10pm feed ... Gina Ford method v baby whisperer.. any advice / experience gratefully recvd

[Jiz28]

My 3 month old daughter still wakes between 2 & 3 times per night, usually between 2am & 5am (last feed being at 7pm), she feeds but is then really difficult to get back down to sleep. Am considering introducing a 10.30 / 11pm feed hoping this will 'tank her up' to last till 6am ish and give me some much needed sleep (also have a 2yr old) .. could this work ? and if so do I try the Gina Ford 'wake them up' method or baby whisperer 'dream feed' method? Has anyone any experience of trying these methods? Which one works best?

[mckenzie]

I thoroughly recommend the 10pm feed Jiz and persoanlly I've always woken mine, fed half with the light on etc and then changed nappy and fed the second half in the dim light with no talking or eye contact etc (more Gina Ford than Baby Whisperer I think). We found with DD that she was so keen to get back to sleep that it actually didn't matter much whether the lights were on or off and it made not one iota of difference to how much feed she took but she still took it happily and was very very rarely distressed by being woken up (we turned the lights on full and undid the sleeping bag etc and let her wake naturally, we did this for DS also)

good luck Jiz28, I hope it works for you and your DD.

[TwinSetAndPearls]

I used a dream feed with my dd, it was a life saver. I suppose it depends as with all things on the nature of your child. Dd was a calm feeder, if she was more of a gulper a dream feed might not have worked.

[toothyboy]

Did the Gina Ford way at first, then changed to dream feed when ds was getting harder to wake at that time. The dream feed probably lasted about a month until he wasn't even bothering to take more than about an oz!

[elenabaker]

whats the gina ford method, never heard.

[saadia]

I used the dream feed method and it worked fine at that age.

[MrsATeam]

never used gina ford method....our fourth baby settled from 6 weeks all night..lucky for us.

[hermykne]

jiz28
i followed the g ford route, and you need to follow the whole day a la gina. so the naps are right for you waking them at 11pm or so, ensuring they will settle again.

i presume the same goes for t hogg.

she may still wake and be hungry, for another wee while yet,
hth

[Nik72]

Hi Jiz28,
Sympathies as I was at nervous breakdown stage from lack of sleep at 3 months, Dd was still up twice a night. I read GF but only used it very loosely. Started an 11pm feed - at first she had to be woken to take it but now she barely stirs - I just lift her out of the cot in her grobag with the lights on dim and she polishes it off in her sleep. Mind you she's bottle fed & I don't know how much more awake they'd need to be to BF.

We introduced a definite evening routine and put her in a cot in her own room at the same time.

After a week she slept through and has done since. It's hard to know if she would have done it anyway but I'm pretty sure the dream feed did help a lot.

HTH

[Jiz28]

Thanks for advice and sympathy (Nik72) I am close to nervous breakdown stage .. but then last night she woke only once at 3am .. and was easy to put back down to sleep.. hurrah a decent nights sleep!! However she is q. random at night so this may not continue.

[Jiz28]

One additional question. I am trying to introduce one bottle a day .. have been trying at 7pm feed... 1st success at taking full bottle was last night. If I introduce an 11pm feed should it be breast or bottle.. any views / advice gratefully recvd.?
PS Gina Ford method is as per her book: the contented baby

[hermykne]

i think the bottle should be the 11pm feed jiz, you can get to bed earliers and dh can feed her.
two bottle feeds in a row i would think would affect your supply,
as gina ford says why not do the 2pm feed in the afternoon a bottle, and you can always leave her with someone in the day for a wee break or go for a rest if dh, gran, mil is around

ginas structuring of the feeds is quite good for breastfeeding mums and logical.

[wanna]

I did the gina ford method at first and then when my DS didn't want to wake changed to the baby whisperer method just so I knew he wouldn't wake at 3am for a feed. Now he's 1 (just) and hasn't had the 10pm feed since about 8/9mths. We just left him one night to see how he'd do as he was taking less and less at breakfast as he was still full from the 10pm, he slept straight through and we've never looked back

[Ladymuck]

I would also go for dream feed with bottle at 10/11pm. The flow of the bottle will probably mean that she will take more than from boob when half asleep. These few months were also wonderful for dh who did this feed (both boys dropped this feed around 5 months).

[mommie]

hi; i am a big fan of the dream feed. my dd had it, and she was sleeping thru the night in no time. She guzzled away with her eyes shut, all sleepy, and went down afterwards like a light. by about three months, she was sleeping through.

[beansprout]

I used the dream feed which worked, well, like a dream (ahem). It has the added bonus of not needing to wind as they don't gulp when they are feeding in their sleep. We often used a bottle of ebm as this would mean I was full up by the morning and it was easier to express. Agree that too many bottle feeds in a row will affect your supply though. Good luck!

[Jiz28]

thanks all for advice....haven't tried yet but will probbably try bottle dream feed. Last few nights she's taken bottle at 7pm, then woken up ony once at arond 2/3am and gone back down to sleep really well. This trend may not last but I can cope with this (as long as ds doesn't wake up too). If she keeps taking the bottle I will intro. it at 10 pm dream feed.