NW before DF--out of nowhere! Help!

[AngelaF]

Okay, I already posted earlier today about NW in the middle of the night, but now for the second night in a row, my DS is waking up frequently between bedtime and the DF, which is usually our guaranteed sleeping time. This has NEVER happened before. He JUST ate and this is so weird. Okay our schedule today:

3:20 am-4.5 oz (this is new that we feed him at night)
700-awake
7:45-4.5 oz
9-11:15-sleep
1140-5 oz
1-2:50 slept
3:20-5 oz
4:45-5:45-catnap
6:45-3 oz

He went to bed at 7:40 and went right to sleep; in fact his eyes were at half mast as his daddy swaddled him. Any ideas? He's 4 months old and two days ago rolled over for the first time. His feedings the past few days have been a real chore--I have to pin his arms down while feeding him the bottle. He will not take any more than what's posted. He just wants to play and pull the bottle out all the time. We are going CRAZY!!!!! Please help. I feel like nothing's working!!!!

Thanks,
Angela

[momofclaire]

Is he not eating right away in the morning because of the 3:20 feed?  Could he be having a growth spurt?
I would try to feed at 7:00, 11:00, 3, 5:30 and 7. This will get 5 feeds into the day and cluster in the evening.  The milestones could be causing a lot of the waking. Four months is a big transition time for most babies. 
I am going to peek in on your other post as well. Hang in there, it won't be like this forever.
Myia

[AngelaF]

Thanks Myia,

He just woke FIVE times b/f the DF, which DH is doing now, 15 minutes early! Do you think maybe he's not ready for a 4 hour schedule? Should we keep trying 3.5? I agree that we need to get more feedings in during the day. Will try that tomorrow. Thanks for the encouragment!

[momofclaire]

Repeated waking like that usually means overtired or hungry.
You could try something like this.
7:00 wake and eat
9:00 nap (2 hours)
11:00 eat
1:00 nap (2 hours)
3:00 eat
5:00 cat nap (45 min)
5:45 eat
7:00 and then bed
df at 10
Some babies need more of a transition to the 4 hour easy.  If you think he was better at 3.5 you could stick with that for a couple of weeks and then try to move to the 4 hour.
Also, most babies can handle more A time throughout the day. It looks like he has 2 hours A time in the morning and a bit less during the day. 

[AngelaF]

Well, momofclaire, you're right that he was hungry. He CHUGGED six oz. last night at the DF. It was his biggest bottle all day. He's just not eating during the day. Today he ate 5.5 at 4:30, then slept until 8:45 and at 9:00 he only ate 3.5. He ate again at 12:30 and it was a battle to get him to eat 3.5!!! It's like he doesn't want to eat during the day and wants to make up for it at night! Arrgh! Should I have woken him up at 7 to start the day? His sister woke at 6:30, ate 5 oz and went back to bed. They both slept then until 8:45...and I got a little sleep too!

Should we start watering down the feed at night and that way "tricking" his body into eating more during the day? This sucks so bad!!!!

Meanwhile his twin sister is eating 7 oz bottles. I know they're different people and I need to respect their differences, but that is such a discrepancy!
Help!

[momofclaire]

I certainly think you should feed him asap when he wakes.  This may allow for an extra feed during the day.  Has he always seemed not interested in eating or is this new?  I would try to feed him in a calm enviornment (boring) as it seems they can sometimes become more interested in what is going on around them and not want to eat.  I would try to cluster him before bed so that he might sleep until the df. 
Did you let him sleep from his cat nap until 8:45?
You can water down the bottle at night. I wouldn't do the df but maybe a feed later in the night so that he takes a bigger breakfast.
I can see how you might get frustrated when one eats well and the other doesn't but like you said, they are different. I imagine with twins parents are always having to remind themselves of that.

[rob1lu2]

Hey Angela,

You know I know what you are going through b/c Inez is doing the same thing. Waking just a bit before I am going to do the DF, not taking too much at that time. Then I BF her anytime between 1:30-3:30 - only for about four minutes. This morning she woke up at 6:30 and only ate 25cc - that's less than an ounce. Then at 10:30 she only ate 70cc - isn't she hungry? I don't get it.

I am tempted to switch to a bottle during the 1:30-3:00 am feed so that I can lessen the amount she takes at thta time so that she'll eat more for breakfast.

I've also tried the feed her in the boring room bit - doesn't work.

I just started the DF this week though, and they say to give it at least one week, so we'll see.

Hey, how early were they? Are they really four months? Or three months adjusted?

Also, why are you waiting so long to give him the bottle? It looks like about half an hour after he wakes up? I know I do that with Inez too - thinking it will make her more hungry. But I also try feeding her a bit before I feed Sylvie, who chugs down no problem 5 ounces at a time and sleeps through the night - then I go back and try to feed Inez more. That works sometimes and not others.

Have you gone back to having them sleep in the same room? Inez and Sylvie are still separated.

Lu

PS Congrats on the rolling over. My girls are still laying around.