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I was told to not let baby go longer than 4 hours at night between feedings. I ended up setting an alarm and doing a lot of dream feeds. LO still does this at 9 weeks though she will usually stir when she's hungry now without me having to set an alarm. We bed share so I am always able to get to her quickly before she fully wakes up, which helps me sleep as well. Are you going to breastfeed or formula feed?

ETA my LO was FF the first week or so because my milk had a hard time coming in. When I started breastfeeding I woke her up every 3.

@CatchAFallingStar: if baby is gaining well and having plenty of day feeds and dirty naps then you're probably ok to let them sleep. LLL recommends between 8-12 feeds within 24 hours and night feeds are a great way of establishing and maintaining supply but some babies will just naturally sleep longer!

@CatchAFallingStar: I've never been one to wake my LOs up at night for feedings. I've had to pump because of it a couple of times, but otherwise I feel like it has helped promote good sleeping.

Ask your pediatrician, as the recommendation is often tied to weight gain. My doc wanted me to wake LO for the first few days home because she was tiny but at our one week appt the doc was happy with her weight gain and said to let her sleep at night.

We couldn't get T to breastfeed if we woke him up. I eventually quit trying. I'm in the camp to let them sleep as long as they are gaining properly and have enough wet/poopy diapers

Once lo got back to his birth weight we were told we no longer had to wake for night feedings. I did still wake from naps to keep him on a 3 hour eating schedule during the day though. He naturally stretched out his night feeds and waking him from naps ensured that he got enough to eat during the day.

@CatchAFallingStar: in first few weeks you should wake them during the day every 2-3 hours to nurse and 3-4 hours at night. It's mainly in the beginning because they're still so sleepy. And they lose weight from the second they're born so you want to make sure they gain back their birth weight. Once your baby has their first checkup their pediatrician will let you know if you need to continue waking up. Every baby is different.

I'd check with your doctor. I was told to make sure she feeds every 3-4hrs during the day (wake from naps if necessary), but to let her do her own thing at night. Anyway, she started sleeping 8hr stretches at 5 weeks old and 12hr stretches at 8 weeks old, then started losing weight and some people were saying "why weren't you waking her at night?" *sigh*

One important thing to remember if you are breastfeeding is building a good supply in those first couple of weeks is crucial. I took a breastfeeding class before my daughter was born and they really stressed the point that the first couple weeks of breastfeeding are the best times to gain a good supply. Your supply is being established and you really don't want to go too long inbetween feedings. I woke DD up every 3 hours (minimum...sometimes less during the day) until she gained back her weight. Then we started one 4-hour stretch at night until her 2 week appointment that showed she was gaining well. At that point I let her sleep 4-hour stretches as many times as she wanted but I never more than 4 hours. By 1 month everything was going great so we let her do her own thing (except we never let her nap too long because we wanted her to sleep at night!). My supply has been great and I think part of that was really being consistent in the early weeks. I know it feels like you are always waking your baby up to eat and that seems wrong, but it only lasts a few weeks so hang in there. Good luck!!

@ash427: really good point! I fed every two hours AND pumped after and had a seemingly endless supply. I forgot about that aspect. Exhausting, but was worth it for our bfing journey.

unless your doc tells you to wake for night feedings due to weight gain issues, you're ok to let them sleep. My ped said at night to let him sleep as long as he could between feedings. It still never went beyond 4 hours in the early weeks, but eventually he started sleeping longer and longer. Now at 18 weeks he can go 7 hours or more.
My pediatrician is a real stickler for baby sleep. She also told us not to let him sleep more than 3 hour stretches during the day, but don't limit night stretches. It helps them learn the difference between night and day.
Of course every pediatrician is different and you'll hear a million different answers to this. So it's best to go by what the hospital tells you initially and then ask the pediatrician at the first well visit a few days later.
Good luck!

Until they are back to birth weight, no longer than 4 hours. Important for milk supply too. We did about every 3.

No one ever told me that I should wake her to feed- not the hospital or her doctor. So I don't think I would have thought to wake her, but she woke up on her own to eat so it wasn't ever an issue.

I was told in the hospital to not go more than 4 hours. The first night I tried to wake DD to nurse and she refused, she just wanted to sleep. She was nursing plenty during the day so I never again woke her to nurse. She consistently slept for 5+ hour stretches at night from the get go. And because she was nursing so much during the day, I had no supply issues.

Now, if she hadn't been gaining weight, then I would have done things differently. But I believe that if they are gaining weight, there is no reason to wake a sleeping baby.