Hi all,

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have responded to my question.
It is a wonderful thing to have so many others to consult.

Secondly, I'd like to restate my questions:

1)  Is there any research to suggest that sleeping longer than 5 hours will
result in hypoglycemia in an otherwise normal, healthy 3-week-old infant?

2)  At what age is it considered *safe* for an infant to sleep for periods
longer than 5 hours?

Thirdly, I'd like to clarify some background on this question:

1)  The 3 1/2 week old in question was seen by the pediatrician at a 1 week
checkup and again yesterday for a blocked tear duct.  According to the mom,
she checked out fine and has had a 1# weight gain in the last 2 weeks.

2)  The infant has breastfed 8 times during the days when she has slept for
the 7 hour stretch.  She has soaked between 8-12 diapers in these days as
well.  The mother has been keeping a diary of sorts since the baby was born
with all this information, so I believe her to be reliable.  When I asked
the mom how many times she breastfed the baby (instead of "have you been
nursing at least 8 times during the day?") the mom counted from this journal
to tell me 8.

3)  The mother is not obsessed with having her child "sleep through the
night".  However, she was not overly concerned about it either, until the
pediatrician told her it was not safe because of the danger of hypoglycemia.

4)  I suggested to the mother that she set her alarm for 4 hours after the
baby went to sleep at night and at that time offer the baby her breasts.
The baby sleeps in a bassinet next to the mother's bed.  The mother said
that she would try this.

5)  This mother and family went through a period of time a year ago when she
was nursing her 4th (10 months old at the time) and unknowingly pregnant
with her 5th.  At that time the 10-month-old was taken to the pediatrician
for some reason and it was discovered that he had dropped on his growth
chart for weight.  He was being breastfed and given table foods.  The
pediatrician (a different one) chastised this mom for starving her child by
not giving the child cereal, formula, and baby food and all but threatened
to have her child taken away from her.  All this caused this mom to question
her mothering abilities.  Since she had no support (her husband was out of
the country on temporary duty) she started the baby on baby foods and cereal
and supplemental formula.  Then she discovered she was pregnant and she was
told she needed to wean.  So she did.

It has taken this mom all this time to get back her self- esteem and due to
her own questioning of her mothering abilities, she has been keeping this
diary of every pee, poop, breastfeed, spit-up, cough, etc. on this child.
Now she is being told she is endangering *this* child by not waking her up.

6)  This mom is NOT willing to endanger her child... however, she is trying
to regain her self-esteem and she does not want to blindly follow directions
when those directions are not based on medical fact, but on opinion or
routine.  Hence her question.

Hopefully this explains a little better *why* she is asking about the risk
of hypoglycemia in a 3 1/2 week old sleeping 7 hours at a time.

Regards,

Cindi Swisher, RN
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