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Sleep

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Original poster

Waking for feeds at 18 weeks still - normal????

66 replies

stairs · 08/01/2006 20:05

My ds is just over 18 weeks and has always woken for feeds at 12, 4 and 7.30 (goes to bed at 7.45). Is this normal (whatever that is)? Books seem to suggest that by now babies should miss the 4am one, but ds shows no signs of even thinking about it (he is v. hungry at all of these - and will not drink more in the day - turns away, cries etc).
Not complaining too much..he is quite good at settling. It is just when he is weeing an awful lot because of night drinks, and if I change him he sees this as a cue for playing rather than going back to sleep (I never join in, so don't know why he thinks this). If I don't change him, he wakes up with a wet tummy because he has rolled and the nappy leaks.
Do I just wait until he doesn't fancy lots to drink in the night?
Thanks in anticipation.....

OP posts:

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mummygow · 08/01/2006 21:56

sorry tibpot what I meant was he was cutting bac on his 7am feed and I dont want that I want it to be his 4am feed iyswim

mummygow · 08/01/2006 21:58

i'm also sorry if you think i was trying to be controversial i just tried to say that if the baby was not hungary during day try cutting back on night feed - and your right we all work towards being the best mum possible

Original poster

stairs · 08/01/2006 21:59

Tribpot - tried to pretend to be asleep and take him into my bed before...and it did work. So it sounds as if they are similar!!! Can't do the bouncing though as dh said that the bouncers say to have 1.5cm at least on your doorframes...we haven't. I am gutted about that - they look great fun.

Mummygow - sorry if I started something....fwiw one of the reasons I asked was that my mum recommended I just offer water in the night. My sister was premature and apparently they did that at hospital and she slept through by the time she came home at six weeks.

OP posts:

morningpaper · 08/01/2006 22:04

Mummygow why not just leave the night feeding for now and worry about it when baby DEFINITELY is big enough to be waking from habit and not sheer hunger? Your post made me too.

I have a 3 month old - some nights she wakes once between midnight-and-7ish, some nights she wakes every hour. I just feed her if she wants feeding and cuddle if she wants cuddling. She's so cute and diddy and she gets WHAT SHE WANTS!

mummygow · 08/01/2006 22:13

FGS he went back to sleep till 7.30am he couldnt have been that hungary - cant believe you are all being so melodramatic about it!!!!

And I cuddle my baby because do yo know what I need his cuddles as much as he needs mine.

Stairs its not your fault - you didnt start anything - the other mumsnetters just do things differently from me and I am quite confident at what I do with my children and if I do something and it doesnt work I just try something else - hope you enjoy your little bundle as much as I enjoy mine

tribpot · 08/01/2006 22:14

Oh stairs, if everything that worked for one baby worked for another we'd all be millionaires, wouldn't we? (or more likely our grandmothers would have locked down publishing deals when they turned 20 and we'd all have to do whatever they did). Re: door bouncer, we do have wide frames on the doors, and your ds is 10 weeks younger than mine, fortunately mine has learnt that if he sits with his legs either side of my leg, he can bounce away and I have virtually nothing to do, which is marvellous. Otherwise just bounce him up and down yourself, or have a go with a door bouncer anyway. You have to sit and watch them the whole time so if they were going to fall off you would soon know about it.

If I offered just water in the night, my ds would have a complete fit about it. He ain't daft, he knows what he wants!

mg, my comment was about your comment "yes it did provoke a reaction because I want to be the best mum I possibly can be". Which could be read as meaning the rest of us don't.

mummygow · 08/01/2006 22:17

not a chance tibpot I know we all want to be great mums and by spending so much time on here talking about our children only proves that we all have the same aim - to do the best for our children

hunkermunker · 08/01/2006 22:18

at a premature baby being offered water in the night though - cor!

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 08/01/2006 22:18

I feel your pain.

Jessica is now 17.5 months and up until LAST WEEK was still waking in the night for milk/water once.

Up until a year she would wake twice a night for milk/cuddles and she got them.

Rebecca on the other hand is nearly 11 weeks old and has slept through from 6.30pm - 7am for the last 2 weeks, not needing a feed at all.

It really does depend on the baby, but go with what your baby needs or wants, PLEASE.

DustAnyone · 08/01/2006 23:11

I must admit I did similar to Mummygow although I waited until my ds was 5 months and had started on solids ( He is 5 now and the recommended age for starting solids was 4 months then).

He started to do exactly what Mummygows ds is doing, waking between 4/5am and then refusing a bottle at 7/8am. He would be awake for half an hour maybe ( no screaming) then drop back off until 7 or 8 so I am sure he wasn't hungry and it was just habit.

Original poster

stairs · 09/01/2006 02:32

Just as a side note...my ds, who has only ever woken at 12,4 and 7/8 for the last ten weeks or so has been awake and starving at 8, 12 and 2 tonight so far!!! Do you think he has been reading the thread and knows I said I would feed him whenever he woke???

OP posts:

Groveregg · 09/01/2006 10:35

Hello, can anyone help? My 17 week-old wakes up 2 or 3 times a night and wants to feed, but he will then only feed for 5 minutes or so before falling back to sleep. I've been trying to keep waking him up to get him to take more milk, to string the feed out for half an hour or so but it is really hard to get him awake and interested and I am getting exhausted from the effort. I'm just worried that if I don't, he will wake up much more often needing more feeds. Should I let him just go back to sleep - is this his way of cutting down on night feeds?

bubblegumcheeks · 11/01/2006 22:29

hi grovergregg try giving him water when he wakes maybe he is just thirsty not hungry my friend gave her son water when he woke at night only for a few sips and he eventually stopped waking at night. I have also read somewhere that by giving them water they will decide that its just not worth waking in the night for water. Please let me know how it works my dd is 9months and when she woke at night it was for a full feed she also refuses to drink water so I would be interested to hear if it really works and how well

Racers · 11/01/2006 22:33

Another tip I've read is to reduce the feed times rather than try to extend them (which is what I was doing at this time too) - again, the theory is that they won't think it worth calling you in for such a small amount.

rummum · 11/01/2006 22:39

Hello Ladies...

What are your thoughts on dream feeds

Racers · 11/01/2006 22:41

um tried a few times but she woke up for the next feed (around 2am I think) anyway. Maybe should have given it longer but she was up several times a night anyway so I abandoned the idea (she was sleeping 7ish to 2ish so it felt like I was adding a feed for no outcome)

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