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Parenting

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Original poster

do you wake your baby to feed before you go to bed?

27 replies

Spandangle · 22/02/2011 14:15

my lovely 3 month old daughter sleeps for a 7-8 hour stint at night. She normally will sleep from around 7pm or 8pm, so she is up around the 3am mark for a feed and will normally go back to sleep 1-2 hours later for another couple of hours.
i really really DO appreciate how lucky I am as my first DD didnt sleep this well until she was 3 years old! BUT I'm considering trying waking her to feed her before I go to bed around 11pm, in the hope that the 3am feed will become 6 or 7am. I'm scared to try it in case it doesnt work and I break the spell and she starts waking more!!

what do you think?

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Firawla · 22/02/2011 14:30

I've never done it with mine, felt like if they were sleeping didn't want to do anything to disturb them.
tbh as she is sleeping so well for her age anyway, in another couple of months she may be able to go a couple more hours before the feed which will bring her through till morning anyway? so would be reluctant to get her used to needing/having another 11pm feed? but im sure some people do it and it works. i wouldn't really bother though personally

Octaviapink · 22/02/2011 14:32

I wouldn't bother either - you'll be coming up on the 16 week growth spurt soon and you may find that she starts waking a lot more frequently in the night anyway... enjoy it while it lasts!

BringOnTheGoat · 22/02/2011 14:59

I always woke DD for a feed at 10.30pm, until she was 6 months old. She slept till 6-7am after this (teething/colds aside). Several of my friends did the same, with the same result. May not work for everyone but it gets a thumbs up from me!

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specialknickers · 22/02/2011 16:41

I did too - somewhere around 10.30 / 11ish. Worked for us! My DS slept through after this and still does.

sarahtigh · 22/02/2011 16:41

i agree with bring on the goat , i did drema feed at about 11pm until 5 months old when she was hardly taking anything so i stopped and she carried on sleeping from 8-7, not harsh about it but if she had started waking again at 3-4 pm would have started feeding her again at 11pm

i might get flamed but if your nbaby sleeps 8 hours you want /need them to be the same 8 hours you sleep but then i believe in routine and babies fitting in some don't believe in this at all

Original poster

Spandangle · 22/02/2011 16:59

thanks everyone for your responses

what is dream feeding?

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sarahtigh · 22/02/2011 17:04

feeding while they are half asleep/ dreaming so feed in dark if possible no talking, I found bundlers ( like nighties really good as easier to cahmnge nappy without waking them too much

breatheslowly · 22/02/2011 17:11

My DD has a dream feed when I go to bed. She often is completely asleep for that feed (though does sometimes wake). This didn't work when she was tiny - she didn't open her mouth for a bottle in her sleep.

Pheebe · 22/02/2011 18:47

Dream feed is exactly what it says on the tin and is a wonderful thing Get bottle ready as normal, lift baby carefully (keep lights low) and offer milk in the usual way, we had to kind of flick their lip and dribble a bit of milk out. Both ds's took a good 3-4 ounces which took them through to 6-7am. The idea is they don't need winding either as they aren't gulping it down. So long as she has no issues with reflux or such like I'd give it a go. Worked for us

hillyhilly · 22/02/2011 18:50

I must be a meanie, I totally woke my ds, cold bed, fresh nappy, feed immediately before I went to bed as there is nothing worse than being woken just as you've gone to sleep.
It worked for us.

louisewilliams · 22/02/2011 19:59

I have a 10 week old and he is sleeping from 11.. through to 7am but he is on goats milk now. I'd totally wake him for a late feed. Not sure if your baby is on formula or you are breast feeding but depending how you feel about it for the last feed give him breast and top up with formula to satisfy his appetite. Good luck.

Original poster

Spandangle · 22/02/2011 20:25

thanks again - i might try it tonight

i'm using formula

do you change the nappy? she would definitely wake up if i did that..if you dont change their nappy, dont you find they wake cuz they're wet?

and really...you dont need to wind them?

OP posts:

breatheslowly · 22/02/2011 20:36

I don't change her nappy - but she has recently gone to the next size up, so can do a whole night on one nappy. Previously she would leak before morning if I didn't change her at that point, though not wake up because of it. I don't think we have done much winding for quite a while and DD is now 5 months, but I don't think she is a very windy baby.

PartialToACupOfMilo · 22/02/2011 20:42

My dd is now 14 months and so this is no longer an issue, but when she was smaller I really agonised over whether to wake her or not. I tried leaving her, waking her to feed and doing a dream feed and none of them had any effect whatsoever on how long she slept for. I was BFing, but I don't think that makes any difference. In terms of winding, I never ever winded her at night, she'd fall asleep feeding and there was no way I was waking her back up again! But then I didn't wind her at all for the first few weeks as I didn't realise I needed to and it didn't seem to make much difference when I finally did start - maybe I was just really bad at it!! I also stopped changing nappies at night after a few weeks as the wetness didn't seem to bother her and she never woke with a wet nappy - she has only ever pooed three times at night and of course I changed those.

Lovethesea · 22/02/2011 20:45

Dream feeds worked great for us, they drank the bottles very gently in their sleep so no need to wind. Lifted, fed, laid down - all without hardly stirring most nights. Bliss.

Ozziegirly · 22/02/2011 21:21

I wake DS too at 10/10.30. He's drowsy through the feed and goes straight back to sleep afterwards until about 6.30/7am. He's 6 months.

I don't do nappy change and his nappy is sodden in the morning but he's not wet (IYSWIM)

LadyintheRadiator · 23/02/2011 07:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pheebe · 23/02/2011 08:18

Our two had a bedtime feed about 6ish then dreamfeed just before we went to bed between 10 and 11

Original poster

Spandangle · 23/02/2011 08:20

I tried this last night. DD had a bath, a bottle and went to bed at 8pm. i gave her a 'dream feed' at 1130pm - she took the whole bottle without waking up and I put her straight back down. then she woke up screaming for milk at 2am...and again at 4am. Then she woke up at 5am and finally woke up at 6am, she has just gone back to sleep!!

i think I will happily return to my 3am waking!
that will teach me to 1) be greedy and 2) try interfering with nature!!!

I hope she goes back to her old routine tonight [fingers crossed emoticon]

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CharlotteBronteSaurus · 23/02/2011 08:31

oh no!

i have never dream-fed
both of mine were so resistant to drifting off that i simply could not bring myself to stir them even the tiniest bit.

dd2 is 4mo and will occasionally sleep 7pm-2am (not last bloody night though). You have definitely convinced me NOT to try . I try to get to bed by 9pm a couple of times a week so i can capitalise on sleep when it does happen.

Ozziegirly · 23/02/2011 09:23

So random isn't it?! Just goes to show how all babies are different. We do the main feed at 6 and then he goes to bed at 7/7.30 and then feed at 10 ish.

waffle3 · 23/02/2011 17:11

ive tried this with my ds he is doing the same as ur lo going to bed at 8pm sleeping till 3am feed then asleep till 6.30am.
When ive woken him to feed its made him wake several times. So i let him sleep.
He was sleeping till 5am from 10- 13 weeks then started behaving like a 6 week old waking at 12am then 4am but i just comforted him at 12am with dummy ssshing him and ive got rid of that feed now.

Original poster

Spandangle · 23/02/2011 23:12

waffle - its dead strange that doing the dream-feed makes them wake more regularly. I wonder what thats all about
shant be trying it again though!!

OP posts:

waffle3 · 24/02/2011 14:36

Yeh not sure why when it work so well for others would love him to feed at 11pm then leep till 6.30am rather than going to bed at 8pm somrtimes waking at 12am then 3am then 6am. I'am sure it would be better for him coz after the first waking he doesnt seem to go back to a really deep sleep.

gee03 · 24/02/2011 14:49

I usually give DD a dreamfeed in bed :)

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