Dream feed a habit?

[Mairi Clare]

My DS Aaron is now 15 weeks old. For the last 4 weeks he has been waking at the dream feed (used to be fast asleep).  He even wakes just before sometimes as well.

I tried missing it out for 3 days & just giving him his dummy to soothe him back to sleep when he woke.  On those days he then slept through till anywhere between 1am & 3am before needing another feed.  I then tried re-instating it & he still woke but seemed to have been broken of the habit of waking beforehand.

I have repeated this a few times over the last 4 weeks with the same result each time.

I started to wean him last week as he is a very hungry baby & had still never slept through the night (was having 49 ounces of formula & still not going through!).  We still give him the "dream" feed though he wakes every time no matter how careful we are.  He will still be asleep in our arms but as soon as the bottle goes in his mouth he wakes.  He takes 8 ounces at this feed, but has actually slept through till 7am after this for the last 2 nights.  However, he has also started waking just before it again (we feed at 10.30pm & he wakes about 9.45 / 10pm).

Is the dream feed becoming a habit?  Should I leave it out & see how far into the night he gets?  At least if he wakes in the night I know it will be hunger whereas I'm afraid the "dream feed" is becoming a habit as we do it at the same time, roughly, every night.  Though, I could get used to this sleeping through business!

Advice please!!

[velvet]

I didnt wean from the df until my lo was 7 months old.  When I did wean it was a process that lasted a good 3 weeks.  First I moved the dream feed from 10:30 to 10:15 for 3 days.  Then 10:15 to 10:00 for 3 days, I repeated this process every 3 days (moving the time up 15 minutes).  When we reached 7:30 that was when the dream feed became the 4th feed of the day. 

I would still give the dream feed, enjoy your sleep and not worry about it.  It will not become a habit because your lo will grow, get onto solids 3 times a day and wont be interested in a nibble at night.

Wait until you lo is 7 months and then start the process of dropping the df as mentioned above.  All should be well.

Re: your lo waking for the feed.  Just go in and feed him and the milk should then quickly lull him back to sleep.

[CharlotteS]

Hello, Mairi Clare!

Your lo sounds like my lo!  DS also wakes for his dream feeding most nights.  (He's just over 6 months, and he's been doing this since he was about 4 months old.) I don't know if you've tried to increase his amount of food during the day, but, if your ds is like mine, he eats until he spits up (or almost) at every feeding and then takes an 8 ounce bottle at his df!  (If you haven't tried increasing his amount of food during the day, BTW, I would try that first.)

But, I had to realize that my ds just thought of that as his last feeding of the day.  After I give him his df, he goes right back to sleep (unless he's teething) and sleeps until 7.  Later if I let him!

So, I would say, as long as your lo is getting enough food during the day and going right back to sleep at night after the df, it doesn't really matter if he wakes up during the df.  That's what I've found, anyway.

Of course, it won't be too long before you might be considering giving him some solids during the day.  That might help him sleep through a df.

HTH!

Hugs,
Charlotte