Recently I consulted with a first time mother of a two-week old who is co-sleeping (baby is in a pack-n-play beside her bed) and breastfeeding. Mom complained that her baby wakes up every hour or two to eat, but only eats for a few minutes and sometimes not at all. Baby sleeps for 3 hours during the day between feedings. Mom puts baby in the bedroom to nap where it is quiet.
I reviewed with mom normal newborn sleeping patterns and suggested that she may not be as aware of baby’s light sleep during the day since the baby is not beside her. I then recommended that mom try giving the baby a few minutes at night before picking her up to see if she will go back to sleep on her own.
Mom called back three days later and said baby is only nursing 2 times at night now, and everyone is sleeping better.