Night feeding times

[sanfair]

My 9 week old DS has been going to sleep around 8pm.
We're trying to slowly get him to go to sleep earlier bit by bit.

I've been feeding him again at around 1am which is when he tends to start squawking for more food, and then again at around 4am.

I keep seeing comments about a 10pm feed. I assume the point of trying to wake your baby for a feed at 10pm is to try get them to sleep through the middle of the night and gradually sleep consolidate on each side?

What does everyone else do?

I'd like to try get him into a routine so any suggestions would help (via encouragement only though. I don't think my heart could handle controlled crying )

Sounds like you are doing everything right, Sanfair.

I know a 'dream feed' works for some people at 10/11pm. Personally, at this age, if my DS was asleep, he was asleep and nothing would wake him so a dreamfeed didn't work for us.

I'd say bear it in mind as a possible tool, if it fits with your DSs needs, but don't feel that you need to impose one if the routine your DS has developed for himself works for you too. There is no one right way, just lots of options.

Good luck!

The routine you have sounds fine for a 9 week old if you ask me. DS (19 weeks) used to do something similar until around 14 weeks. He would go to bed around 7.30/8pm, wake around 1ish and then again around 4ish, and be completely awake around 6/7am.

Since DS was about 14 weeks, he's had a feed around 7pm, then another anywhere from 1-4 (depending on when he wakes) and then wakes up around 6.30, with another feed around 7.30/8am. I think the change was also due to the fact that he went from ebf to bottles (as I'm going back to work in 2 weeks).

The 10pm feed thing is to try and get them to sleep through. The idea is that you do it mostly without waking them. I tried it when DS was 15 weeks and he still woke at 2am the same, so I gave up. I'm just contemplating trying it again, as I'd like to be able to not wake in the middle of the night once I'm back at work...

To be honest though, I think your routine sounds good for his age. I know some babies who would still wake 3/4 times a night at that age. And certainly don't do controlled crying yet - he's way to young to understand. From my experience (friends, family etc), it seems that some babies sleep through easily, others don't. I'm not stressing too much that DS still wakes for a night feed - I just close my ears when people talk about their 3 week olds sleeping 7-7 without feeding!

Hi Sanfair, I would have loved to have your routine now let alone at 9 weeks! At nearly 9 months old, my little lad has a breast feed before 8pm and then I put him down for bed however he still wakes by himself around 10/11pm for a feed and then again around 1, 2 or 3 am (last night he fed at 10ish, 3ish and again at 6ish). It means I still can't go out for long in the evening as I need to be home when he wakes for that so-called dream feed (I know I could express but I've never done it) and he still wakes around the same time your little one does and then later again before it's time to get up. I've been waiting since he was 9 weeks old for him to drop the 1-3am feed but he still hasn't....every baby is different and if you are happy with how things are now then don't feel you have to change anything. :)

Similar routine to us!

We're now at 11 weeks and the 1am feed has gradually moved later and later ( now at 3am ish) which means DS is now just having 1 feed in the night. (bed time 8pm, up at 7am!)

I'm not sure what happens next though!