22 week old EBF baby waking at 3am and 5am...

[BettyFriedan]

...and frankly I'm a bit tired
Goes to bed at 7pm usually OK then has a dreamfeed at 11pm (5oz of EBM given by DH as part of bonding).
But wakes up for more food at 3, and sometimes again 2 hours later...although that tends to be less hungry, more to do with wind/boredom et al
Is she not getting enough? Should I be feeding her at 3? Is there anything I could do that would encourage her to sleep through the night more....Or am I doomed to look like I'm aged 90 for the rest of my days?

[OldieButGoldie]

If your experience is anything like mine you're doomed to look aged 90 for some considerable time yet.

Sorry!

[dinkystinky]

Sorry - that would be a relatively good night in our house with my nearly 6 month old DS2! Over the past few weeks I have found that if he wakes at 11 for a feed he will wake again at 3 and then at 5 - but if he doesnt wake at 11 for a feed he will sleep till 2.30ish and have a feed then then wake around 5.30 which is slightly more civilised. Though the child has been growthspurting for Britain and goes through days of waking 2 hourly for feeds too... Remember, tis just a phase - will pass...eventually.

[mummygirl]

complaining at 22 weeks? brace yourself, my second one was doing this for about 22 months...
I found salvation with a book called "the no-cry approach to sleep" or something similar, anyone knows which I'm talking about? I wish I had found it earlier. Worked a treat with my third as well, but I started it much earlier (3 months old) and it was easier.

Good luck x

[BettyFriedan]

at the responses
suppose i was worried what to expect the first year says that babies over 11lb or 4 months shouldn't need night time feeds - yet she seems starving when she wakes at 3 - 5 is more 'hello to the new day'...
worried that by feeding her i have got her into this habit...

[Grendle]

The book is talking rubbish . What you've described sounds v normal for a baby of that age. I'm not aware of any evidence that sleep duration is related to weight. Babies often go on waking at night throughout the first year and sometimes beyond. Some months they wake more, others less. Generally, over time most babies gradually sleep longer, with periods of regression for a variety of reasons.

Remember that babies are all indidividual and don't read books .

[hairymelons]

Yep, No Cry Sleep Solution is v good. Have just read it, DS is 13mo. Wish I'd found it sooner too! There'll be plenty in there for encouraging her to sleep longer.
I have to say that doesn't sound like too bad of a bad night at 22 weeks though! I am totally sympathetic, it's exhausting but doesn't sound unreasonable for her age to me.
As for whether or not you should be feeding her at 3am, there's no reason not to- if she wants it and you're happy to do it, it certainly wouldn't be unusual to be feeding a baby of her age throughout the night. It'll get better

[hairymelons]

Have just seen your last post, What To Expect is talking rubbish. Don't worry about what other people's babies do, your baby is an individual and will sleep through when ready/ when you manage to convince her it's a good idea!
I spent the first 12 months of my son's life worrying that he wasn't sleeping like other babies his age. It's such a waste of energy. When you can't cope with the tiredness any more is the time to take action, don't worry about it unless you reach that point!

[pinkspottywellies]

DS is still waking up at least once or twice a night at 23 weeks and I would say that all babies are different and maybe that's just her way.

BUT with DD I used to dream feed her and she would wake in the early hours so I decided one night (about 5 months) to leave the dream feed out and let her wake whenever, hoping that would mean I woke further into the night but had longer to sleep after her feed! She slept through til 7am.

I realised that the dreamfeed was just disturbing her and perhaps somehow stimulating her hunger to make her wake again in the night. Maybe try dropping the dreamfeed - if you're waking in the night anyway it can't make it worse!

[preggersplayspop]

It sounds pretty good for 22 weeks to me too! I remember by DH telling me that someone at his work had said there was a certain weight after which they didn't need feeding at night, and I was pretty dispirited when that weight came and went and DS was still waking and clearly hungry. DS is now 2 years, weighs about 2 stone and has only slept through a handful of times (or maybe even a couple of fingers...).

Ignore the book, and go with your instincts. Once I ignored the advice in certain books and just accepted that some babies/toddlers do wake at night I felt so much better. The No Cry Sleep Solution is a brilliant book though - the exception to the rule!

[indiehendrix]

Your baby sounds like a dream!My 2 and a half year old wakes more times a night than that for 'boobie' and he also eats tons!
My experience of most baby books is that they re rubbish and rarely deal with exclusively breastfed babes(and as amidwife i also rarely hear any sensible advice given about it)
I personally wouldn't bother with dream feeds and just feed on demand remembering that there will be perios of growth spurts teething and other stuff the whole time.
I really like the no cry solution series but that hasn't really workked either i ve just realised that babies are supposed to be at the breast for msot of their first year(and beyond) and if we all accepted that we d eliminate all the paranoia.
Try reading 'the continuum concept'
Good luck