What to Expect the First 24 Hours Home with a Newborn | Part 2 

Do you really need to wake them up to feed them? I would let them sleep and feed them when the get up naturally.

​@@tabbyreed8925I agree with this, especially if your baby is already a healthy weight. I wouldn't worry about it. THEY will let you know when they're hungry.

Oh that means so much! Congratulations 🎉

@@chrissyhorton Thank you!

Sleep when baby sleeps! It's the best advice I forgot to utilize when I had my first. I am the oldest of 14, and it had been quite a few years between my youngest siblings and my own children. You don't need to wake them up to feed. They will wake up when they are hungry unless you have complications during pregnancy or delivery. Allowing them to experience and learn the various sensations their bodies are experiencing will aid both of you later in regards to communication, self awareness, and confidence/security. Also, sleep is as important as food, so shortchanging one for the other isn't always the best idea. You will be able to get longer periods of sleep, and it will aid against the potential for post partem depression. And sometimes you will wake them up, and they aren't quite hungry yet, so they will just snack and then wake you up an hour later to slurp it down.

@@incemomnia absolutely, I always always always recommend sleep when they sleep whenever that may be. That's basically my only advice I like to give. I know some mums get overwhelmed or don't want others interfering advice but this is so basic and so crucial, and every one of us seems to not pay attention 😂 I think we like to be superwomen and try and clean and wash and have everything done and sorted, especially if there are other children or if you're a single mum, which is completely understandable, but any small chance you get, please take advantage and sleep/nap for your own sanity ☺️ Also I agree with you there's no need to wake baby to feed. People used to tell me to 'dream feed', well when a baby has reflux or any other tummy issues or just even a light sleeper, this is the worst advice. There's absolutely no need to disturb a baby. Unless you are concerned for their well-being then of course check on them, but they will 100% let you know when they are hungry

Haha just make sure your standards are reasonable. I let anything that isn’t necessary for survival go for the first 3-6 months after each new baby. The laundry doesn’t get folded, the counters get piled up with everything that can wait and nothing that doesn’t absolutely need to get cleaned gets cleaned. It can wait, it will still be there when we have routines setup and the baby is resting better therefor I am actually getting more than an hour or two of sleep at a time. Oh, and when you’re going completely insane because you don’t know why they’re having a hard time it’s okay to lay them in their bed and take a 5 minute mommy timeout.

Yes! My babies were sleeping for about 6 hours from 3 weeks old and 7 - 8 hours from about 6 weeks old.

What a dream for you. My baby was a nicu baby and the every 3 hours thing was ROUGH

Exactly!

Same here girly! Never woke her up, she always woke me. Now, waking yourself up to pump is a good idea or you’ll wake up covered in milk in the mornings lol (at least I did) My girl was & still is healthy as can be! She slept thru the night almost immediately after bringing her home. It was a dream. THEN that 2 month sleep regression hit & momma was TIRED.

This was in reference to the first few days of life 🤗 it’s what every pediatrician has told me. Again just for those first few days. Regardless, most of the time you don’t need to wake them because they are up every hour or so on their own 🤪 but you know what’s best for your baby. I was just sharing information every doctor has told me ❤

Yes! Even as a child and teen waking up to take care of my sister's babies for them I didn't turn on lights

I did the same, diaper change first with as little light as possible so once you feed them they can right back to sleep…any little light wakes them all the way up

This is recommended by sleep experts as well. It helps establish a babies circadian rhythm. That way they can determine night (darkness) = sleep day (light) = wake up.

My pediatrician told me not wake them up for night feeds. I didn't and they turned out fine.

This was in reference to the first few days of life 🤗 it’s what every pediatrician has told me. Again just for those first few days. Regardless, most of the time you don’t need to wake them because they are up every hour or so on their own 🤪 but you know what’s best for your baby. I was just sharing information every doctor has told me ❤

That's what they told me too - unfortunately it didn't matter bc my kids were up every 2 hours no matter what 😵😵😵

I was worried and thought something was wrong with my baby but he seemed happy to sleep long stretches (3-5 hrs at night in the first few days), was gaining weight FAST and ate a lot during the day so I thought “nah I’m gonna let the fat boy sleep” ❤🥰 it worked out well!!

I never woke my babies up, even in the first few days 😊 They always woke when they were hungry 😊

Yea I get sad when people dont think they produce enough right off the bat. My midwife gave the best advice. Just feed them every 2 hours or more if they cry, no more than 2 hours until milk comes in. Which is generally day 2-4. Keep them at every 2 hours until they are above their birth weight. (It is NORMAL for babies to lose up to 7-10% of their birth weight in that first week.) Then once they are above their birth weight you can just follow their hunger cues. So by about week 2-3. But it's still best to do it every couple hours during the day to keep milk supply up. They generally will get hungry because a liquid diet only keeps you full for so long.

She never said colostrum wasn't milk tho, and colostrum is still very different from normal milk. It's filled with very important antibodies and nutrients important in the first hours post birth, in fact, after a certain time period (usually a few hours in animals) babies can't even use the antibodies anymore, just the nutrients as if its normal milk. ❤

Yes I am learning from posting this that waking them up every 2 hrs isn’t necessary unless they are not gaining weight or pooping or peeing. I was told to wake them every two hours by every nurse and doctor but I am wondering if that has more to do with breastfeeding. In order to get a supply established? I also have big babies (over 10lbs) and I never had to set that two alarm 😂 they wanted something to eat every 45 minutes 🤪

​@@chrissyhorton I have had tiny babies who didn't gain well and if getting milk supply is an issue then I say go ahead and wake them if needed. Or maybe let yourself have one 4hr block of sleep time if they keep sleeping. But the thing that seems to help most is pumping after baby is done eating until it seems your supply is coming in nicely. Obv if what you're doing works for you all and you get some sleep, then keep it going! I don't fall asleep very quickly so I got very little sleep with my youngest and made my ppd really bad. Take care mama!

I also have big babies (wahoo 10lbs plus club) and I never woke my babies. Both exclusively breastfed the first six months of their lives. First baby would wake every 2-3 hours anyhow but my second would almost sleep 4-6 hours the first four months of his life (till the four month sleep regression). Gained fine and both are healthy weights now (both toddlers now). I think it's standard for l&d nurses/docs to give this 2 hour advice but I was also told during my kiddos regular check ups, if all was well weight wise, take that extra sleep. And I certainly did!

Same. My son (11 days old) is gaining weight really well. There’s absolutely no way I am waking him up every 2 hours. I will feed him when he wakes up. Sometimes, that's 1hr, 3 hr, etc. I sleep when I can.

I've heard they digest breast milk faster

I was thinking the exact same thing!!! My husband never got up for any of the babies.. he said it was because I was breastfeeding, but even when we switched to bottles he still stayed asleep…

@Rachel Young Yeah, I wish I could put my finger on it but sometimes my husband would even be resentful of the time the babies required of me! However, it may also be that since my babies are now 22 & 26 that the men folk weren't encouraged to be involved the way they are now. Paternity leave was a rare thing 25 years ago, but now it's very common. I too breastfed AND was never able to achieve letdown with a pump so I couldn't get more than that first ounce or so. Making it impossible to share the duties of feeding. Also, my daughter was a stage 10 clinger, since birth, and would wail whenever I wasn't holding her!!! When we tried to help her learn to self soothe and fall asleep in her crib, she would cry and scream till she would get sick. Clean up everybody & everything to try again only to have the same result. Leaving me to have to cosleep with her, which was like not sleeping at all for the first 6 months and again after a year. I swear the "toss &turn" cycle intensified at a year old! At which point me and my husband acted as bumpers- way out by the edge, while the child apparently dreamed of gymnastics and owned 90% of the bed, for practice. 😆 The thing that most surprised me about my husband was how involved he was with his nephew as a baby and through the years. He has this capacity to be a great dad but when it comes down to it, he's not interested. It threw me for a loop! I thought I married this man who loved kids so much, he wanted 4 or more (he changed that after our daughter when he said " NO MORE!!" and meant it) that I found someone who loves babies and he does, other ppls. Sometimes I even felt like he was jealous of the time & attention the kids took from him. I would tell him to help me and I'll have more time but he didn't want to hear that, so he didn't. I breastfed them both for just over 2 years - they never had a bottle or a binky. I was both lol but being both means never getting a break too! I don't regret the devoted time they needed, at such a vulnerable age, being shared between just them and me 😉 I can absolutely say I never missed a first! 🤣 Fr though, bless you and all the mothers who "do it all" without the kind of help society is starting to evolve into. You are the backbone of your family! Connected to every facet of your children's lives as they grew ❤️ Without you individuals who accept that this journey might turn out very different then we imagined but in some ways it is that much better! Thank you from the bottom to the top of my heart, on behalf if the lucky babies you raised 💗

Completely agree!! I hate SNS it’s so hard but I wouldn’t have been able to successfully breastfeed without it so I am super grateful as well! ❤

@@cleaneasy I have had 5 kids, breastfed all of them for 9 months at the shortest, and 18 months at the longest. It's hard at first, but it is worth it. And sometimes it is good to wake a sleeping baby. I had one with jaundice who wouldn't wake up to eat, it was a rough couple weeks to get her on track!!! 🥲

Yup same 😅

Thank you 🥹❤️

I do that too but have difficulty feeding in bed the first few weeks while trying to establish breastfeeding. Remember this is a “first 24 hrs” video. Not about the newborn stage in general ❤️

@@chrissyhorton I never really needed to establish breastfeeding. My milk supply is so good, I could have nursed tripplets. Plus I am from germany, uszally we stay about 2 with c section 3 nights in family ropms at the hospital, my husband had 2 months of parental leave plus 3 weeks of vacation. My midwife visits daily the first 10 days. So my first 24h at home were smoother. And a bunch of bigger Kids... its impressive

So true

Yea.. husband was great the first baby. 2nd baby he wasnt. I got post partum psychosis from being dead tired the 2nd baby.

Yes this is just in reference to the first 24 hrs home. Also, how is everyone’s baby sleeping in two hour stretches those first few days?? I never had to wake up my babies because they were up every hour or less 😂😴

@@chrissyhorton well my cousins baby slept the whole night through his first night home then he would sleep for maybe 45 minutes then be up for 30 and then sleep another 30 then be up for 40 and then he might sleep for 3-4 hours and he would nurse 1 or 2 times in between those naps even though she’d offered the breast like 5 times. I was with her those first couple days and getting him to eat every two hours was a struggle and caused her so much anxiety. And at her first appointment doctor told her what I commented. And told her if he started dropping weight she was going to have to go back to trying that but that baby was okay. It’s just crazy how every baby is so different! Love your videos by the way. And they have been my cousins favorites during pregnancy and postpartum!

This was in reference to the first few days of life 🤗 it’s what every pediatrician has told me. Again just for those first few days. Regardless, most of the time you don’t need to wake them because they are up every hour or so on their own 🤪 but you know what’s best for your baby. I was just sharing information every doctor has told me ❤

This was in reference to the first few days of life 🤗 it’s what every pediatrician has told me. Again just for those first few days. Regardless, most of the time you don’t need to wake them because they are up every hour or so on their own 🤪 but you know what’s best for your baby. I was just sharing information every doctor has told me ❤

@@chrissyhorton I totally understand

Have mercy mama.

I have done that with my other ones and it hurt my back. I would also fall asleep and it was risky with holding baby. The chair just offers me so much more support. ❤

Did you swaddle? My new little flails all night it seems light sleep. But mostly hates swaddling. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

💯 agree with all of this!!

This is JUST in reference to those first 24 hrs home. Also, I don’t know how everyone in the comments had babies that slept two hour stretches those first few days 😂 my babies woke up every hour or less🤪 😴

Yes this! Everyone saying “don’t wake the baby!” And I am like “your babies are sleeping long enough to where this is an option??!” 😂