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Sleep

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Original poster

dreamfeed - how long to make a difference

19 replies

Flumpity · 26/08/2007 23:01

hi, I just started doing a dreamfeed 7 nights ago with my 13 week old. She feeds and doesn't even open her eyes - doesn't take much (about 3oz when i use a bottle, no idea how much if i use boob) but at least she does take some.

But the thing is, she still wakes at 1.30 / 2am ish anyway which is what she was doing before i introduced the dreamfeed...

wondering how long to stick at it or whether after a week of dreamfeeds i'm just one of the unlucky ones who it doesn't work for? so should I just give up.

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Roskva · 27/08/2007 16:38

What time do you dreamfeed?

At 13 weeks, I was still giving dd her last feed (asleep or awake) at about midnight, then she slept through the rest of the night. This became a dreamfeed, and I gradually moved it earlier. I think she was 20+ weeks before she was going through from about 10pm.

puffylovett · 27/08/2007 16:48

hi, the same thing happened to me, so i gave up on the idea of letting him sleep and now we wake him up by 11 unless he's woken naturally earlier.

he usually takes about 8oz give or take (hard to see - has 6oz ebm from dp who thoroughly winds him and then i top him up 'mamally' )

we find this usually makes him sleep till at least 5am if not 7am on most occasions

Just lately he's been taking the same amount but not waking at all and sleeping through till 7am.

he is nearly 6mo though !!!

Original poster

Flumpity · 27/08/2007 18:14

she's been going to bed 8ish, then dreamfeed attempt at 11 or 11.30ish. might try waking her up at 11 then rather than dreamfeeding see if she takes more.

mind you, we had to change her nappy last night at 11.30 before the dreamfeed (thinking, well it won't hurt if it rouses her a bit) and the bugger slept through the nappy change despite our best efforts!!

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Roskva · 27/08/2007 19:07

don't you just love 'em

puffylovett · 27/08/2007 19:46

yes ds does that sometimes !! he sometimes falls asleep during bottle, at which point we do his nappy and I even talk to him (i know you shouldn't but it's worth it to wake him, tho sometimes he sleeps through the nappy change) and then finish bottle, then boob, he usually falls asleep but when i try to pull away it makes him suck a bit more.

can take about half an hour in total but it's worth it to fill him up !

and it's great cos dp gets to do the 11 feed if i manage to express 8oz and then i can go to bed about 10

Original poster

Flumpity · 27/08/2007 20:27

only half an hour... you're doing well. wierdly she's slower to feed from a bottle than from boob! (but that becomes DH's problem more than mine hehe).

fingers crossed for tonight. she's just gone to bed relatively easily, hope it bodes well for the night.

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puffylovett · 27/08/2007 21:05

he used to be the same, but i think dp has shown him his technique for necking stella very fast and now the bottles gone in about 30 secs !!!! LOL

Original poster

Flumpity · 27/08/2007 22:01

i'll tell her that tonight while i talk to her to get her to wake up enough to drink!

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puffylovett · 27/08/2007 22:03

either that or early tequila slammer training

hope it goes well, will keep fingers crossed

foxcub · 27/08/2007 22:03

I think the dreamfeed needs to be a proper feed to make any difference - i.e. a full feed

Twinklemegan · 27/08/2007 22:05

We tried dreamfeeding for a while, then decided it was better to let him follow his own sleep/feed pattern. Like you, I found it made no difference to him waking or not.

Original poster

Flumpity · 28/08/2007 11:41

bloody hell. she woke anyway at 10.30 so we changed her and played with her and she fed brilliantly - loads at 11pm.

then woke at 1.30 as per usual and wouldn't go back to sleep till 3.45 as per usual.

ARGH!! she's not hungry at 1.30, just wide wide awake. what on earth can we do????

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Meeely2 · 28/08/2007 12:01

We never did the dream feed, we would get 4 bottles in before bedtime (7am onwards) and then wait and see if they woke for another before midnight....basically we took their lead at night and we took the lead in the day depending on when they got up. Gradually the one after bedtime got later and later until one night they didn't wake til 5am (from 7pm) and I classed that as sleeping through. The 5am bottle then got later and later until they were having it with breakfast.

puffylovett · 28/08/2007 12:12

persevere... and make sure lights are off at 1.30, you don't interact with her, or give her eye contact, i would leave her in her cot and only go into her if she starts to cry.

then go in, pick up, check napopy, hunger wind etc, wait until she's calm, then put her back in cot, lullaby on, leave and close the door - keep doing this until she goes back to sleep.

sounds like she might be waking out of habit and you need to train her to stop ! they're little blighters arent they

Original poster

Flumpity · 28/08/2007 19:34

ugh. will have a go tonight. sooooooo tired. thanks for tips. will let you all know.

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puffylovett · 28/08/2007 22:04

oh and go back to bed tomorrow at every opportunity ! catch up on some zzzz's

Original poster

Flumpity · 29/08/2007 10:08

well it was a bit better. (partly because i went to bed at 7.30 when she did). grandma woke her at 11 for a bottle, only took 3oz (as usual at that time), went back to sleep. she woke as usual at 1.30 but i was on guard and rocked her bum a bit in the cot and she re-settled without crying (first time for yonks, yay). then she woke and cried a bit at 2.15am so we had a quick cuddle for 5 mins, then resettled. but then woke hungry at 3am. then finally slept till 6.30, when woke hungry. the no eye contact at 1.30 and 2.15 definitely seems to have helped. it seems its at the end of her 45 min sleep cycles at that time in the morning when its the danger zone for waking doesn't it. but at least she wasn't up and full of beans for 2 1/2 hours from 1.30 for once!!
on we plod.

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puffylovett · 29/08/2007 20:53

yay, that sounds much better, well done. it can take a couple of days to break the habit, and you're doing it now while she's little. keep trying to pump her full at 11pm, the idea being she will eventually extend that 3am to 4am, then 5am... then before you know it she'll be going through yippee !!

3am for a nightfeed means shes feeding 4 hourly ish, which is what ds was doing at that age - still does occasionally, and every now and again he only sleeps through till 5am - but he's large, hungry and v interested in the world so getting grub down him in the day can be a mission !

Original poster

Flumpity · 30/08/2007 21:48

oh its good to know your lo was similar at this age. last night was also a bit better - she woke at 1.30 (sigh) but only for 10 mins or so and her dad shusshed her back to sleep. then woke again at 3.50am hungry so i fed her and she slept till 6.30, when she fed again then next time we looked at the clock it was 10.15am...

think will wait and see if she wakes naturally 11 / midnight ish rather than wake her tonight. see what happens.

hard isn't it. fingers crossed the 2 and a half hours of night wakefulness has passed as a horrible 2 week phase!

good to talk to you!

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