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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Waking up baby as suggested by GF - anyone else found it imposible?

25 replies

ragtaggle · 07/12/2003 10:28

I tried to wake my 8 week old dd for her 10pm feed as suggested by GF the other night and found it impossible. She even manages to continue sleeping with her legs out of her baby gro, swaddle off and lights on! (This baby can also sleep on her play mat/while being changed and even when being winded in upright position!) In the end I gave up as it felt bloody cruel. She slept until 7 which meant that she slept for eleven hours, having gone down at 8. (Hoorah.) I decided that I wouldn't bother waking her any more.

But on the next night I didn't wake her up for a feed and she woke up at 4.30 am. Should I be persisting with trying to wake her up at 10.30 do you think? And does anyone have any suggestions about how the hell you are supposed to do this without feeling like a member of the gestapo?

OP posts:

buzzybee · 07/12/2003 10:39

No I gave up too and within 2-3 weeks she was sleeping through the night 8-7 consistently so I was glad I had.

prufrock · 07/12/2003 11:51

If somebody came to you in the evening and semi-woke you up gently, offered you hot chocolate with marshmallows on top and then gaveyou a lovely cuddle, would you think they were horrid?

Butsome babies do prefer to sleep in the early evening. I have seen GF suggestleaving babies that want to sleep, and doing a feed when they wake in the early hours instead (but make sure they go to sleep again). It depends whether you can cope with an early morning waking for a few more weeks

WideWebWitch · 07/12/2003 11:54

Ragtaggle, I've just read the CLBB (for the 1st time) and think Gina Ford is mad as a hatter and probably was a member of the gestapo in a former life (don't anyone have a go at me, I'm JOKING, do Gina if you want to). Sorry, no constructive advice other than you could try not doing it for a few nights and see what happens. Are you sure you're doing the routine she suggests for an 8 week old rather han a 7 week old?! (sorry, joking again...)

WideWebWitch · 07/12/2003 11:58

BTW, I really am joking, don't want a ruck...

SenoraPostrophe · 07/12/2003 13:28

I tried the GF waking thing too. I found the only way to wake her up was to strip her off and hold her up in front of the fan (it was summer). However this made me realise that she really did want to sleep so after that I just let her sleep: she slept through to exactly the same time as she has the previous night when I had woken her up!

I think you're doing the right thing. GF's rules are flexible anyway, even though she doesn't think so herself.

Original poster

ragtaggle · 07/12/2003 15:05

WWW- As you and I are in fact sisters don't you think you could have told me your opinion of GF (whose book you got delivered to you as a matter of emergency yesterday) on the phone?! Or can you not get away from screaming dd for long enough? Just off for a long lie in the bath while my dd has a long lunch time nap..

(P.S: We are not really fighting everyone - I am also joking)

OP posts:

Clairabelle · 08/12/2003 11:02

This just made me laugh out loud, as the majority of our families feel my husband and I are officially the gestapo for following GF routines full stop and my 3week old ds also will sleep through practically anything. He definitely hasn't read the book!!! Sorry no suggestions for waking them short of poking them!! Rest assured you're not alone. Maybe GF knows something we don't

princesspeahead · 08/12/2003 11:34

no! don't wake her, and she will sleep through consistently within 10 days is she has done it once already. gina f is a nutter for waking them until they are 5 months old - my three slept through (12 hours) at 7 weeks, 12 wks and 9 wks and if i'd been waking them i'd never have discovered they could!

StressyHead · 08/12/2003 11:40

message withdrawn

bluecow · 08/12/2003 13:01

Tried GF. Thought it horrible. Ds started sleeping really well at 7 weeks and has slept for 12 hours a night since really tiny.

I think some babies fall naturally into a GF routine so that's why some parents would swear by it but we've never had any probs by going with what seems right for our son.

allatsea · 08/12/2003 13:24

We had just the same thing with dd, we tried everything to wake her/keep her awake for a feed. In the end we gave up and decided to opt for an early night to be better prepared if/when she did wake up. Within a couple of weeks she was sleeping through the night anyway

melsy · 08/12/2003 20:29

I have a nightmare withj my 12wk old dd, if we leave her and follow what allatsea does, after going down 7:30-8:00 pm , she will then sleep till 2:30 ish , have bottle go to sleep and then wake up every half hour and then sleep no more after 4:30 ish aaarrrggghh. The only plus is that DH and I get to go to bed at the same time!!!

If we wake her to feed her at 11:00 pm, which is the norm, she will come round when being changed take 2oz and then conk!!!. We will then still have the same performance in the morning were she thinks its playtime from 4:00am in morn. We keep hoping that the 11:00 bottle will help her go longer at night - but no chance.

The mums with babies that sleep through WHAT R U DOING , & CAN I HAVE SOME!!!!!

Evita · 08/12/2003 20:43

My daughter could never be woken properly for the 10pm feed GF suggests. And I read a different book that said you should NEVER wake a baby for a feed as it interferes with their natural sleep cycle and digestive patterns. So I gave up trying and she learnt to sleep through the night by around 8 weeks old. A miracle. GF is good for some things but I have yet to meet a single baby who's adapted to her routine completely.

melsy · 08/12/2003 20:47

what about during the day Evita??? If we dont wake her she will sleep for HOURS amnd then not sleep at all at night.

Beccarollo · 08/12/2003 21:32

Harvey WAS sleeping through 12 hours but stopped since this almighty growth spurt hit (how annoying!!!)! He went down at 8 last night woke at 12.30 and slept til 7 I was considering waking him when I went to bed tonight but like PPH says I might have been disturbing a 12 hour sleep!

Cant decide what to do!

StressyHead · 08/12/2003 21:38

message withdrawn

treacletart · 08/12/2003 21:49

Did you know you can feed her without waking her? The Baby Whisperer calls it "dream feeding". The idea is you can gently pick your sleeping baby up and they will suckle happily (from breast or bottle apparantly) without actually waking. Supposedly ensuring the holy grail of full/happy/sleeping baby. I often breastfeed my ds (5m) this way before i go to bed myself. - whether it actually works or not is anyone's guess - my ds has no rhime or reason to why/when he wakes at night. Dream feeding doesnt seem to make any difference one way or other - but it is very sweet to do.

Beccarollo · 09/12/2003 07:41

Well I tried a flaming dreamfeed at 11pm and he woke at 3.30am as well screeching to be fed - teach me to be smug about a sleeping through baby at 9 weeks - he was doing 12 hours and now isnt managing much more than 4!?

cords · 09/12/2003 09:11

Dear All ... DD is 13 weeks old , I ahve never had a full nights sleep. SHe is currently waking up 2 x at least in the night ...Last night 4 times. .. what am I doing wrong !!!!

Evita · 09/12/2003 16:23

melsy, to answer your question, I think it's totally different to wake babies in the day as you're waking them to be awake if you see what I mean. It was waking them in the night to feed and then putting them down to sleep again that the book I was referring to meant.

Evita · 09/12/2003 16:25

cords, you're probably not doing anything at all wrong. The advice I thought most useful from GF was to ensure that a baby gradually gets all the milk etc. it needs in the day so for one thing doesn't really need to wake at night or at least one can feel confident they're not waking because they're starving! Having said that I often find it slightly miraculous that babies can go as long as 12 hours without needing even a small drink of something. I couldn't! Then the other point is that if you are sure they're satisfied etc. with feedings in the day the reason they're waking is probably not to do with food but to do with sleep and that's a different area to tackle. Sorry, not sure that's much help ...

melsy · 10/12/2003 13:57

Evita what is the other book you r referring too?? As familiar with Whisperer , but interested in other thoughts and opinions. Just thought I need some more advice to make me more crazy!!!!

dot1 · 11/12/2003 12:02

we used to 'dream feed' ds - would get him up at 10pm, he'd basically feed in his sleep most of the time - it was lovely - just sucking away on his bottle (expressed so I fed him most of the time at this time) with his eyes closed - bless...! He'd sometimes wake up for his nappy change, but go straight back off, and sometimes sleep right through everything! But he'd always get through his bottle and then sleep through.

If he was sleeping very deeply I found that blowing gently on his face brought him around enough to notice there was a bottle in his mouth and he'd carry on sucking!

HLarner · 11/12/2003 19:17

Have dd of 6.5 months. I woke her for feed about 11pm since beginning as this worked with first dd and this did help establish a routine. Stopped about 6 weeks ago and she was still sleeping from 7pm to 7-8am - bliss! and didn't wake up in the night but made up for the feed in the day. She then got a cold and kept waking in the night so I've gone back to getting her up and she's now sleeping through again. I'll probably cut it out again in a couple of days again and hope for the best.

Evita · 11/12/2003 20:51

melsy, the book is just called 'Sleep' but I can't remember the authors and have lent it to a friend who also found it helpful. It's slightly repetitive but it had some tips that I found invaluable and my friend with a baby who was a VERY difficult sleeper swore by it.

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