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Dream feed and sleeping longer?

4 replies

shirleycat1 · 29/09/2009 11:00

I have just started trying to get my ds to sleep a bit longer. He is 19 weeks and has never been a great sleeper but a couple of weeks ago started to wake every 2 hours or less. After a week I decided enough was enough and did a kind of version of baby whisperer and pick up put down.

So now I put him down at 7.30 and give him a dream feed at 10/10.30. I have decided that I'm not going to feed him again until between 3-4am as I know he can definitely go for 5 hours (that's the longest he's ever gone). But he always wakes between 1 and 2am. We try and calm him down with patting and shushing and eventually he goes back down, but it can take ages. I thought after a week we would have moved on from this. He usually then goes until 3ish when I feed him and then he goes until 7ish.

Before starting this and before his regular waking, on a good night he was going down at 8pm, waking for a feed at 12 and then another at 4. Often after the 12 o'clock feed it was 2 hourly.

I'm not sure if the dream feed is a good thing or not. He only goes 3 hours after it now, but I'm worried without it he'd be awake even earlier. Am I making sense?

Sorry, I'm going on, but I just want someone to say it might get better, or give me a possible alternative or just say they get it. I'm pretty knackered...

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Cousel · 29/09/2009 13:20

hi,
i have a 20wk dd. i do the dream feed at 11.3 and have found that she is waking up earlier and earlier, i then topped up my 8pm bf with 2 oz from a bottle which really helped and stuck with the dream feed at 11pm. Somehow, she started sleeping through till around 6am.

i think when the weaning starts it should improve too, also i'm getting teething issues - there is so much going on for the dc at this age. i do believe in the dream feed.

KEAWYED · 29/09/2009 13:22

I've just stopped giving DS3 a dream feed at 11pm as he no longer needs it but I would stick at it.

Hes 20 weeks old and we started doing it at about 8 weeks.

Stick at it it personally I think they are great.

Welshygirl · 29/09/2009 16:27

We did a dream feed at 11 and I found if we stopped it he woke up anyway for a feed at 12 or 1am. Eventually he started going from 11 to 7 without a feed and I am just thinking of stopping the dream feed at 6 months as we are now weaning him and I guess he shouldn't need it anymore when on 3 solid meals a day.

Welshygirl · 29/09/2009 16:28

You could alsways not do it one night and see what happens.

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