BF-waking through the night query. Anyone any ideas?

[boobmanagement]

Hi, BFing son who is 3 months. This is my 3rd baby and I have kind of followed Gina Ford to get babies into routine.

I feed DS at 7.30pm then at about 11.30pm hoping he will start to go a longer spell in the night. He only goes to 3.30/4pm.

However, a couple of times I have forgot to feed him at 11.30pm for the top up feed (fell asleep on the couch) and he has gone through till 3pm. Meaning he can go for 7 hours without a feed but from 7.30pm, not later in the night.

Has anyone got any ideas how I can get him doing this 6/7 hours later?

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

no idea I'm afraid - I thought age that this age the majority of babies still need fed during the night?

ummm not really but sounds like a pretty typical time for babies to wake up, think my dd did this regardless of dreamfeed as well.

got a feeling if your breast feeding they will wake you at some point in the night to stimulate more milk for the during the day!

hi, thanks for replies. I know he can do 7 hours but seems like it has to be on his conditions (without the dream feed). My DD was sleeping through from about 3 months, I was really lucky with her. Trying to wait a bit when he wakes up at 4am instead of rushing to feed him as think this could be a habit but he always takes a good feed.

Girlefiend, Think what you said about stimulating more milk through the day could be right !

Your baby is still tiny, and still needs lots of milk feeds - including at night. Instead of pushing your baby to go without food for such a long time why not just feed him when he wakes?

Gina Ford's methods can be damaging to a breastfeeding relationship and I certainly wouldn't advise anyone who wants to continue breastfeeding to rely on them.

My ds is the same - feeds at 8pm, goes to bed, wakes for a feed at 2am. I tried adding in an 11pm feed in the hope he'd do the long stretch from 11pm, but he still woke at 2am!

If the long stretch is going to be from when they first go to bed regardless, then there's no point in adding that dreamfeed in. I just go to bed early to make the most of the available sleep.

Dream feeding never worked for any of my dc, you are most likely stuck with his natural sleep patterns. You could try expressing a bit at the dream feed time instead of getting him up, and then top him up with the extra 2 or 3 oz the following evening at 7:30 after he's had both boobs.

Most young babies will have their longest stretch of sleep in the middle of the night then sleep for shorter periods before needing feeding again.

I'd just feed on demand when he wakes, trying to impose some sort of order on his night wakings at this age will just be a frustrating waste of time.

7.30pm to 3.30pm is incredible at this age IMO - that's what my nine month old does.

At that age, I went to bed at the same time as DS to maximise my sleep.

7.30pm til 3.30am

As everyone else says, you'll find it very difficult to try and change the night pattern. If the dream feed makes no difference, then don't bother and go to bed earlier occasionally.

classic. with some it just doesn't work. some babies are dreamfed and then go later and later. my ds never did. it just didn't work and worked with his natural patterns a bit more, and his deepest and longest stretch always seemed to be 6:30/7 to 2/3 and now 4/5.

Thanks for all the advice, think I'll just drop the dream feed and see what happens. He was on the 95th centile when born and is over a stone already. That's maybe why he can go so long. Just want those 6/7 hours from midnight

Great idea about going to bed early but we have 3 bairns, 5, 3 and 3 months. It's the only time I get time to myself from 8-midnight and I just don't want to go to bed early IYSWIM. Might try this some nights though...

my ds is 14 weeks, i put him down for the night around 10, and he went through a phase of sleeping 10-6.30am. i was ecstatic, but then he started waking again, sometimes once, sometimes three times in the night. i now just take it as it comes, and accept he will go through lots of phases....i assume at the minute there is a growth spurt - he has been feeding/napping for 10 mins or so constantly since 6ish, with a bath and massage thrown in, and also had 5floz of EBM from a bottle. and is still feeding.

can you not put him down say an hour later?

boobmanagement, feel free to join us here where people who do enjoy routines are congregating:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1041506-Safe-thread-for-those-using-Gina-Ford-Babywhisperer-routines?pg=1

virgo1979, could be the 4 month sleep regression: see here, here, here and here.

OP, I'm very impressed at you managing to stay up till midnight - I could never have managed staying up that late before I had a baby, let alone now!

Hi, thanks for the link MrsG . Tried dropping the dream feed last night but he woke up at 2pm then 4pm, the wee bandit .

Will maybe try feeding him a bit later in the evening.

AngelDog, I tend to get really tired after 8pm then get a second wind of energy at 10pm. I'm just determined to have some time to myself even if it is just lying on the couch like a zombie!

My 3.5month old has fallen into a three hour routine during the day : 7am, 10, 1, 4, 7

then I do a dreamfeed at 10 (which he's started waking up for).

He used to go til 2 and then 5. Now he wakes every 1.5 or 2 hours and wants a full feed (mind you, he's always quick - about 15 mins max day or night).

Any advice? Baby whisperer says to give him more during the day but don't know how to when EBF!

He's my first baby so this is all new to me!

MrsHumphz - it may just be the 4 month growth spurt a little early; the only thing you can do is keep feeding.