10 week old wake to eat?

[Whatn3xt]

My DS is 10 weeks old and formula fed. He is now going to bed some time between 07.30-20.30 and then wakes around 6-7 hours later for a feed.

Would it work well to wake him before we go to bed ourselves around 11 for a bottle (with the aim of dropping the middle of the night feed)? That way he would sleep until 6am... Or is it best not to disturb his sleep cycle and just let him wake on his own to eat?

I would like to start a loose routine for sleep with view to helping him form good sleep habits for later, so which approach would lend itself best to that? Thanks!

*19.30

@Whatn3xt I’m following this as had a similar question! Can I ask how much your little one drinks in day and how big his bedtime bottle is.

Yes, this normal practice.

It's called a dream feed - when you lift and feed baby as you go to bed, in order to lengthen the sleep through the night.

@FATEdestiny can I ask your advice! My just turned 10 week old has a bottle at 645, asleep for 730ish and then wakes at midnight and 5am…do u think a dream feed would be helpful or should I wait till he’s going longer than 5 hours? Also when he feeds at 4/5 it’s so close to wake up time I’ve noticed a he’s not having his morning feed - should I cut down this amount?
She’s formula fed and gas about 4 oz at midnight and 3oz at 4/5am

@a1l320n your first focus wants to be on daytime feeding. If you're aiming to drop that 4/5am feed (which is reasonable), look at fitting in an extra feed - or ideally 2 feeds - during the daytime.

The way to get more milk into baby isnt bigger feeds, it's more frequent feeds. So more bottles per day. I would aim to feed every 2-3h during the daytime. Don't fear 2 hourly feeds, overall calories is what matters. Baby has more calories with 8 × 4oz feeds rather than 5 x 6oz feeds, for example.

10 weeks is too young to consider refusing baby a night feed when they need/want the calories. But you absolutely can work to adjust calorie intake to times that suit you. The idea is to make baby not want/need the feed, rather than to choose not to give it when baby asks.

You may find your day develops into cycles of:
Wake
Feed and wind
Floor time

• First cry, lift wind and back down.
• Second cry means it's time to settle to sleep

Top up feed (what's left in the bottle) Nap

These cycles might be around 2h, with only 30-45 minutes awake between naps. So most of awake time is taken up with feeding.

Thanks @FATEdestiny. To be honest my lo never cries for her night milk she chews her hands but she does that when trying to sleep too
So I’m wondering if I’m rushing to feed her coz been 4-6 hours and I feel I should!

What about giving a dummy? May well just want to comfort suck back to sleep.

@FATEdestiny I think she would like one tbh she’s always sucking her hands when tired upset or hungry!

But then I worry about the drama int he future of getting rid of it?? And also dummy runs in the night to pop it back in ?! My son never had one so I’ve no exp with them

You're worrying over nothing. The benefit verses difficulties balance is weighted HUGELY in favour of dummy use.

The dummy is the simplest and easiest no crying sleep solution.

@Whatn3xt @a1l320n

Haven't read replies, but this is what I did and it worked well for him and his sleep habits in general:

Put him down after his 7pm/8pm feed. Content. Full. New nappy.

At 11:30pm (which tied in with our bedtime), we woke him up, lights on, all smiles and laughs, chatting to him, changed him (even if no poo) and fed him. I then put him back in his cot awake, for him to fall asleep on his own.

This saw him through until 7am and also taught him how to self settle (but at 4.5 months he did regress!!)

Around 5 months I started giving him more milk throughout the day, and making the 11:30 feed smaller until I eventually cut it out, meaning he went from 7-7