[Lorem ipsum]

Hi

DS is 10 weeks. He is a good sleeper at night. The last few nights I have tried introducing a dream feed of about 90 ml. He is usually comp fed with a 60ml top up.

He gets his last feed at about 8.00-8 .30, we have been giving the dream feed at 10.30-11.

The first night he slept through to 5am but the last two nights he has been up at the usual 3am or even earlier.

So should I persevere, quit and try again in a few weeks , quit and be thankful for what I have or pray I haven't destroyed my good sleeper?

[feliz6]

My DS is also ten weeks. He has only slept past 11.30 pm on two or three occasions. I am currently up with him for the fourth time. I would love my baby to sleep like urs so I say be greatful!
I tried a dreamed but DS just pushes his lips together, he won't take it. I guess it's another one of those individual things. It Will work for some babies but not for others.

[sophiasmum]

I successfully dreamfed DD1 until 6 mths. I didn't bother with DS because he started sleeping through very early on without it. I tried with DD2 but it didn't do anything, she still woke at 3am for another feed. That feed is often the last one to go & the hardest one for them to give up. If your bub is waking for it, I wouldn't bother with the dreamfeed at all.

[Ehill]

I tried it with DD and it was a DISASTER! The first night worked, i thought yipee......and it never worked again. My mistake was persisting. All I did was create another feed and make myself tireder as I could no longer go to bed at 830/9pm. I was waiting up until after 10 and then being woken again at 3 or 4. Previously I had been having a solid sleep from 9pm until 3 or 4.

I never tried it with DS.

So I dont think there is anything with trying new things but my advice based upon my own experience was if it hasnt worked within a few days, dont persist.

[KRT]

I found that my DS woke naturally at 9-10:30pm for a feed. However, the nights that I tried to pre-empt his waking by a dreamfeed at 9pm (so I could get to bed earlier), he woke up at around midnight instead of 1-2am for his next feed. Disturbing his sleep seemed to make the wakeups worse.

[WithSprinkles]

Dreamfeeds never worked for us. Just meant that she got up for two feeds during the night rather than just the one.

For some babies it seems to work really well though, so maybe leave it awhile and try again in a few weeks.

[Jillian_10]

It works for me, but has never been a 'dream' feed as I have always woken him up and changed his nappy etc.

I was doing it as part of a feeding-every-3-hours thing due to him not gaining enough weight, and it just naturally continued from there. The nappy change was originally to wake him up enough to eat, as he pretty much refused everything at the time (breastfeeding or bottle).

It was always after this feed that I was letting him have his longest sleep, and as the need to feed frequently ended, he has stretched it out to about 8 hours now, which works for me.

However, I have pretty much always had to wake him to eat between 6pm and about 4am ever since he was born - left to his own devices he would have slept through, which sounds good but was really bad for him. Always preferred sleep to milk, funny boy.

I've never been an early to bed person, so it has just evolved for me into waking him up for a bottle every night before I go to bed, usually some time around 10 or 11, sometimes as early as 9.45, other times much later.

I am at the point now where I should start phasing it out as I don't think he 'needs' it any more, but it is working so well, and it is the only bottle he has all day that we never have a fuss over. I tried once not to have it and while that night went OK, the next day was an absolute nightmare of epic proportions, so I'm not really thrilled about trying again. Will leave it to the new year.

[Lorem ipsum]

Thanks everyone

I think I will can it from tonight. I am fine with getting up and I know I am really lucky it is just the once overnight.

Hopefully he isn't going to demand it from now on!


Edit for double post

This post has been edited by Lorem ipsum: 18/12/2012, 09:07 AM

[Mum2TwoDSs]

My bub is 9 weeks+. His night routine is roughly like this : He goes to bed at around 9pm and had his last feed at 8pm. We go to bed soon after. He has his dream feed between 11pm to 12 midnight, around 3 hours from his last feed, but we usually wait for him to stir before giving him and he does drink and continues to sleep. So not sure if you will call that a dream feed?? Maybe it's just a normal feed. But he will still stir at around 2 or 3am for another feed. He has never sleep through till morning without a feed in between. Then his fussy hours start between 5-7am. Not sure how my reply helps.

Do you give a dream feed cos you are going to bed yourself at that time?

If we go to bed same time as bub then I think it won't make a difference to give dream feed or not, cos my bub still will stir to get fed. I reckon he still needs his nutrition cos mine is quite a snacker all day. Some babies can sleep through some just can't. My bub had a night that he slept for 5 hours straight but it was only one night so far.

This post has been edited by Mum2TwoDSs: 18/12/2012, 09:24 AM

[axiomae]

My DD was sleeping from 7pm till 3 or 4am from about 4 weeks old. I didn't DF her until about 5 months, when I realised that she wasn't going to sleep through without at least one night feed. I started to DF at 9.30pm, and in the last month her morning waking has stretched now to 6am, which I consider sleeping through! For me it was great because no more early morning feed, so it's working for us