How long to let a newborn sleep?

[floriflee]

I've been searching the boards for info on this, but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for so I'm posting.

Here is the background:
I have a six week old daughter. She's probably over 10 lbs by now (she was 9lbs 10oz at her 1 month appointment). As it stands, she usually takes a 30-45 minute nap in the morning around 10:30--that's not a problem. Her next nap usually starts between 12:00 and 1:00PM. I usually end up waking her up from that one between 3 and 4 hours because I've been told that newborns shouldn't really go more than 3 hours between feedings when BFing. When she was about two weeks old our ped told us she could have one six hour stretch, which we try to have at night (the AMB works wonders for that). She usually ends up taking a couple more shorter naps in the evening (again, about 30-45 minutes each) before going down for the night. She tends to be fussier in the evenings.

Now the questions:

-How long is the 2-3 hours between feedings applicable? When can the feedings be stretched out so they can sleep longer?
-Should I be concerned about her sleeping more than 4 hours for her afternoon nap (i.e., should I just let her sleep until she wakes up on her own)? I'm wondering if I let her sleep till she wakes up on her own for her longer afternoon nap if she'll be less fussy and have fewer evening naps.
-When is it okay for them to sleep through the night (i.e., don't set the alarm to make sure they don't sleep for more than the six hour stretch)?

[SnuggleBuggles]

6 weeks is one of the growth spurt moments. That means lots of sleeping and eating.

For a bf baby that is fed on demand and allowed to nurse as long as necessary/ desired (not taken off the breast after X minutes) I bet that they will get enough food even if their feedings are more spaced out. You should still be looking at 8-12 feedings in 24 hours. It doesn't really matter what the spacing is, it's just that most babies typically fall into the every 2-3 hour cycle naturally. Some babies will go longer between feedings and may even then cluster feed at night (eating almost every hour for a few hours). That's how they get back on track.

Keep track of baby's diapers and other signs of a healthy baby. If those all seem good then I would let baby sleep at night. During the day I would wake baby after 3 hours. I'd rather have more feedings/ being awake during the day than at night. :)

I never woke baby up to eat in the middle of the night. By around week my ds was sleeping 8 hour stretches- and we let him sleep. :)

This is from Dr. Sears. Keep in mind that it refers to a 3wk old and Dr. Sears is very into AP.

SLEEPS TOO MUCH?
Can an infant sleep too much? My baby is 3 weeks old, and I have to wake him up to feed him every 4 1/2 hours. Is this normal?

Oh, how many mothers would love to have your "problem"! Sleep patterns in infants are extremely variable. Babies with easy temperaments tend to be easy sleepers; high-strung infants are often frequent wakers. But it's possible for excessive sleep to keep an infant from thriving. "Thriving" means more than just getting bigger, it means that your baby is developing to his fullest potential; physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Babies are born with attachment-promoting behaviors (e.g. crying) that cue their caregivers to the quantity and quality of touch and feeding they need in order to thrive. Infants who sleep too much may not initiate interaction, so you have to do it (as you've been doing when you wake him up to feed).

We suggest that you continue to schedule your baby's feedings at least every three hours during the day, but let him wake you at night. Be sure to have him weighed frequently by your doctor to be sure he is gaining enough weight . Because they are not demanding babies, heavy sleepers often do not get enough to eat. This is why you are wise to take charge of the feeding routine and continue to awaken your baby for meals every three hours during the day.

In addition to insuring that your baby gets adequate food, it's also important to make sure he gets enough touch. Demanding babies often cry if somebody doesn't hold them, but easy babies often sleep right through potential holding times. One way to address this is to wear your baby around the house in a baby sling at least a couple hours a day to provide touch and stimulation.

In the meantime, enjoy your full night's sleep while it lasts!

http://askdrsears.com/html/7/T071100.asp#T071125

And here is some KellyMom.com info about bf'ing in a 2-6 week old:
Weeks two through six
How often should baby be nursing?
Frequent nursing in the early weeks is important for establishing a good milk supply. Most newborns need to nurse 8 - 12+ times per day (24 hours). You CAN'T nurse too often—you CAN nurse too little.

Nurse at the first signs of hunger (stirring, rooting, hands in mouth)—don't wait until baby is crying. Allow baby unlimited time at the breast when sucking actively, then offer the second breast. Some newborns are excessively sleepy—wake baby to nurse if 2 hours (during the day) or 4 hours (at night) have passed without nursing. Once baby has established a good weight gain pattern, you can stop waking baby and nurse on baby's cues alone.

The following things are normal:
Frequent and/or long feedings.
Varying nursing pattern from day to day.
Cluster nursing (very frequent to constant nursing) for several hours—usually evenings—each day. This may coincide with the normal "fussy time" that most babies have in the early months.
Growth spurts, where baby nurses more often than usual for several days and may act very fussy. Common growth spurt times in the early weeks are the first few days at home, 7 - 10 days, 2 - 3 weeks and 4 - 6 weeks.
Is baby getting enough milk?
Weight gain: The average breastfed newborn gains 6 ounces/week (170 grams/week). Consult with baby's doctor and your lactation consultant if baby is not gaining as expected.

Dirty diapers: Expect 3-4+ stools daily that are the size of a US quarter (2.5 cm) or larger. Some babies stool every time they nurse, or even more often--this is normal, too. The normal stool of a breastfed baby is yellow and loose (soft to runny) and may be seedy or curdy. After 4 - 6 weeks, some babies stool less frequently, with stools as infrequent as one every 7-10 days. As long as baby is gaining well, this is normal.

Wet diapers: Expect 5-6+ wet diapers every 24 hours. To feel what a sufficiently wet diaper is like, pour 3 tablespoons (45 mL) of water into a clean diaper. A piece of tissue in a disposable diaper will help you determine if the diaper is wet. After 6 weeks, wet diapers may drop to 4-5/day but amount of urine will increase to 4-6+ tablespoons (60-90+ mL) as baby's bladder capacity grows.

Milk supply?
Some moms worry about milk supply. As long as baby is gaining well on mom's milk alone, then milk supply is good. Between weight checks, a sufficient number of wet and dirty diapers will indicate that baby is getting enough milk.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/newborn-nursing.html

I couldn't find a handy link on KellyMom for the slightly older baby.

I bet this is a growth spurt and baby will emerge with a different sleep/ eat pattern soon. Baby will start being more interested in the world too and wil have more times of quiet alert and will spend more of the day awake.

HTH a little.

Beth

[jniter]

At 6 weeks, your baby might still have a little night-day confusion. I remember (very hazily...) that DS suddenly decided to sleep longer at night around 8 weeks. It was strange because it happened like a switch. One day, he slept for 6-7 hours. We just let him sleep.

We figured he would let us know if he was hungry. :)

Now...if only he would go BACK to sleeping for long stretches. Lately he's up more often. We *think* it's because he's more aware of his environment. ACK!!

I would keep a few things in mind:

The more calories they take in during the day, the less they will need to wake up at night to feed. IN THEORY. So waking them up to feed them during the day is ok. While I don't necessarily like Weissbluth's extinction method of sleep training, his book does have some interesting information on napping patterns and how that affects night sleep. It might be a good book to read through just to have a general idea of how sleeping patterns emerge. We found our DS follows the napping pattern in general (through no prompting by us) except that he STOPPED sleeping for 6-7 hours at night.

It might also be helpful to keep a sleep log for a few weeks if you haven't done so already. You may find a pattern to the naps, etc. and that will help you determine how often to feed your baby. At 4.5 months, DS is still eating around 7x/day, sometimes 6 if he decides to sleep longer at night. As soon as your baby decides to space their feedings out themselves, you'll be missing all the nursing time. :) DS only takes 15 minutes to eat now. So sad...we don't hang out anymore. :(