The old-school advice newborn parents are told and really shouldn’t believe

Aussie paediatrician Dr Golly insists the common advice is outdated. Here's why. 

You may have been warned to “never wake a sleeping baby”, but this advice is outdated and simply incorrect.

Don’t get me wrong, if your baby is sleeping soundly you can feel ridiculous waking them - that extra time to yourself is golden.

But, you can absolutely (and should when appropriate) wake a sleeping baby! 

The truth about waking a sleeping baby

For newborns in those first few weeks, we want them feeding every 3-4 hours, 24 hours a day. If you have a premature or particularly settled baby, it can be very common that you’ll need to wake them for their regular feed - and keeping them awake for a feed can also be a challenge!

If this is something you are struggling with, there are lots of tips and tricks to remedy this in my online sleep programs.

I don’t like babies to be on any specific routine until they are around 6 weeks old and roughly weigh 5-6 kg. If you’re breastfeeding, this allows plenty of time for breast milk supply to be established; and a nice, big and robust baby is far more likely to do those longer stretches of sleep overnight.

One of the keys to babies sleeping for those longer stretches overnight is the appropriate amount of day sleep. Too much day sleep can lead to bedtime struggles, interrupted night sleep and early morning waking. 

RELATED: Is bed-sharing or co-sleeping with a newborn safe or risky?

Is it OK to wake a sleeping baby? Dr Golly explains. Image: iStock

Waking your baby around the same time each morning, or if they are oversleeping on a particular day nap, is essential if you want their sleep patterns to consolidate into a predictable day and night schedule.

Waking your baby at these times will also help your baby establish these routines faster.

The morning nap is the nap your baby is most likely to oversleep during, as they will see it as a continuation of their overnight sleep. While it's tempting to let your baby keep sleeping, doing so may put the whole day out of whack.

I’m regularly asked how you may go about waking a sleeping baby and, whether it’s 7am in the morning or after their afternoon cat nap, I always recommend a - Happy Wake Up.

A Happy Wake Up will help your baby distinguish between when it is time to go back to sleep and when it is time to wake up.  

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Steps to a “Happy Wake Up” 

1. Quietly enter the room 
2. Open the blinds or turn on a light
3. Turn off the white noise 
4. Rub their back or tummy
5. Gently say a wake up greeting: 

Examples: 

“Time to wake up darling” 

“Beautiful sleeping little one”

“Well done, that was a lovely sleep”

 ...I like to sing a song (insert your own baby’s name so they start to recognise that as well): "Good morning, good morning, good morning to you, good morning baby XX, cocka-doodle-do!"

1. Unswaddle them or remove their sleep sack
2. You can then make a big fuss with lots of over-the-top praise about what a good sleep they had!
3. Change their nappy 

For more information on my recommended routines for all ages 6 weeks to 5 years, see the Dr Golly Sleep Programs.

RELATED: Three golden rules of getting a baby to sleep

Learning those sleepy cues

Your baby will learn that when you enter the room in the dark with little interaction and just a “shhhhhh” or sleepy words such as "night night, it's sleep time" it means it's time to go back to sleep, while a happy wake up with lights on and lots of interaction means it's time to get up.

So, the next time someone tells you “never wake a sleeping baby” you can send them my way.

If you want a great little sleeper (that sleeps through the night) waking a sleeping baby - when appropriate - is exactly what you should be doing!

Originally published as The old-school advice newborn parents are told and really shouldn’t believe