depends on several factorsin particular the milk flow and the infant sucking quality. Some babies nurse in five minutes because they have excellent sucking and milk flow, while others can stay at the breast for 45 minutes. There is therefore no minimum duration between two feedings, it is on a case-by-case basis. For the formula-fed babiesa interval of two to four hours between each bottle is necessary because artificial milk is digested more slowly. In any case, it is appropriate to meet her baby’s needs. If he is hungry, he will know how to make himself understood! “Breastfeeding is a continuation of pregnancy. We don’t say to the fetus ‘Now you stop, you have to wait 2 hours before breastfeeding. So we can’t say that either to the newborn when he could eat as he pleased 24 hours earlier! Artificial milk has become the norm but since we cannot give it too often because it is much less digestible, we will immediately create restrictions”believes our interlocutor.
Thanks to Carole Hervé, IBCLC lactation consultant and author of My tailor-made breastfeeding published by Albin Michel and Choisir d’alaiter, ed. First
*Suzanne Colson is the author of Biological Nurturing, instinctive breastfeeding, ed. Prime Resources