Should I abandon dream feed or is the problem teething???!!

[emeraldgirl1]

Just started to try a dream feed last week, DH feeding DD when he goes to bed at 11pm.

However she is stirring from 4am, I am having to get up every 15 mins to pop dummy in and soothe her, it is absolutely miserable as I keep getting in and out of bed desperately hoping she will stay settled!! She doesn't actually wake (though she did last night, crying with teething pain I think) and when she finally does wake properly around 6.30 or 7 she isn't starving for her bottle as she never finishes it all off.

Prior to this we were not dream feeding, she had been going longer and longer (from a bedtime of 7.30pm) approaching 3am most nights but then a sleep regression or growth spurt kicked in and she was needing feeds earlier and earlier again.

She is 5m and formula fed.

Her teething is v bad so the stirring could be related to that, usually when I go to her she is clutching her head or ears which she does whsn teething I think.

Would anyone try sticking with the dream feed anyway but maybe move it later eg midnight?

But if the stirring is teething not hunger I guess that wouldn't help?

Or maybe all babies are wakeful around 4am??? 5am I could cope with but 4 is a killer...

What would any experienced mums do? I am sleep deprived and floundering :(

Just checking my understanding.
You've just introduced a dream feed at 11, but were previously feeding around 3am and again at 7/8am?
But now that she has a feed at 11 she doesn't want to feed at 6.30/7 or are you feeding her at 4am too? That will definitely impact her appetite for her breakfast.
Is she taking all her feeds during the day?

Personally I would stick with the dream feed (and most importantly get yourself to bed at 9pm if DH is doing it at 11pm) as it's a friendlier time to feed and try to resettle without feeding at 4am. If 9pm bedtimes aren't for you, then do the dreamfeed and ask DH to try resettling in the middle of the night. Killer if he has to be up for work but perhaps swap over on Thurs/Fri/Sat and see how that goes.
Get DD's ears checked out in case she has an ear infection
If she's teething badly and you are sure that's it, give her some painkiller. Talk to your GP about dosage and frequency. At 5 months I would give 2.5/5ml of Calpol or Ipubrofen(but that's max 3 days so Calpol is better) at the dream feed and see how she goes. I would only give it once a night, and for 3 days if she appears to be sleeping better. Then stop and see if things change. 3 days should be more than enough for her teeth to settle a little.

Can you go cold turkey with the dummy? I read somewhere that the sucking action increases bloodflow to the gums and makes teething more painful. You'll have to separate her from it at some stage anyway. If no-one is getting any sleep it may as well be now.....

Disclaimer: This is all based on personal experience with 2 kids under 3. I have no medical knowledge but I have left the house wearing slippers on no less than 3 occasions in the past 6 months, and DD2 is a fabulous sleeper in comparison to DD1