BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Bottle Feeding => Topic started by: bensmomma on September 12, 2006, 23:36:30 pm
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Hello,
I have started the dreamfeed with my 9 wk old. We've been doing it for the last 3 nights. Leading up to starting the dreamfeed DS was actually sleeping from ~8:30-2/3am without a dreamfeed. I figured a dreamfeed would extend this even longer. Since we started he has actually been waking up between 12-1am, ~3am (to feed) and again around 5am. I think he has been waking because of gas. I realize that the dreamfeed may take a week to kick in but should he be going backwards. Should we continue to dreamfeed or since he was doing well in the first place drop it?
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Michelle
I would continue doing it for the week or just over that. If you see NO improvement stop and maybe try again at another time.
Lauren
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Thanks for the reply. We skipped last nights DF. DS had last feed at 7:30pm and he lasted until 12:30am. Should the DF extend this next feed time even longer?
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I am a bit confused about cluster feeding, even after reading the books. I have a 4 month old (actually 3 months, he's a preemie), and need some help. We have "dinner" at 5-6pm, play until 730pm when we have a bath, then to bed after a couple of ozs at 8-830pm. This is a loose schedule, some nights the times are different. Sometimes he's ready for sleep before a cluster is due.The question is what if he is asleep before his second cluster feed. Do you wake him up or do you do a "dreamfeed" . That would make 2 drreamfeeds before 12am. Should I wake or feed when still asleep?
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hi again....
if it is not one thing it is another with my lo (LOL)
i thought we had everything under control and going smoothly until now; my little guy is waking at night to eat. :o (not sure if i should post this in sleeping, but i think it may be an eating thing) he is on a 4 hour easy and taking great naps. we just recently went to all bottles, no more bf. a few weeks ago he would sleep until 4am-ish eat and go back to sleep. then he started sleeping until 7 or 7:30 and i was estatic!!! ;D i thought we were actually there!!!! ...a perfect EASY day!!! now this week it seems to be every other day he wakes up around 2am to eat. last night i tried to get him to go back to sleep without eating and he wasn't having any of that...he wanted to eat. i guess his waking could be due to developmental??? he just turned over the other day to his tummy. or growth spurt??? i didn't think that happened until 6 months. (oh, btw he will be 5 months next week on the 20th). how can i get more food into him without screwing up EASY? i have read the fax section about giving more ounces, but he already is taking 8 oz 4X a day. when would i give him another bottle? is it too late to start a dream feed? (i never started doing this because after he eats he needs to be held upright for 20 minutes)
we just moved to the bigger teats/nipples and that has helped alot...when before he was pushing his bottles away after a few ounces and then was hungry a short time later. joey is a big boy, weighing 18 pounds 10 oz at his 4 month checkup so i guess he just needs more food. his schedule as of lately has been a typical 4 hours EASY starting at 7:00 or 7:30 am, napping about an hour 45 minutes to 2 hours after he wakes and will nap for about 2 hours or so. so he is following the EASY schedule almost perfectly except for the darn wakeup at 2 am. should i just wait it out another week and see how things go? is he still settling into the great routine?he has been taking good naps for about a month now (as opposed to those nasty 45 minute ones and started sleeping the WHOLE night about a week or so now)
alright, i think i have all the info you need...sorry so long, i wanted to make sure i had all the info you need. ::)
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Hi there
I went through the exact same thing with my dd and I am afraid to say she contimued to wake to feed until she was established on 3 solid meals a day- she has slept through again from that day! I am not recommendign however you jump to solids now! I increased her bottles to 4 x 9 ounce initially, then when that didn't fill her I changed her formula to the one for hungrier babies (was on SMA gold, then changed to SMA white- don't know what you have over there) then when that didn't fill her I had to go to 5 bottles (was on 7,11,3 & 7, went to 7am, 10, 1, 4 & 7pm- bit of a squeeze, but we did it) then when that didn#t fill her she was 2 weeks off 6 months so I introduced rice cereal and slowly weaned her onto solids! So if it is the hunger I guess you might have a while of night feeds ahead of you yet........ ::)
hth
Kathryn
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Your lo may be going through a growth spurt.
You say that your DS is on 4 x 8oz bottles a day - Is he draining these bottles? If he is then I do suggest adding another oz to each bottle, it may mean that you have to make up 2 bottles if your bottles do not hold 9oz. This may eliminate the night wakings if you increase the amount he takes during the day.
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Hi,
If you say that sometimes your lo is asleep before the second cluster feed you could try doing your cluster feeds at 5:00 and 7:00.
What time are you doing the dreamfeed?
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yes, he is on 4 bottles 8 oz each and yes, he drains all of them. i was worried to do 9 oz, because he spits up alot, but i guess if he needs it, he needs it. i will try it and see how that goes.
i was also thinking that when he is on solids nights will go smoother since some nights he can make it all night and others he can't. i know to start with rice cereal at first 1 x a day but how does the rest go? for example, about when will he be on 3 meals a day to fill him up? i am just asking in advance to prepare mentally how long this might go on.
i didn't know they had formula for hungrier babies. i will have to investigate that and ask my doc about that.
thanks
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The DF for us never worked. I don't think it is for every baby. I wish it worked but it just made Grace wake 3x's as much. I am hoping it works out for you and your lo. Good luck.
Mel
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If I give Aimee a DF she wont eat her breakfast
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See how he gets on with the extra oz. Monitor him to make sure that he does not spit up too much.
This link has information on the stage 2 formula
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68010.msg517360#msg517360
It is not always true, that solids will make them sleep better through the night. Their milk is still their main source of nutritian until they are nearly one. The guidelines today are to try not to introduce solids before 6 months of age.
Here is a link from the solids FAQ board on introducing solids
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=36922.0
Your best bet with regards to where to go once you have introduced solids would be to post on the Solid Foods board, you will get a lot of information from them.
HTH
Paula x
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I have to admit that the DF is usually late, 1130-1200. My husband is the one who has taken on that task. Is that to late?
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I would suggest doing the dreamfeed at around 10 - 11pm, closer to 10pm if you can. 11:30 / 12:00 is a bit late.
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We'll give it a go tonight, thanks
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Hi Carolyn
I had to do night feeds for about 8-9 weeks in total. Hope that helps you prepare yourself although I'm sure it's not what you wanted to hear! Having been used to getting a full nights sleep since she was 9 weeks old, it came as a bit of a shock to me too! I woudl still echo Paula and say don't rush into solids, it's better for lo to grin & bear it with the night feeds and wait till 6 months..... :P
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Hello again,
We did the DF for a few more nights but he continued to wake more than before. We have since dropped the DF and he is back to sleeping until 2-3am ( last feed at7:00pm- 7:30pm) and waking between 6-7am. I guess we'll leave it alone for a while and see what happens.
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How did you get on with the earlier dreamfeed?
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Hi,
I started doing dream feeding 4 days ago and am having problems with it and wanted other mums opinions. We'd been giving him a bottle at about 11pm anyway but waking him up for it first; now we've started dream feeding and he seems to be sleeping worse as a result. Of the 4 days he's dream fed 3 times - day 3 he woke up of his own accord so was just fed normally then. Thing is the 3 days he's dream fed he's woken at least 3 times between dream feed and 7am, the day he fed normally he slept through from feed at midnight-ish until 5:30am. The only thing I can think is causing the extra feeding is the dream feed - wind maybe? He seems to be going backwards. My baby is 3 months old - should I continue?
Please let me know how it worked for you
Tamara
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Hi there
It is best to offer the DF as close to 10pm as possible, 11pm is too late.
Here is more information on the DF, it also advises to give it a week at least before seeing any improvements. https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
I would definitely move it to 10pm tonight.
Lauren
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i'm finding the cluster feeding quite confusing. how much should i give my baby (4 weeks) - the usual amount or half and then the other half for the 2nd cluster feed? also, what happens if she sleeps in between the 2 cluster feeds - do i wake her? she usually wakes at around 11 for a feed so it's not really a DF - should i move the time forward to 10 so that we can give her the DF while she's still asleep?
thanks
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hi there
Can you post your typical days routine and amounts of formual at each feed.
thanks
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thanks for your reply. we normally start the day at 7.00 and feed every 2.5-3 hours and she usually takes 120mls of formula at each feed. we were then doing a feed at 7pm and then feeding her when she woke at 10.30-11. tonight i fed her at 6pm instead and am hoping to feed her again at about 8.30 and then try the DF.
thanks
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try and aim for the last feed at 8pm rather than 8.30pm. And the DF as close to 10pm as possible.
From memory I gave Calum the smallest feed at 6pm and then split the last full feed a bit before and after bath. Don't give half and half of a big feed, it is really a case of judging it yourself after doing it a few days.
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Hi everyone. I have been df my lo since 13 wks old. He is now 6 1/2 months old and I am wondering if I should try to wean off of the df now or wait and start at 7 months. He is eating solids now (cereal, veggies and fruit) three times a day. He eats fairly well. He drinks anywhere from 29-39 oz. a day (including the df.) In the past few days, he is eating his solids better (more in his mouth than everywhere else) and taking in less fluids, 29-32 oz.) I know that I am suppose to up his oz. in the day to compensate for the oz. I will be taking away at night. I'm concerned that it will disrupt his night time sleep (he usually sleeps through the night now with the df )10 hrs.) But since he isn't always taking a full 8 oz with each bottle, how will I manage to give him those extra oz. if he just isn't interested?
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Hi there
Sorry for the delay, not been on much over the weekend - a 1st birthday party to attend ;D ;D
Is the Dreamfeed, making him less hngry the following day?
Tracy says to dtop the dreamfeed once solids are established, it sounds like you have established solids already so it is probably time you tried it.
I know that I am suppose to up his oz. in the day to compensate for the oz. I will be taking away at night. I'm concerned that it will disrupt his night time sleep (he usually sleeps through the night now with the df )10 hrs.) But since he isn't always taking a full 8 oz with each bottle, how will I manage to give him those extra oz. if he just isn't interested?
This is really a vicious circle because the dreamfeed detracts from the following days intake and therfore you can add anymore that is why Tracy devised a dreamfeed removal plan, the full page can be viewed in the bottlefeeding FAQ board, under "Cluster and dreamfeeding" -->
:)
How to stop the dream feed…from Tracy’s Book “The Baby Whisperer Solves All of Your Problems”.
The process of cutting out the dream feed – usually around 7 months – is to be done in 3-day increments, to insure that your baby makes up during the day what you’re taking away at night.
Day 1: Add one ounce to the first feed of the day, and take away 1 ounce from the dream feed that night. If you’re breastfeeding, go back to clustering so that you get more calories in. Give the dream feed (now 1 ounce less) half an hour earlier, at 10:30 instead of 11.
Day 4: Add one ounce to the first feed, one to the second, and take away two ounces from the dream feed. Give the dream feed (two ounces less) at 10.
Day 7: Add once ounce to the first feed, once to the second, one to the third, take away three ounces from the dream feed, and give it at 9:30.
Days 10 (dream feed at 9pm), 14 ( 8 :30) 17 (8:00 ) and 20 (7:30): By continuing every 3 days to add ounces during the day and take away the same amount from the dream feed, you will end up doing a feed at 7:30 with only a few ounces.
Note: If your little one doesn’t take that extra ounce(s) that is offered during the day, that is ok….they might not take to drinking more right away during the day, but it is there if they want it.
I suggest cutting out the dream feed at around seven months, as your baby starts to get solid food in him. If you continue to give it, you’re working against the introduction of solid food, because for every 25 5Th/Ounce of extra liquid your baby takes, he won’t be hungry for 25 gram/an ounce of solid food. However, as the box indicates, when you cut out the dream feed, you have to add the same number of ml or grams or ounces to the day feed. If you don’t, your baby will wake up at night.
Also...the above is taken from Tracy's book "SAYP - p123". Every baby is different though so there may be variations of the above "how to" that work - including dropping it cold turkey.
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I have been doing a DF for about 5 weeks now with our DS (he's 8 weeks old). Quinn goes to sleep between 7-8pm and I've been giving the DF between 11 and 11:15pm. Quinn then wakes between 3-4:30am for another feeding. My husband had the idea that if we slowly push back the DF by 15 min increments (11:30 for a week, then 11:45 for a week, etc) that we could get him to sleep through til 6:30 or so.
I've read in the FAQ's that giving the DF too late it will mess with the schedule, but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this topic. It seems to me that it could work, but I also wonder then about creating this additional feeding at like 2am.
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Thank you. I will give it a try. I'm still worried that he will wake hungry at night. But it is hard to predict. There are days he consumes many oz of formula in a day and sleeps through the night and other days he takes less and still sleeps through the night. He is nearly 7 months. I look forward to ending the df, and getting to bed earlier myself!
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Thanks for your input! I know we should be thankful we are getting as much sleep as we are... He's still so young anyways. Thanks again!!
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I would like to start trying to cluster feed & dream feed my 6 week old. She reliably wakes and feeds every 3 hours (ie: 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am, etc....). If I have her on the EASY schedule, she will wake and eat at (for example) 6pm, activity until 7:15, sleep @ 7:30 until 9pm. So, with a cluster feed, do I wake her @ 8pm and 10pm to feed her? How do I get 2 cluster feeds in her every 2 hours in the evening, until a dream feed @ 11pm?
Thanks!
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Hi Trigirl
Here is the suggested routine from the BW book;
once in every 3hr period you are looking for a nap from her, you 3hr cycle may look like this;
E 7am
A 7.30am (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 8.30 - 1.5hr if shorter and you haven't been able to extend then you would do EASA
E 10am
A 10.30am (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 11.30 - 1.5hr if shorter and you haven't been able to extend then you would do EASA
E 1300
A 1330 (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 1430 - 1.5hr if shorter and you haven't been able to extend then you would do EASA
E 1600
A 1630
S 1730 - catnap only 30 - 45mins!!!
E 1900 & bath or vice versa or E 1800 & 2000 with bath in the middle (clusterfeeding)
S 1930 S 2030
DF between 10 -11 https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
HTH's
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Hi
I have a question about dropping the DF.
I know I should've started dropping the DF when LO was 7 months but I had too much stuff going on at that time and I know I have to start right now since LO is 8.5 months old. Anyways, I printed out the procedures on how to stop the DF.
My question is if I increase by one ounce on day 1 for the first bottle but LO does not finish the additional ounce is that ok? Will he eventually be able to finish that extra ounce in the first 3 days? Also, will there be nightwakings since he will be losing an ounce on the first night? I want to prepare myself in case he has a nightwaking when we start this.
TIA
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Mel
If it were me and he didn't take the extra oz at the first bottle, I would ofer it at the 2nd bottle as well - until he was alble to take it at the first bottle.
I would hope that over a few days to a week he would want the additional oz's during the day.
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Calums_Mum,
I started to wean the DF Monday night. However, it seems that DS is eating less of his milk during the day now. That extra oz that I've been adding during the day is not being taken at all. Now I have 2 extra oz to add during the day but DS is not that hungry to take it. So far, his first bottle every morning, he will only take 4oz of the 7oz and during the rest of the day he's leaving 1oz almost every feeding. Is this behaviour normal? He's definitely not getting enough during the day as he's been waking up at night but not hungry. The first night was great, he slept through but now he's been waking up every night and having a hard time resettling.
Do you think I can just make up those lost calories with solids? Will that help keep him full during the night?
Thanks!!
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Mel
Is he on the right sized teat, etc.......
You can make it up with yogurt or custard, etc. Have you resorted to feeding during the night?
What has your general routine been like this week? with amounts of food and oz, etc.....
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Hi, my dd is 2 weeks old... does cluster feeding work this early? We're doing EASY and her schedule last night looked like this:
7:30p EAS
10:30p wake to feed
11:30p crying and woke up fussy until 12:45 a for DF
if I'm trying to cluster feed should I feed at 7:30, 9:30, 11:30, DF at 1a? and does she get smaller amounts (pumped milk and formula) at the 9:30 and 11:30 feed? thanks for your help!!!
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Hi there welcome to the boards.
This is taken from one of Tracys books. More here on Cluster and dreamfeeding --> https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
"I recommend tanking up as soon as your baby comes home from the hospital, but you can start using both strategies any time during the first eight weeks and the dream feed until seven or eight months (by which time your baby is drinking between 175 and 250 ml (six and eight ounces) per feed and getting a fair amount of solid food). Some infants are harder to tank up than others. They might take early evening feeds but not take a dream feed. If that describes your baby, and you have to choose one, concentrate on the dream feed only. Don’t bother clustering. For example, you feed your baby at 6, give her a bath and do the bedtime rou¬tine, and top her off at 7—she’ll probably only take a few ml/ounces. Then at 10 or 11 (if you’re normally up that late, or if your partner is) try to give her a dream feed—never later than 11. But don’t give up after one or two nights. It’s unrealistic to think you can change a baby’s habit in less than three days, and for some infants it takes as long as a week. There are no miracles here, but persistence usually pays off."
You are looking to feed as follows:
So, one in every 3hr period you are looking for a nap from her, you 3hr cycle may look like this;
E 7am
A 7.30am (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 8.30 - 1.5hr
E 10am
A 10.30am (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 11.30 - 1.5hr
E 1300
A 1330 (inc. a 10 - 10min at the end of this 'A' time for wind down for her nap)*
S 1430 - 1.5hr
E 1600
A 1630
S 1730 - catnap only 30 - 45mins
E 1900 & bath or vice versa or E 1800 & 2000 with bath in the middle (clusterfeeding)
S 1930 S 2030
DF between 10 -11 https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
Dreamfeed to be as close to 10pm as possible, 1am is too late.
Hth's
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Hi my DS will be 7 months on 15 October and I'm wondering if the DF is starting to result in him taking less formula @ 7am feed. We always offer 240mls at each feed which he sometimes finishes.
E.g. last 3 days has only taken 130-140mls, previous week took anywhere b/w 140 & 190 ml (these amounts include formula used to make up his cereal mixed with 1/4 cube fruit). He usually sleeps 1 to 1.5 hours, but has woken early @ 9.30am. I've tried to extend with PUPD (which I hardly ever have to use and adapt when I do as he gets too stimulated) but to no avail. The rest of day then is then a bit messed up with v.short A time after 11am E (just managing to give him lunch) and down early due to lack of earlier sleep. So down 12pm, talking till 12.30pm, awake 1.30pm, try to end but wants to be up. E @ 3pm, dinner @ 4pm. Offer catnap at 4.30pm per tired signs, but has dropped this the last 4 days (and on and off for 6 weeks but not consistently for a week).
Sorry for if TMI, my Qs are:
is the smaller amount drank @7am due to the DF?; and is this then leading to shorter sleep in the AM cos he's hungry? (Although, he doesn't seem hungry when waking, and is fine to wait till 11am where he drank 210ml on Fri, 140ml Sat and 160ml today).
I know Tracy suggests cutting the DF back around 7 months. Could you please advise what we should do?
Thanks
Sonja
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Sonja
Yes, we suggest cutting out the dream feed at around seven months, as your baby starts to get solid food in him. If you continue to give it, you’re working against the introduction of solid food, because for every 25 5Th/Ounce of extra liquid your baby takes, he won’t be hungry for 25 gram/an ounce of solid food. However, as the box indicates, when you cut out the dream feed, you have to add the same number of ml or grams or ounces to the day feed. If you don’t, your baby will wake up at night.
More info in Tracy's book "SAYP - p123". Every baby is different though so there may be variations of the above "how to" that work - including dropping it cold turkey.
The process of cutting out the dream feed – usually around 7 months – is to be done in 3-day increments, to insure that your baby makes up during the day what you’re taking away at night.
Day 1: Add one ounce to the first feed of the day, and take away 1 ounce from the dream feed that night. If you’re breastfeeding, go back to clustering so that you get more calories in. Give the dream feed (now 1 ounce less) half an hour earlier, at 10:30 instead of 11.
Day 4: Add one ounce to the first feed, one to the second, and take away two ounces from the dream feed. Give the dream feed (two ounces less) at 10.
Day 7: Add once ounce to the first feed, once to the second, one to the third, take away three ounces from the dream feed, and give it at 9:30.
Days 10 (dream feed at 9pm), 14 ( 8 :30) 17 (8:00 ) and 20 (7:30): By continuing every 3 days to add ounces during the day and take away the same amount from the dream feed, you will end up doing a feed at 7:30 with only a few ounces.
Note: If your little one doesn’t take that extra ounce(s) that is offered during the day, that is ok….they might not take to drinking more right away during the day, but it is there if they want it.
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Thanks Lauren. We'll give it go.
Sonja
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Mel
Is he on the right sized teat, etc.......
You can make it up with yogurt or custard, etc. Have you resorted to feeding during the night?
What has your general routine been like this week? with amounts of food and oz, etc.....
Hi Calums_Mum,
We are using Avent size 4 teats (for 6+ months). We've been using them since DS was 6 months.
I haven't resorted to feed at night. I just turn him over in his crib and he's willing to go to sleep but it is restless and he does squirm alot during the night. But in the morning he is still not taking the whole bottle (formula) ::).
Our routine for this week looks like this:
EAT 8am - drank about 3-4 oz
9am - 3 cubes of fruit with 2 tablespoon of cereal
SLEEP 10am-11:30am/12pm
EAT 12pm - drank 5oz on Sunday but today he drank only 3oz
Today, I introduced a lunch 2 tablespoon cereal/2tablespoon formula and 2 tablespoon fruit (before never had a lunch only breakfast and dinner)
SLEEP 2:30pm/3pm - 4pm/4:30
EAT 4pm/4:30pm drank 4-5oz
5:30pm - 3 cubes of veggies with 3 tablespoon rice porridge and 1 tablespoon puree turkey
EAT 7pm/7:30pm - drank 4oz yesterday but today he drank 6oz
SLEEP 7:30pm/8pm
DF 9:30pm - drank 4 oz (the entire bottle!)
By my calculations, yesterday he drank 23oz and today he has drank only 21 oz. Normally, before we started to wean the DF he would drink about 30oz/day plus his solids. He was a good eater.
Does this routine look ok to you? Is there something else I can do to keep his calories up so that he will sleep better at night?
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I would say the DF is affecting the morning bottle, but it is like a vicious circle! Can you take away an oz from the DF and add to the morning bottle? (have we already discussed this because I am getting de ja vu here :-\) It is difficult because by this time solids are usually firmly established i.e. 3 meals.
Have you ever tried offering breakfast just after (or a least the amount of time to prepare the breakfast) the morning bottle? Might mean bigger appetite for lunch?
For lunch I would offer something similar to what you are offering for dinner, I believe lunch should be their 'main' meal of the day + dessert i.e yogurt, custard, etc....
What is rice porridge? Is it the same as baby rice? Kind of flaky when dry? If so it has no calorific value. Have you tried things like mashed potato, rice or pasta with the pureed meat.
From the food routine you have given, I think you need to add more calcium and calorific foods, but I will give Natasha a shout and get her opinion as well if you don't mind. :-\
When did you start weaning? Do you offer any snacks? What stage are you at? ie purees, small lumps, lumpier, etc.......
Lauren
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Have you introduced any dairy yet? What meat have you given so far? I think you need to get some more milk into him during the day and at night to fill him up. What happens if you don't give the DF does he wake during the night? I wouldn't up the solids at this stage until her is drinking more during the day.
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Today was a very weird day. DS has had a total of 25oz (which includes his DF). Yesterday was probably the worse day of our stopping the DF....DS only had a total of 15oz and of course woke up in the middle of the night hungry. I had to give him a bottle since he wouldn't go back to sleep. Anyways, yes, I have been adding extra ounces to his daytime bottles while reducing the DF bottle as per the instructions in the BWSAYP.
Our pediatrician said no cows milk until after 1 year but I am allowed to introduce yoguart and cheese. I haven't done it yet. I was planning to do it this weekend. We have already had chicken and turkey and I was going to do tofu but decided on the dairy first.
Yes I have tried not doing the DF. But DS will wakeup looking for his DF.
We started introducing solids when DS was about 6 months old. We are currently doing small lumps/lumpier foods and for snacks we eating teething biscuits and Gerber puffs. We tried soft fruit/veggies but DS wasn't too interested in holding the mesh bag for long periods of time.
Rice porridge is watered down overcooked rice. It's like making steamed (long grain white) rice on the stove top but triple the water amount to make it soupy and you overcook it so that the rice is mushy. I don't know.....my mom says most Asian families serve this to their babies so I did what she suggested ::)
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I have been trying for the past week to dream feed my 4week old ff daughter but she just wont suckle.
It takes a good 10 mins to evenutally prise her lips open and get the bottle in but she wont actually take the bottle even after I wiggle it around. If she does have a quick suck then she doesnt swallow and it all dribbles down the side of her mouth a few minutes later. Not sure whether she just cant be dream fed?
Should she be fast asleep or half awake - or does it not make a difference? Do some babies just not dream feed?
Thanks for any help
Sam & Ava (4weeks)
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Hi Sam
my lo would never dream feed- I actually had to wake her, which I hated to do but it was the only way to get her to eat. I kept the lights really low and didn't talk or make eye contact and put her straight back down as soon as she had finished. She only ever took 3-4 oz as she was too sleepy to eat. It wasn't a great success but I did persevere for a little while as it helped to get her sleeping all night long ;D
hth
kathryn x
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My son never took a dream feed (he's 5 yrs now) but he was always a big eater during the day. He always ate 10oz more each day than required...
My daughter does take a dream feed but after some perserverance.. if she didnt take it at 10 we tried every 20 mins until she did and now she takes it without problems. She never does wake for it. I have mastered the art of feeding in the dark (relatively there is a small glow from under the door) so if her eyes do prop open a bit its reallllllly dark.
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Hi
I am new here and have been reading all the information on cluster feeding and I am still a bit confused
We have a 6 week old who's schedule is something like this (he is formula fed)
7:00 ish wake and feed (approx 4 to 3.5 oz)
8:30 ish sleep
11:00 ish wake and feed (approx 5 to 5.5 oz)
12:30 ish sleep
15:30 ish wake and feed (approx 5 oz)
16:30 sleep
18:00 wake and feed (approx 4 oz's)
he then has a bath and we see if he wants any more. This is at about 19:00 and he will only have 1 oz max. We can't keep him awake any longer.
He then wakes about 11:00 and has about 5 oz
Then wakes about 2 to 3 and has about 4 oz
My question is - how do we keep him awake longer to make the cluster feed at 19:00 later so that he may take some more?
Thanks for your help
Penny
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Hi Penny, welcome to the boards ;D
If Cluster feeding is not working for you, then you can try the dreamfeed instead at 10pm.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
Some infants are harder to tank up than others. They might take early evening feeds but not take a dream feed. If that describes your baby, and you have to choose one, concentrate on the dream feed only. Don’t bother clustering. For example, you feed your baby at 6, give her a bath and do the bedtime rou¬tine, and top her off at 7—she’ll probably only take a few ml/ounces. Then at 10 or 11 (if you’re normally up that late, or if your partner is) try to give her a dream feed—never later than 11. But don’t give up after one or two nights. It’s unrealistic to think you can change a baby’s habit in less than three days, and for some infants it takes as long as a week. There are no miracles here, but persistence usually pays off.
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has anyone tried this combination and if so has it worked?
Thanks, Debbie x
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Debbie
Dreamfeeding should be done as close to 10pm as possible for maximum effect.
I never did the DF because I was always in bed before 10pm.
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Hi again Lauren, Just wondered really 'coz i had my first all nighter til 0620 and Fin fed 5, 7, 9 and 11!! (I wanted to telephone my family and friends so they could join in my celebrations!! ;D) so therefore, as we all do, i was looking to see if what i did aided the all-nighter!! Incidentally, your advice on a 4 hourly regime is going well and we transitioned pretty quickly from the 3.5, so thanks for that. Why does the book say 2300?
Debbie X
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The book says between 10-11pm, then when I started coming on this website the mods at that time always stressed as near to 10pm as possible.
I think it is so your LO doesn't naturally wake for a feed, rather than you instigating a dreamfeed. :-\
AGH so the 7 & 9pm where clusterfeeds, I did wonder when I was replying. ;)
That's probably how your Lo slept through - he was well and truly tanked up ;D
Lauren x
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Sorry to enter this board with a question but, why is it better to dreamfeed closer to 10pm rather than 11pm?
Thanks
Dani
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Hello,
I was wondering the same thing. Emma is on a 3-4 hour EASY (3 weeks old and formula fed), and our typical schedule is roughly this:
3pm, 6pm, 9 pm, 12pm, 3am, 6am ( 6 feeds)
But, I would like to start to cluster and dream feed, and TRacy says it should work as it gives babies extra calories, but as she has written it, it actually cuts out a feeding:
3pm, 5pm & 7 pm- 2 clusters, 10pm-11pm, and then hopefullyl 5:30-6am (5 feeds)
So, I was wondering, Debbie, you mentioned that you feed 5pm, 7pm, 9pm, and 11pm...this makes sense as the same amount of feeds are included...the only problem I would have...is when I started to try this I have to wake her just as she goes down for each feed...as she doesn't plan to wake until 6pm, I wake her, and then she goes down right away, and I wake her for the 7pm, etc...and now all of a sudden I am no longer following her cues about when she is hungry...any one else worried about this?
Any suggestions? Perhaps it is too early for me to start trying this?
Susan, Emma's mom
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Hello Susan,
I can't really help you since I have the same doubts you have about not following your baby's cues.
I'm curious to see the responses you get on this.
I'm trying to follow easy but keep wondering about "ignoring" my baby therefore missing something really important in our relationship...
Dani
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Hi Debbie,
How did you cluster feed at 9pm? As a dreamfeed? So you did a DF at 9pm and another one at 11pm?
Thanks
Dani
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Dani - E.A.S.Y. is not a schedule. A schedule is more about focusing on the clock, whereas E.A.S.Y. is about focusing on your baby and his cues and needs. Rather than following time slots, E.A.S.Y. follows a daily pattern of events. By doing so, we guide our children and teach them by repetition. "The most important aspect of E.A.S.Y. is to read your child's signs-of hunger, of fatigue, of overstimulation-which is more important than any time slot." (page 20) Tracy uses example routines in her books that include times. This is for informational purposes to generally advise on how to use EASY. But babies vary, and each baby varies every day, and you shouldn't panic if a feed time is off by 15 minutes, or if baby doesn't nap for 2 hrs. Also, not all babies wake at 7 am to start their day; some are early risers, and some sleep later.
I am sure sure if you have missundertood the EASY concept, but you DO follow your LO's cues. At no point should your Lo be ignored. EASY is all about bring structure into your day and to eliminate the need to feed to sleep, etc that will cause problems later on.
Susan - With everything, you need to follow what you are comfortable with your LO. If you find that your current routine works, that that's great. In my experience at 3 weeks, 6 feeds is great. Here is the link to Tracys CF & DF info from her books https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0 and her reasons that she thinks it works.
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Tracy has stated that DF'ing too late disrupts sleep cycles and reinforces waking.
Dream Feeding Too Late
"Janet called me because her son was waking up at 4:30 or 5 every morning. “But l’m doing a dream feed,’ she insisted. The problem was, she was feeding four rnonth old Kevin between midnight and 1AM. At his age and for his size (he was 8 lb. at birth), he should have been sleeping at least 5, if not 6, hours during the night. But because Janet was unwittingly disrupting his sleep with a too late dream feed, he slept fitfully. After all, babies’ sleep patterns are affected just like ours would be if we are disturbed or overtired. If we’re kept up, we don’t sleep soundly and are more likely to toss and turn. Then to make matters worse, Janet fed him when he woke in the wee hours of the morning, which only reinforced his waking habit. (Remember: Waking up like Clockwork is a pattern; waking sporadically is hunger.) I suggested that she gradually move the dream feed to 10 or 10:30, but stop feeding him when he wakes (see more about how to do this in chapter 5, pages l98 ~ 199) Also, she was to give him a little more food during the day by adding an oz. to each of his daytime bottles."
taken from the secrets of the baby whisperer p119
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Hi Dani, basically what happened was, like Lauren has explained about the EASY routine, i followed Fin's cues. We're going with a 4 hourly routine but on some afternoons he can go anywhere between 21/2 - 4 hours (don't know why) but i don't stick ridgedley to 4 hours - if he's telling me he's hungry i act on it. That Friday, (etched in my mind! ;D) he fed 'awake' at 5 & 7 pre & post bath and then he stirred at 9pm and was sucking his dummy and kicking his legs and there was no 'settling' him, although not really crying so i took it to be hunger whereby he took 50z but once i started to give him his bottle he went into his DF mode, slow eating, eyes closed and so i treat it as one and didn't wind him and put him straight back. I then tried him again at 11pm because i figured if he had eaten more or less every 2 hours that afternoon, was it a growth spurt and he didn't take much feed in the morning, he took another 4 oz.... my little one is fussy and inconsistant with the amounts he has to eat, he can take only 3oz at one feed and then wallop down 7oz so i really do have to watch for that hunger cue because once the bottle has left his mouth with either wind or just nosiness there's no way he'll take it back :D ???.... i hope that helps!!... he hasn't slept thru since tho!!
Just a thought if you're struggling with all this EASY stuff, you know how i understand the concept is it's what we do, if you think of it we don't go to sleep immediately after we eat (unless it's after christmas dinner!! ;D ;D we do something, we go back to work, shop etc but we don't sleep...but then maybe we'd have a little nap some time after, it's routine but not set in stone... don't know whether that helps Dani but it will fall into place. I stayed at home for a couple of days and watched Fin and you just start to see your lo's 'signs'. I'm not gonna ramble on unless you want me too 'coz i'm doing my own head in!!!
Debbiex
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Does anyone know why dreamfeed must be before 11pm??? My baby is 9 weeks old and has been colicky and has reflux(have just weened her off Domperidone and Ranitidine(Zantac), she's still on Gaviscon Infant), so the evenings are the worst, she will not sleep at all between 5pm and midnight. I feed her around 5pm, then 9pm and then midnight. She will then sleep till around 4pm (wakes up crying with wind - goes back to sleep), then another DF between 5 and 6am, then back to sleep till about 9am for the morning feed.
Am I doing this correctly? If I give her her DF before 11pm she tends to wake up twice then during the night for a feed at around 2am and 6am. I would prefer to feed her at midnight and have her only wake up once during the night. Am I jepordizing the whole EASY routine by doing this? I am so hoping to get my baby to sleep all night within the next month.
Any tips?!!!
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Tracy has stated that DF'ing too late disrupts sleep cycles and reinforces waking.
Dream Feeding Too Late
"Janet called me because her son was waking up at 4:30 or 5 every morning. “But l’m doing a dream feed,’ she insisted. The problem was, she was feeding four rnonth old Kevin between midnight and 1AM. At his age and for his size (he was 8 lb. at birth), he should have been sleeping at least 5, if not 6, hours during the night. But because Janet was unwittingly disrupting his sleep with a too late dream feed, he slept fitfully. After all, babies’ sleep patterns are affected just like ours would be if we are disturbed or overtired. If we’re kept up, we don’t sleep soundly and are more likely to toss and turn. Then to make matters worse, Janet fed him when he woke in the wee hours of the morning, which only reinforced his waking habit. (Remember: Waking up like Clockwork is a pattern; waking sporadically is hunger.) I suggested that she gradually move the dream feed to 10 or 10:30, but stop feeding him when he wakes (see more about how to do this in chapter 5, pages l98 ~ 199) Also, she was to give him a little more food during the day by adding an oz. to each of his daytime bottles."
taken from the secrets of the baby whisperer p119
If you find that doing the Df later works for you, then continue. The above is Tracys reasoning for doing the DF between 10pm and 11pm, after working with lots of babies.
HTH's
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Lauren - sorry if sounded a bit too critical of EASY. I think I've been trying to follow it too strictly and got frustrated...
For the past few days I've been doing just what you suggested, watching my lo's cues and things seem to be falling into place. The ideas suggested by Tracy do work but when we mums get very tired and a bit desperate I think we tend to expect miracles and a baby who should fit withing a ready-made schedule.
Well, thanks for taking your time writing. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding.
Take care
And Debbie - thanks a lot for sharing your experience. My lo is a bit like yours, eating at different times. But he's happy I guess. I think he would be eating more if I spaced his feeds a little bit more but this is hard! As you know.
I'm trying to watch his cues a bit more and I feel more relaxed. Before I was just looking at the clock... Well, I still do but it's better now.
Take care
Daniela
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My DS is eight weeks old today...hooray!!!! We did the dream feed for a few nights and it seemed that he just lost the distinction between night and day because of it. So I'd like to try cluster feeding, but I'm a little confused. It was my impression that one of the main ideas in EASY was that babies learned not to be dependent on bottle/breast to go to sleep. To this end, I've been giving him a feed at 7p, then bath, then bed, and just waiting until he wakes to eat, sometimes as early at 12a, sometimes as late as 3a. Basically, he wakes at least once before 7a, most times twice. I'd like to fit in an extra bottle during the day so maybe we can start thinking about getting that 8p to 7a sleep stretch I'm longing for! ;D My question is, should I feed him at 6, bath, etc. and then again at 8? I'm just worried that the bottle will become an expectation, fine for now, not fine for later. Do I do his little bedtime routine minus bath after the 8? Sorry if these are questions with obvious answers...I've been reading for a while here, and I feel like it's all starting to run together. Any advice is appreciated!!
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hi
Here is the info from the book on best CF times...
E 1600
A 1630
S 1730 - catnap only 30 - 45mins
E 1900 & bath or vice versa or E 1800 & 2000 with bath in the middle (clusterfeeding)
S 1930 S 2030
The dreamfeed usually needs to be initially done for about a week for you to see any benefits and find out it it works for your LO.
There are full dream and clusterfeeding FAQ's here --> https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
*If your baby is resistant to the dream feed?
*Tanking Up (clusterfeeding)
*Dream Feeding Too Late
*How to stop Habitual Waking from D/F
*When to start?/How to do it/When to do it/How much?/How long to implemant?/Problems?
*How to stop the dream feed
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Thanks for the info, Lauren. I think we'll give the cluster feed a go. :)
Leslie
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Let us know how it goes.
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I just started cluster/dreamfeeding my 7 week old. I was wondering how many ounces total should he get each day? He used to get 30 ounces, but now with the cluster feeds, it's turning out to be 35 ounces (7 - 5 ounce bottles). Is that to much??
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I just started cluster/dreamfeeding my 7 week old. I was wondering how many ounces total should he get each day? He used to get 30 ounces, but now with the cluster feeds, it's turning out to be 35 ounces (7 - 5 ounce bottles). Is that to much??
Hi welcome to the boards :D
There is no set right or wrong, if your LO wants this milk then he must be thirsty. I certainly wouldn't limit the bottles. If you LO drains any bottles that is a sign that he needs more, usually if they leave 0.5oz in the bottle that's fine.
There is a calulation here, howeve it is aonly a guideline https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67933.0
Hope this helps
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That does help, thank you.
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Need some advice. My LO is 4 months old and went to doctor today for check up. He told me to stop the DF because she does not need the calories and does not want her getting use to having to eat at that time. DD weighs 12 lbs and is in the 25th percentile for her weight. I am afraid that if I stop the DF, she will start waking up more during the night. I have not had any problems with night wakings since I implemented her DFs when she was 6 weeks old. The book says to DF until 7 months. I really don't want to stop the DF.
Should I continue with the DF and just not let the doctor know? ???
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Thank you for the reassurance Stacy, I agree with your advice. I am going to keep the DF until LO is more established with solids and is old enough to go longer between feeds. Thanks again!
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Hi All-
I just started EASY 5 days ago with my 4 (going on 5) week old. He is strictly bottlefed (either expressed BM or formula)- he takes anywhere from 4-5oz during the day feedings (every 3 hours- pretty good at this). We're having trouble with the cluster feeds - he'll only take 2oz at each (say at 6, then at 8) and will TOTALLY resist the dreamfeed at 11 - just won't even open his mouth for anything... and then he's up at 12:30 for a normal feed again... then up at 3-4am, then up again at 6:30 (though he's starting to decrease his ozs at the 3-4am feed...) Any suggestions regarding the cluster feedings and lack of dream feed? should I drop one cluster to focus on the dream feed? He also doesn't take catnaps either in the evening.... it takes him too long to go down, and then we get him back up for a cluster feed... something just doesn't feel right... any thoughts?
Thanks! :)
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CAWPSU06
If your baby is resistant to the dream feed, you also might want to reevaluate how you’re feeding him during the day. One little lad I cared for, Christian, was nine weeks old at the time, and no matter how hard his mum and I tried, he wouldn’t take that 11PM. feed. For weeks, Mum had been feeding him at 5 and 8 and then trying to feed him again at 11, which was only three hours later. Chris was almost 4 kg (nine pounds) at that point, so it wasn’t surprising that he wasn’t hungry at 11. But then he feed woke up at 1 AM. starving. We decided to adjust his earlier feeds. We hell only gave him 50 ml (two ounces) at 5PM1 instead of the 200 ml (seven ounces) he usually took, and moved the 8pm feed back an hour, to 7pm, and only gave him 175ml (6 ounces) instead of his usual 250 ml (eight ounces).
In other words, we took away 200 ml (seven ounces) altogether from his evening feeds. He had an activity afterward—his bath— and by the time he was massaged, swaddled, and put to bed, he was pretty tired. Then we took the dream feed to 11, which meant that now there were four hours between his early evening feeds and lo and behold—Chris took a full 250 ml (eight ounces) at 11. At that point, we also figured he needed more food during the day ~ so we upped his feeds 25 ml (an ounce) per bottle. Thereafter, he lasted through the night from the dream feed to a 6:30 wake-up.
Remember that a dream feed should never be later than 11. Otherwise, you’re cutting into the night, which we’re trying to avoid, because a feed at night means the baby will eat that much less during the day, and he’ll get into the habit of waking at night from hunger. That’s backward, we don’t want to start a baby on a routine that we’d do with a six-week-old.
BW solves all your problems p118 https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
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Hello
I have started giving my 6-week old 2 cluster feeds and a dreamfeed in the evening, spaced 2 hours apart. (Her normal day-time feeds are 3-hours apart).
She takes quite a bit at the two cluster feeds and I give her a dreamfeed at 11pm. At the dreamfeed, she only takes 30% of what she would normally take - is that about right, or should I expect her to be taking more? She seems to sleep through until 2am, wakes for a feed and then goes back down at 3.30am/4am to 7am.
I'm wondering whether I could do anything different to help her go through until at least 3am and then wake for her feed?
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Hi Polly31
Someone asked this yesterday as well, so I have moved your post here. You can find Tracy's answer on the my next post, in reply to CAWPU06.
HTH's
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Thanks Lauren - most useful!
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Hi Ladies
Can any one tell me about cluster feeding? I have a week old boy who likes to feed every 2 hours at night and every 3 or 4, sometimes even 5 hours during the day. Trying to change it over.
Do I worry about the amounts/ or time (we are working on bfding, but have to use a bottle for now) he takes in evening cluster feedings? Would this not promote snacking? Do I wake him for these feeds or treat them like dream feeds?
Thnks
Buffy
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Hi Ladies
Can any one tell me about cluster feeding? I have a week old boy who likes to feed every 2 hours at night and every 3 or 4, sometimes even 5 hours during the day. Trying to change it over.
Do I worry about the amounts/ or time (we are working on bfding, but have to use a bottle for now) he takes in evening cluster feedings? Would this not promote snacking? Do I wake him for these feeds or treat them like dream feeds?
Thnks
Buffy
Tanking Up
One way of insuring that your baby eats enough is to increase his intake during the day, before 11 P.M. By “tanking up”, as I call this strategy, you get more food into his tummy, which, in turn, enables him to sleep through longer stretches at night. Tanking up is also great for growth spurts, those two— or three—day periods when your baby eats more than usual (see pages 115—119).
Tanking up consists of two parts: clusterfeeding, which is done at two-hour intervals in the early evening, at 5 and 7 or 6 and 8; and the dreamfeed, which is given somewhere between 10 and 11 (depending on how late you or your partner can stay up). With the dream feed, you liter-ally feed your baby in his sleep. You don’t talk to him, or put the lights on. It’s easier to do with a bottle, because you just wiggle the nipple into his mouth and that will activate the sucking reflex. It’s a little more challenging if you breast-feed. Before you give him your breast, stroke his bottom lip with your pinky or a dummy to get his sucking reflex started. Either way, at the end of the dream feed, your baby will be so relaxed you can put him down without burping.
I recommend tanking up as soon as your baby comes home from the hospital, but you can start using both strategies any time during the first eight weeks and the dream feed until seven or eight months (by which time your baby is drinking between 175 and 250 ml (six and eight ounces) per feed and getting a fair amount of solid food). Some infants are harder to tank up than others. They might take early evening feeds but not take a dream feed. If that describes your baby, and you have to choose one, concentrate on the dream feed only. Don’t bother clustering. For example, you feed your baby at 6, give her a bath and do the bedtime rou¬tine, and top her off at 7—she’ll probably only take a few ml/ounces. Then at 10 or 11 (if you’re normally up that late, or if your partner is) try to give her a dream feed—never later than 11. But don’t give up after one or two nights. It’s unrealistic to think you can change a baby’s habit in less than three days, and for some infants it takes as long as a week. There are no miracles here, but persistence usually pays off.
taken from Secrets of the Baby Whisperer p94
You would not treat these as dreamfeeds.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0
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Hi there, I posted elsewhere regarding my DS not taking much for his first bottle, and got two responses (thanks!) that this was their "signal" to drop the DF.
I'm posting here to see what you think about this idea: I wish I would have read this thread a LONG time ago b/c I have been one of those "bad mommies" that would DF at 11:00 or later. My LO would sometimes wake either for his DF or during it, and now I see why (and also see that I created this bad habit!) i guess I was thinking that I wanted him to go as long as possible so he'd be hungry and sleep longer. We started solids a week shy of 5 mo. He's only on solids 1-2x/day currently. He drinks usually 4oz at the first feed (though 2.5 this am with my DH) and then usually around 6-7 the rest of the day (including DF) and he usually totals 32oz. Right now, we're on 2 TSBP of cereal mixed with formula plus a TBS of fruit an hour after first feed, and occasionally "dinner" at 5pm of 1=2 TBS of veggies. Firsat and last bottle at 7:30, bed at 8.
Here's what I'm thinking- first, just get the DF back to 10ish without worrying about how many oz he takes (I say that b/c it's darn near impossible to "add" oz to his day bottles- I pretty much make sure he's taking all he possibly can already) by incrementally moving the DF back by 15 min every 3 days or so. This hopefully will get him out of the habit of waking out of hunger if he hasn't gotten it by 11:00.
So, once I get it down to 10:00, my theory is that he might actually decrease the oz on his own, anyway, since it's only 2.5 hours after last bottle. Could this be right? Should I start upping solids to 3x/day to increase calories? (Though we are only on stage 1 foods- no yogurt, etc. yet- when can you start yogurt, by the way?)
If you're still reading, thx. If you can figure out how to answer this post- thx again!
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If you are going to offer the dreamfeed at 10:00 that is fine, this is not supposed to be a normal feed, just a way for your lo to tank up. I would defintiely suggest bringing the dreamfeed to as close to 10:00 as possible.
If you are getting 32 oz of milk into your lo that is great. If you want to introduce a third meal, then you can do so, but you must remember that their milk is still their main source of nutrician until they are 1, and you need to watch to make sure that his milk oz don't drop too much.
We started yogurt at around 5 months. You need to make sure that there is no dairy intolerance, so would introduce it early during the day to make sure your lo does not have any reaction.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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ARRRRGGGHHHHH someone tell me why I am bothering with this cluster feed/dreamfeed shennangigans!!
I've been cluster feeding and dreamfeeding for about a week now with my 7 week old and she still wakes up 3 hours after her dreamfeed for another feed, which makes me wonder why I'm staying up until 11pm to do this feed?
Does it takes a while to get cluster feeding and dreamfeeding established so that they go for longer stretches during the night?
I'm seriously losing the plot over this and feel like throwing the BW book to release some aggression!! :D
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Try a night without the DF, your LO may not be suseptable to it.
If you notice there is an increase in night waking with no DF then you know that it is working.
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Just re-read your post, you need to do it nearer 10pm.
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But doing it at 10pm would be an hour after her second cluster feed and I know she would take about 0.5ozs at the most.
I really don't think dreamfeeding and cluster feeding is working for us. Perhaps I should give it another go when she's older.
Thanks anyway.
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I started DF my LO at about 6 weeks and she still woke at about 4am for another feed. The DF didn't get us a full nights sleep at first, but it helps them go longer and longer as they get older. I stuck with the DF and eventually my LO started sleeping until 5 am and then 7 am. If you feel like it is helping even a little, I would stick with it a little bit longer to see if it eventually gets your LO to sleep longer as they get more use to it.
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Thanks, TOM TOM. My plan is to back it up by 5 minutes a night. (Last night was 10:35) :) I hope to KEEP GOING back 5 min/night until he drops it. :) I'll let you know. My hopes is that he just rearranges his formula feedings to only needing 4 bottles/day, and just upping solids as needed. We'll see what HE thinks! In any case, if I can get the DF to 10:00 and him not have a night waking (which he hasn't for about months!!!!) then I will REMAIN VERY HAPPY and will worry about dropping it later in case he still needs it now. He's almost 20 pounds (12 kg), so he's not missing any meals!
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Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hello, everyone! A proud first-time mom here! :) I have a question RE cluster feeding. Tracy says in her book that formula-fed babies eat every four hours. My baby girl [3.5 mos] is getting about 8 oz in each bottle. If I cluster feed her at 5pm and 7 pm, how many ounces should I give her in those two particular feedings b/f her 8 ozs dream feed around 10:30 pm? Thanks!!!
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Welcome to the Boards :)
I would offer her as much as she will take at the 5pm feeding, and make up the same size bottle again at 7. You soon will be able to guage and see how much she is taking. After a few days if she is not taking as much of her second bottle then you could alter the oz.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi everyone,
I'm new to the site/forum and have found your postings helpful.
I want to start cluster feeding my six-week-old tomorrow night. I'm sleepy and nervous. But I'm hoping the cluster feedings help.
I'm hoping for any tips on the following plans:
She currently eats approx. 4 oz. every 2.5-3 hrs. during the day. She normally wakes at around 7:30 a.m. She naps poorly. I haven't yet figured out why but will head on over to the sleep forum soon.
Anyhow, I'm trying to decide when to do the cluster feedings. I'm thinking probably 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 p.m. One problem, though. She sleeps badly/hardly at all/wakes every 20 min. and need consoling usually from 6 p.m.-11:30 p.m. or so.
She then will sleep usually four hours or so, eat, and sleep until 7:30 or so.
So, do I still just give her the DF at around 10 regardless of whether she's up already or not? Also, it sounds like I try to give her her normal 4 oz. bottles at all those feedings if she'll take them? I can't imagine she will. She sometimes only wants 3 or 3.5 if she eats at 2.5 hr intervals.
Thoughts?
Many thanks!
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Hi, everyone- I'm new to the board and a second time mommy! :)
I am hoping to do the cluster- and dreamfeeding with my almost 8 week old lo. I didn't do it with my older daughter, though- so I'm a newbie, so to speak.
The problem I forsee is that my lo only takes between 2 and 3oz at a feeding. I would like her to take more, but she absolutely refuses. Will this still work? We tried the dreamfeed last night at 11pm, but she was still up at 1am, 4am and up for the day at 7am. Should I move the df forward to 10pm, or just to 10:30? And how should I try to get her to take more at each feeding? Thanks!
Kristi
Mommy to Avery- 4.16.04
and Delaney- 11.28.06
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Sugarmama, sorry for the delay in replying to you. If the 8pm cluster feed is too late and your lo is usually asleep by then, you could always try clusterfeeding at 5 and 7 before bed.
The DF is given asleep and is better closer to 10pm.
Kristie, welcome to the BW boards.
Yes you can still clusterfeed even if your lo only takes small feeds. The object of clusterfeeding is to get your lo to tank up.
With regards to the DF it is recommended that you do it as close to 10:00 pm as possible. It is also still very common to have night wakings at this age. Keep on going, things will get better.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi there. Just an update on moving the DF back. We are now to 10:15. (IT's SO nice to have it done earlier) He is NOT waking anymore during the feed (yay!) and takes a little less. He doesn't seem to want more in the mornings, yet. In fact, he is taking less overall (28-30oz) but still takes any solids that I offer (1-2x/day). NO night wakings, either, so I'm NOT worried about his intake (esp b/c he's a CHUBBY baby!)
Do I still keep moving back till I'm literally df'ing 30-60 minutes after bedtime?
Kristi- Hugs to you and your 8 week old. I ditto what Tom Tom's mum said. It might take a WHILE for your LO to drop even one of those night feeds. I can remember at that age, every night thinking "ok, THIS is the night, he'll sleep longer." And, lo and behold he was up 3 hours after that df. ALso remember that whatever you start, it can take days/weeks for it to "work". I got VERY caught up in the idea that if I do X, then baby will SURELY do Y and Z immediately. Unfortunately, my baby was not reading BW at the same time I was!
Jill
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Hi there, first time on the message board but familiar with the techniques. I am wondering how young to start cluster & dream feeding? With my son I started at 5 weeks but want to get EASY happening sooner this time (due next month). Also, does anybody think that its too early to start EASY in the hospital? I'm having a C-section so I'll be stuck in hospital for 5 days and coming home to a toddler I would like to try utilise the time to get the routine sorted out. thanks
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Jill that is fantastic news that Connor is sleeping through the night and that you are able to DF earlier ;D
Hi happy-mum, welcome to the boards.
It is never to early to start EASY, but remember that it may take a little time for your lo to get used to the idea. Your lo will still be getting itself accustomed to being in the outside world. The main concept at starting so early is to teach your lo when E and S is and falling asleep independantly.
Good luck with the birth of your lo, and please keep us posted on how you get on implementing EASY.
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Thanks, everyone! I've spread out the clusterfeeding a little because she has reflux and eating that much in such a short amount of time makes her spit up a ton. But she did well for two nights (DF at 10:30 and slept until 3am)! I am hopeful. Last night we had a little hiccup as she did the DF normally but then spit up an hour later, so she needed to eat sooner. She was again up at 1am, but then not up until 6am again! She's a champion! I know she should still be waking in the night as young as she is, and I am just glad to get her on a routine. She is very routine-oriented and is craving being on one. She doesn't like to be out of whack, so to speak! Thanks again, everyone!
Kristi
Mommy to Avery (4.16.04) and Delaney (11.28.06)
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Sounds like you are both doing great.
Thbat is fantastic news that she slept so well for you.
Please keep us posted on how you are doing.
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Hi Tom Toms Mum,
My lo is taking his DF at 10:00, but he doesnt eat much, also he has been waking up when I pick him up. what do you think?
I have had difficult nights, getting him to sleep after 4 am is almost impossible.
Lo´s bottle daily schedule: 8am 11am 2pm 5pm 6:30 bath 7pm 10pm DF.
Thanks
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You could always try giving the dreamfeed a little later, say around 10:30 to see if your lo takes anymore.
When your lo wakes at 4am - do you feed him in a dark room? It is best to try and treat this feed as a night feed and not make any contact with him or talk to him so that once he has had this feed, you can put him straight back to sleep.
When your lo wakes for the DF, does he fall back asleep on the bottle?
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Paula,
At 4 am yes I feed him in a dark room, and I have no problem getting him to sleep, but aprox 1 hour later he wakes up.
yes he falls asleep with DF.
Thanks
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I would use Pat/Shh to try and get him back to sleep when he wakes at 5am, and see if you can get him to settle again.
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About the shh part, how is the correct way to do it:
sh sh sh sh sh sh or
shhhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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HELLO HELLO. Just an update. We are now at 1 week post STOPPING the dream feed, and NO wakings! :) :) :) I just kept backing it up, and then we went to a wedding and my MIL babysat- so that was the first night. WOO HOO. I FEEL SO FREE! ;)
On another note, I believe our membership the 45 minute nap club is expiring, as well. :)
THANKS for the support, TOMTOM. :)
Jill
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Karintya - which ever works for your lo. If your lo responds better to the sh sh sh then do it. It is completely up to you.
Jill, that is fantastic news, I am sooo pleased that things are working out. Sounds like your hard work has really paid off. That is great news on the naps too. ;D ;D ;D
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I have a 3 1/2 month old, and I decided last night to start with dream feeding. I am confused about how much I should give her, though. She has been on 4-hour easy since day one (feeding her every 3-hours never worked...she just wasn't interested), and is a good sleeper, but is still waking up hungry once during the night (~4 AM).,She is eating approximately 4 x 8 oz every day, and I gave her a 2-ounce dream feed last night -- she made it an extra hour, and went right back to sleep after I fed her. How much should I give her in the dream feed for her to make it all the way to 7AM?
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Hi and welcome to the boards.
I would make up a full 8oz bottle and see how much she takes from it. Judge it over a few days so that you can see how much she takes on average, and then start making your bottles from there.
Good luck, let us know how she gets on.
HTH's
Paula
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Hi,
My DS is 6 weeks old and is a big boy- 11lbs/5kg at birth. I tried the DF a few weeks ago- I'd wake him from a deep sleep although he stayed practically asleep during the feed-but i dropped it again as it made no difference to the night and he continued to wake at 2 a.m. and 5a.m.However in last week he has started to wake himself about 10 looking for food but doesn't take a full bottle, maybe 90-110 ml, and is awake again before 2 a.m. and again about 4.30. It seems to me he's going backwards and his night pattern of feeding is getting worse. Maybe it's due to the fact that we're trying to find a formula that suits him, as in, fills him up and satisfies his hunger but one that doesn't give him bad wind/gas so we have changed his formula in the past week and are now trying another one as the first one didn't suit him. Am also concerned as think he may not be taking enough ounces/ml per feed hence waking himself at 10 and also twice in the night- could that be the case? But i can't force him to finish a bottle if he seems to lose interest... i'm using dr brown bottles and medium flow teats. Would changing the teats improve matters? I'd be very grateful for any advice or tips.
Emer
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Hi,
At 6 weeks it is still very common for your lo to be having night wakings. It is very normal at this age to be waking at those times.
Do you clusterfeed as well as the DF? The DF is actually better done without waking your lo - giving it to him while he is asleep.
You could try a faster flow teat, but it may be too fast for your lo - the only way you will know is if you try it. You may have to go back to the slower teats though.
HTH's
Paula
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Thanks Paula for reply. the teats on the Dr B bottles seem to be fairly fast so may continue using them. When he wakes at 5 a.m. looking for a feed and i can't stall him til 7 a.m. I find this throws me as i can't follow tracy's 3 hour routine as described in her book which starts at 7. Do i take it that going on what my LO seems to want, my 3 hour routine is 5 a.m. , 8, 11, 2, 5, 7/8 p.m, 10/11 p.m. ? And just hope that with time he'll be able to go longer form his middle of the night feed to closer to 7 a.m. Would really appreciate some direction on this as finding it very confusing to know how to keep him, and the day, on some sort of consistent track.
many thanks.
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My DS used to wake at 5am and I treated this as a night feed and would put him straight back to bed. This actually worked for us and he would then wake up for the day at 8 and this is when you would start your day.
I say do what ever suits your lo. If it suits him to have a day that is 8-8 then by all means do it.
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I have a quick question when it comes to bottle feeding.......
My son is eating his bottles before his nap/bedtime....Is this ok, if not how do I change him to eat when he gets up? I have tried to feed him when he first wakes up but he does not want the bottle, he pushes it away from his mouth. He likes to eat before he falls asleep...What do you think?
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Can you post your routine so that we can see what it looks like?
Include your Sleep Time, Activity time, Eat time, Windown etc.
Also how old is your DS?
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My son is 6 months old.
6:30AM- he wakes
7:15-7:30 - E
7:30-8:00- A
8 - 9 -S
9-11 - A
11 - E
11:30-noon - 2:00PM -S
2-3 - A
3 - E
3-5 -A
5 - begin cluster feed of about 3 oz
5 - 6:30 -wind down
6:30 - E
7:00- bed time routine
7:30PM - S
Everynow and then he may take a 30 - 40 minutenap at around 3PM
Thanks for your advice
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Like I said in my previous post - as long as your lo is not falling asleep on his bottles, then it is fine to have them before his nap - this is probably what works for him.
You will find that as he gets older and increases his A time and starts dropping bottles, he will have them at different times of the day.
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Hello to all.
if there is a 45 min napper club my lo has to join! ;D. about my night walking, she has never been a good sleeper but when she was younger she used to sleep 6 hours at night ( at 2mo)! and now she rarely sleep 4 ???, we started on solids at 5 mo because the night walking was, and are because of hungry, she takes at night a dreamfeed 8oz, and 2 times more to eat another 8oz each! i think is too much :o she is on easy since 3mo. I don´t know why is this but at day she is a bad eater too, could be because she is a spirited baby? she takes rarely more than 4 oz and makes me crazy when she closes her mouth at solids time, but she eats a bit. so for now I want to join you at this night wakings chat, because i feel kind a lonely on this. :-[
kisses.
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Urbantis,
My LO had the same problem, he wanted to eat at night and not much during the day. This happened right around when he had a growth spurt. It was a long hard road and very little sleep to get him back to eating during the day. I started by dropping one bottle and then I dropped the other. Now my son goes to sleep around 7:00pm and wakes around 1AM (its a 50/50 if he falls back asleep on his own or needs his paci). He then wakes between 3-4AM, I give him a bottle, usually around 4-6 oz and then he sleeps till around 7:00AM. It was so hard to get him back to this. I know how you feel. But I promise you can get her to change her ways it just might take a little bit depending on your daughters personality. Like you my son is spirited, so it took me awhile (he is a stubborn little boy).
But don't worry you are not alone. :)
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Urbantis,
Can you possibl post your routine so that we can have a look at it.
Thanks
Paula
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Hi, thank you for the replies.
pezhead, how did you do to make him eat more at day? what you mean about 50/50? half you and half on his own?
her routine:
830 - 900 wakes up I try to give her a bottle but she refuses (last bottle 8oz at 700)
1100 cereals with fruit and veggies
1100 nap 45min
1330 bottle (6oz but she usually takes 4)
1430 nap (or not) 45 min
1530 meet with veggies and fruit
1600 nap 45 min
1730 bottle (6oz usually takes 4)
1800 catnap
1930 cereals with fruit and veggies
2000 bath
2030 in bed
2110 asleep
around
2300 she wants a full bottle (8oz)
300 again
700 again
what do you think about this?
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My LO did the same thing, but what I did was take one bottle out. And I kept putting his paci in his mouth instead of giving him that bottle then when the next bottle came I would give it to him. I found that he slowly understood that he is not going to get as much food in the night and he slowly started to eat more during the day. I still give him one bottle at night either at midnight or at 3AM depending on him. But during the day he is getting 3.5 -4 bottles during the day and 3 full jars of stage one baby food. Once I get to stage 2 or 3 and he starts having less of his bottles during the day I am going to start weaning him off his one bottle at night. Let me be honest for me it was about a month or more to get him back on a somewhat decent schedule. I did a lot of crying, I got angry sometimes. It was the hardest time my LO has put me through. I am hoping that it all gets easier. I hope for you your LO gets over quicker than mine.
And everynight he always stirs at least once and half the time he self soothes himself back to sleep and the other half I am giving him his paci. Unfortunately with him I found that if I let him go to long trying to self soothe he will go into a full out cry fest so I have to time everything just right. I know that this is not a great schedule, but I believe in time he willl slowly get the ability to self soothe all the time.
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pezhead, sounds good like you did, a hard work but seems like it worth it. Sometimes I give her the paci and sometimes it works but another times she starts to cry, loud very loud. Now she is theeting, so some times I really don´t know if she is in pain or hungry or both or nothing ??? sometimes when she is waking up, (but still sleepy) in the middle of the night I give her the bottle, because I´m already awake and I know that if is not now will be awake for a bottle one hour later, i think i should´nt do this anymore... but is a vicious cycle. this days she is eating terrible at day , theeting I suppose, and last night she ate bad at night too.
she was awake at irregular times. at 1000, I gave her a bottle, and woke again at 1200 and I know she wasn't hungry, couldn't be!, so gave her a paci and took a while and started to cry, I suppose theeting and gave her gums gel, half an hour and she went to sleep again. at 5 she was awake again and i suppose it was because of hungry but she ate only 4 oz (not 8 like she usually does), and back to sleep till 9.
thanks
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My son is a bad teether. Reallly a grumpy baby. We wound up having to give him infant tylenol just to help him sleep and baby oragel to help eleviate the pain during the day. That was the worst period, I am not looking forward to him getting any others. Maybe they will all come in at once...wishful thinking. I recommend you let the teeth come in first and then try to change her schedule. Right now she is in alot of pain and uncomfortable, changing anything I think would not help. Once the teeth break through, her pain will go away. You daughter sounds just like my son, because when he was teething he only wanted to eat at night. Right now just get her through this difficult time, and it will end soon.
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:)
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Urbantis,
Looking at your schedule, if your lo is having a bottle at 7:00am, she is probably not very hungry for another one at 9:00am - have you thought about starting your day at 7:00am?
With regards to the middle of the night bottles, it definitely sounds like they are interferring with her appetite in the day. Have you tried watering them down, so that you can start cutting them out?
Paula
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Hi Paula, thanks for your reply, about starting my day at 7, it sounds too early, but you are right about she is not hungry at 3, might be i should offer some cereals with fruit instead of milk... if you remember as, Avril used to woke up at 12 or 13 about 2 month ago, do you remember? now she is better, more normal ;) I never tried to watering the night bottles, how do I make that? 50/50? all the bottles? is she going to take more food during the day if i o this or just the same ? (considering that watering the bottles she is going to eat half milk)
by the way, congrats for your 16 w pregnancy !
thank you.
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Hello,
I have started the dreamfeed with my 9 wk old. We've been doing it for the last 3 nights. Leading up to starting the dreamfeed DS was actually sleeping from ~8:30-2/3am without a dreamfeed. I figured a dreamfeed would extend this even longer. Since we started he has actually been waking up between 12-1am, ~3am (to feed) and again around 5am. I think he has been waking because of gas. I realize that the dreamfeed may take a week to kick in but should he be going backwards. Should we continue to dreamfeed or since he was doing well in the first place drop it?
This happened to me as well. I just got done with a good cry regarding my baby. I am not sure what to do. I read the book and reference it often. It all seems to make sense, but my baby gets really hysterical when I try to do things like shush pat. I lost my sanity today I think. Regarding teh dreamfeed, I have thought of trying it again, but my nights were miserable the times I tried to do it. First of all, my baby got horrible gas from eating while not conscious enough to handle it. Nest, it just seemed to disrupt his sleep altogether to where he just kept waking up and being fitful all night. I have thought about reinstating it, but I see here I am not the only one with this problem. Also, my baby FINALLY goes down easily for naps, but rarely sleeps more than 40 minutes. Today I did the wake to sleep thing, and oh God...it was just a horribly stressful experience for both of us because he didn't drift back to sleep...he woke up with a vengance and then it was really terrible to try to get him back to sleep. I have tried to stick with this whole thing really believing that a routine works best, but I am finding that this is stressing me out so much that I am becoming a bad mother. I feel a little hostility after listening to him scream for an hour straight after following through on what the book suggests. Also...how are you ever supposed to leave the house with your baby if this schedule is so important. I am trying to decide...is the routine more important or is trying to live life to it's fullest and taking the baby outside a couple times a week to experience little tidbits of life more important?!? Is anyone else going through this? I am losing my mind and feeling terrible because I don't think I am being as emotionally present with my baby as I should be because I am so driven to help him fall into a routine (apparently a routine he doesn't want to be a part of). He will be 3 months next Tuesday and I have been incorporating pieces of routine into his days from the first day he came home. He still doesn't like to sleep as much as Tracy suggests (the day he was born, he was wide awake the entire day!!! and then still woke up that night to eat).
Holly
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I also tried the dreamfeed with my son and it made him worse, and I tried it a couple of times, I eventually just said that it is not for my baby. Its weird yesterday my son had 2 almost 2 hour naps and he slept horribly at night. At 11PM he was wide awake and I could not get him to go back to sleep for the longest time, and then he tossed and turned the reest of the night. I find when he takes only an hour nap at most, that he does better at night. I thin my son likes to do everything opposite of what all the books say is right for him. I hope everything gets better for my son I really could use a good nights sleep (longer than 2 or 4 hour stretches).
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Urbantis,
Thanks for the congratulations.
With regards to watering down the feeds, you can try cutting out a few oz at a time, and then once she is taking say a 50/50 bottle, then you can still carry on cutting the oz down, and start cutting the amount you offer too. It may take a few weeks, but she will start increasing her daytime intake. Yes I would definitely do it with all the night time bottles and see how she goes.
Yes you could offer cereals at that time, and then offer a bottle at 11 before the nap.
Let us know how you get on.
Paula
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Thanks I ll do that since tonight. :)
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Good luck,
Let us know how you get on.
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Hi, well I started to watering night bottles but this is not a reference because some days she is not eating well at all, yesterday since 5am till 3pm she did´t want to eat, I was worried but I know is because of theeting, so at night I felt guilty watering the bottles :-\ . the good thing is that she is asking (some nights) only for 2 bottles, instead of 3 :)
kisses
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Urbantis,
Read "Fussy Feeders-Dysphagia-a possibility other than reflux" under Bottle Feeding on the Home page in Boards. Could this be the problem?
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Hugs, it can be hard when they are teething. I would only water down the bottles once she has gotten over this bout of teething.
Keep us posted.
Paula
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Hi, I read "fussy feeders..." I think this in not the problem.
but I want to check with you
1) Does he eat better when he's sleepy?
Yes, muuuch better, she takes all the bottle.
2) How long does it take to feed him?
5 to 10 min. she eats or she doesn´t.
3) Does he scream and when he sees the bottle/before he starts to feed?
At day, yes, and shoots her mouth that I can not put a spoon or a bottle.
4) Does he seem fussy while he eats vs. after he eats.
Yes, somedays she is terrible fussy day and night.
5) Is he congested or had any other respiratory problems.
she is not, or at least nothing I know.
I have to tell that when she is fussy and doesn´t want to eat I give her ibuprofen and gums gel and an hour later she eats better. So that makes me think we are with a theething problem. She have been 3 weeks like this. She is going to the pediatrician in 2 weeks, I hope she is not loosing weight. Thanks for your answers.
Kisses.
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Hugs, it definitely does sound like teething to me.
My DS went through a phase when he was teething really badly that he refused to drink a bottle at all for 5 days. The only was I got some formula in him was via his food, and then gave him a DF in the evenings.
It does get better I promise :-*
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Hello to everyone! I am a new mom -my Harper will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. I was thinking of adding in a DF this weekend, but realized that I'm not sure how to do it... Do I just leave her in her crib and feed here there or do I pick her up and feed her? (She is 100% bottle fed) Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!
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Hi - I'm new to this site. I have a few questions. At what age should dream feeds stop? My son is almost 5 months and I'm still doing them. I'm afraid he'll wake up more often if I stop. He's not even 15 lbs yet - he's on the little side, so his tummy can't take more than 5 oz at each feeding during the day - the max he'll take is 5 oz. sometimes I can only get 4 oz out of him - he just pushes it away. He's still getting up around 2:00 or 3:00 then again at 6:00. I'm guessing this is because he isn't eating enough during the day? I can't "force" him to eat more if he doesn't want it, so what should I do? I've started rice cereal - I don't think that's made a big difference. Will things get better (i.e. sleeping longer stretches) once he starts on baby food? Thanks for any advice you can give me!
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MammaChaffee,
With regards to the DF, if you leave your lo in her crip, it is advised that you prop her head up so that she is not lying flat in the crib. Most mums, usually pick their lo up for the DF - if their lo stirs, they usually fall straight back to sleep as soon as they start suckling.
jen1405,
With regards to the DF, it is suggested that you wean from the DF at around 7 months when your lo is fully establised on 3 solid meals a day.
What size teat are you using on your bottle? you say your lo is only taking small feeds, do you think he could be bored with the flow and this is why he is pushing the bottle away after a certain amount? How long does he take to finish a feed?
I would watch out for the rice cereal, it can be quite consitpating. Unfortunately there is no rule saying that once you introduce solids it will help your lo sleep longer.
HTH's
Paula
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Hi, my son Ronan is weeks old and has rekluw. He was on SMA Staydown but he was still bringing the majority of his feed up. He is only on 4oz every three hours. We have been doing the cluster feeeding at 6 and then at 8pm, with the dream feed at about 10.30 for the past 4 weeks, esentially this has been working with him waking at 3-3.30am foe his next feed.
The GP has now moved him back to SMA Gold with Carobel now having to be added, he is only allowed to take 4oz every 3hrs (though he usually wants the extra ounce he brings it back up again).
I have been reading theBW book which states that the 2 cluster feeds should be reduced to only one by 8 weeks (at just 6-6.30pm).Can anyone let me know why this is and should I still continue the dreamfeed at 10.30?
Elaine.
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Elaine,
In the book they say that the clusterfeed should be reduced at this time as your lo would have usually gone through the growthspurt.
However, most people continue clusterfeeding for as long as their lo will take it - usually up until solids are introduced.
I would say that if your lo has taken to the clusterfeeding so well, and that you are only having 1 night waking I would stick to it. Why fix what isnt broken.
Sounds like your lo is doing really well.
Paula
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Hi. Ds is only taking 1 or 2 oz. at DF. Will this affect his feeding intake? Is it ok to go 12 hours with only 1 or 2 oz at night? He seems to be dropping it and he is not on solids yet. Should I be concerned?
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It sounds like your DS is doing fantastically ;D
Some lo's can go that amount of time without a feed, and some need extra feeds during the night. Sounds like he is established on a great routine.
Paula
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I never do dreamfeed past 11pm. My twin girls are 11 wks now and sleep 6 hours after their dreamfeed.
Good Luck!
Dani
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Sounds like they are doing fantastically Dani.
Keep us posted on how your girls re getting on.
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Can someone tell me what a dreamfeed is?
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Hi, welcome to the BW boards ;D
A dreamfeed is done between 10:00 and 11:00pm at night and is offered to your lo when they are still asleep.
This way they are filling up their tummy without acutally waking for the feed. It can help your lo tank up to help eliminate night wakings.
Hope this helps.
Paula
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Hi its my first time doing a dream feed, we tried it last night. Usually my lo feeds at 8pm and next feed is between 1 and 2 am, then every 3 hours after that. we tried dream feed at 11.30pm and she woke up at 2.30am . dont know whether tocarry on. She is 10 weeks old and weighs 9lb.
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Hi and welcome to the BW Boards
They suggest doing the dreamfeed closer to 10pm - I would say that 11:30 is too late, and it can acually end up disturbing their sleep pattern the later you do it.
It can also take up to a week for the DF to actually start working.
Please keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi we tried dream feed again, this time we did it 10.30- 10.45 and she slept until 3.30-4.00am. going to try it again tonight.
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That is pretty good for only the second night of dreamfeeding. Keep it up, you will soon start to see the difference.
Please keep us posted on how you are gettintg on.
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Hello. My ds is just over 7mths now and we've been df-ing, well, for what seems like forever! lol. From originally 9oz bottles, we've got down to 2oz (doing the 3 days then drop an ounce plan). It seems to be working so far, but I was just wondering about the next few days. Is it essential to continue all the way to 1oz? It just seems like I'm disturbing his sleep for a very little bottle now. Or is just dropping it after tonights 2oz bottle going to be too big a jump for his tummy to take? We always offer 9oz bottles throughout the day (4 of them) and he's always taken what he wants (ranges between 4-9oz a bottle). lol. I suppose I'm just after some reassurance that dropping his df after tonight isn't going to mess everything up, iykwim?
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The only way you will know is if you try. I cannot say that your lo is not going to wake up.
If you think that you are disturbing your lo's sleep by offering such a small bottle, try not giving the 2oz and see how you get on.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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We've decided to keep going and stop at the weekend. Last night my dh came in with me to give me a hand with the df. He gently lifted ds's head & shoulders while I gave him his 1oz bottle. That seemed to be far less disruptive for him as he didn't even need his dummy afterwards to settle him back to sleep. And he's sleeping well too.
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Good luck - please let us know how you get on over the weekend.
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Hi I'm Dana, having some problems with my LO sleep. He is almost 4 months and was doing pretty good (slept thru 2 nights ) and used to only wake once to feed at night. Now he has frequent night wakings, for about two to three weeks now. He doesn't feed every time but has to be settled and usually eats around 4 am waking.
My question is should i continue the df or could that be causing the wakings? my dh asked me to try and see if it helps. the last two nights he has woken around the df time to feed anyway.
Dana
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At 4 months your lo goes through a growth spurt - this could possibly be the reason why your DS is waking so much in the night.
I would give it a few days and see how it goes, and if your lo is still waking in the night after about a week or so, then I would consider dropping the df and is may be causing the night wakings.
Do you clusterfeed before bed?
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Paula - I feed at 6:30 and top off at 7:30 (after bath).
Thanks for your reply.
Dana
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My DS is 11 weeks and weighs about 13.5 lbs. He's been eating about 30oz per day and sleeps well from about 7 pm to 5-6am. Would dreamfeeding help him sleep until 7am? or is that just for night wakings...its not technically a night waking if he's getting up after 5am...not sure whether to just count our lucky starts that he sleeps that long or if we should try to get him to extend until 7....???
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Dana, it definitely sounds like a growth spurt then - see how things go after a week, and see if there is any improvement - if not then you could consider dropping the DF.
SupermansMama - You can always try a dreamfeed - but it can take up to a week before you actually notice any difference. Do you clusterfeed at all?
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no we don't plan to cluster feed every night. right now hes on a 6am start until 7/7.30 bedtime with feeds about 3.5 hrs apart. Sometimes he ends up kinda cluster feeding, like he'll eat at 5 then at 7 before bath, top up at 7.30 at bedtime. would that be considered clustering??
also, i noticed in the solutions ... book that Tracy said something about "don't continue cluster feeding after 8 weeks unless its during a growth spurt"
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Yes, i would say that is clusterfeeding.
It was said in Tracy's book to not continue clusterfeeding after 8 weeks, however, a lot of mums do carry on with the cluster feeds as this tends to work for their lo's, and as their lo's get older they tend to grow out of the clusterfeeding.
Please let us know how you get on with the dreamfeed.
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i'm nervous to continue the DF now. we only did it once so far (last night at 11). My DH wants to stick with it for a week since thats what we've read here for it to take effect. I am worried that he may awake more at night because I read that here also.....he's already sleeping 10-11 hrs consistently every night, perhaps I shouldnt try to fix this so-called problem
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How did he do with the DF last night?
It is completely up to you on how you want to proceed. 10-11 hours of sleep at night at this age is fantastic.
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we decided not to do the DF last night. i heard him around 11-12 stirring, no cries though so i didnt go in...i guess we all just fell back asleep and i didnt hear him until 4.30-5...again the same thing and then i heard him at 6.55...i was sooooooooooooo pleased.
perhaps he expected the DF at 11-12 back put himself back to sleep fine... one thing i did do differently though wa turn OFF his nightlight...its possible that he was really affected by the light in the morning and couldve been why he'd wake at 5-6 and not 7
he even went to bed quite early..6.45 we couldnt get a catnap out of him in the evening but he wasnt cranky so we just bathed him early and put him down at 6.45
today is another day though. i'm crossing my fingers
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Wow that is fantastic.
Keeping my fingers crossed for today - let us know how you get on.
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Hi there. My son is 5 1/2 weeks old and we have been working hard at EASY for a week and a half. He last weighed 8 lbs 8 oz, and normally eats an avg of 3 oz every 2.5 to 3 hrs. I have been finding that with the CF at around 5 and 7 it seems to make him think he can eat every 2 hrs. Also, the past few days he has been waking up before it's time to give him his DF (which he was taking well at around 10). The DF has not seemed to make a difference and he still wakes every 2.5 to 3 hrs at night, and the last few nights he starts to wake at 3, 4, 5, 6 (sometimes hungry sometimes not) and is very difficult to settle. I give him his soother but he is still so young that he has a hard time holding on to it, so that doesn't help much. I thought he would be sleeping longer stretches at night. He's not much of a napper in the day. Any suggestions would be great.
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Sorry for the delay in replying to you.
Hugs I am sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time at night.
It is quite normal for a lo that young to be waking quite a few times at night for a feed. Their tummies are still so small and can only hold a certain amount which can only keep them going for so long. As your lo gets older and he starts taking more per feed the cluster feeding and dreamfeed will start working.
With regards to waking every hour at night, I would say that it is due to over tiredness. You say that your lo is not much of a napper, and the less sleep they have during the day, actually starts affecting the way they sleep at night.
Try popping over to the EASY boards and post your routine there - I am sure the ladies will be able to give you some great advice with regards to A time etc.
Hugs, I promise things will get better :-*
Please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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My LO is 7 weeks old. I feed him on a 3 hr EASY schedule and at night I cluster feed twice and have a dream feed at 10:30. We start our night routine at 7:30. My problem is that he is not sleeping for long stretches at night. He wakes at least twice a night though I only feed him twice. The rest of the time I try to re-swaddle him or put a pacifier in his mouth. I feed him 4 oz at every feed (including cluster / dream feed). Do I need to adjust the amounts during my evening feeds to get him to sleep longer? Any suggestions? I'm so tired now.
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Does your lo drain all his bottles? If yes, I would say that it is time to up the bottles to 5oz.
It is still very common for a lo this young to wake twicein the night for feedings, as he gets older and his tummy can take more, he will start sleeping for longer stretches.
How does he sleep during the day? Less daytime sleep can acutally cause more night wakings.
Please post your routine, so that we can have a look at it.
Paula
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can someone explain to me what the dreamfeed is? i know the whole easy thing with the exception of the DF....is it just a feeding at night or is there something else about it?? thanks...
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Hi welcome to BW.
Is a feed you give to your baby at night while he sleeps. you don't even make him burp. if you put your baby to sleep at 7 you must give him the df before 11. I hope someone could give you a better explanation. ;)
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Welcome to the BW.
I agree with the previous poster.
The DF is best done closer to 10pm, but before 11pm. You lift your lo out of the crip while asleep and rub the teat across their lips until they open their mouth to take the bottle. They will feed on how much they want and then you put them straight back down again. Some mums do rub their lo's back to try and get a burp out, but it is not necessary as because the baby is alseep they dont take in much wind.
The purpose of the DF is try and eliminate a night waking, so what it does is tank your lo up and keep them fuller for longer.
However the DF does not work for every lo. It can take up to a week for you to start noticing any effects. The DF did not work for my lo.
However, you could try cluster feeding and the DF and see which one works best for you.
Good luck - please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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You said that the DF is used to "eliminate" a night waking. Does that mean that it will allow the lo to sleep right until 7am (the ideal EASY) or does it just prevent a 2 or 3 am feeding?? With a DF, are people still getting up to feed before 7am?
I guess what I'm asking is: If my lo is waking at 5am every morning to feed, should we try the DF to get him to sleep until 7? Or are most parents still feeding their 3 month old los around that time in the morning with a DF anyway?
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It is still very common for a 3 month old to be waking for a night feed.
The DF allows your lo to tank up, so if you are feeding your lo at around 7pm before bed and not doing another feed until 5 am in the morning, you are doing a fantastic job. Offering a DF may help eliminate this feeding - so it is definitely worth a try.
One thing to remember is that the DF does not work for every lo, and also that it can take up to a week for you to actually start seeing any difference in the routine.
Good luck, let us know what you decide and how you get on.
Paula
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Thanks for the advice, my lo is doing better now, it's amazing what a week can do. We DF at 10 or 10:30, he wakes twice in the night and then is up around 6:30/7. He goes down for the night very easily, as well as after night time feeds. All this even tho his naps still suck. We are working on that now. Thanks again.
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Hello!
My LO is 5 months old and we usually give him a dreamfeed around 12 a.m. I usually give him his bottle with him lying on the bed, and after i don't pick him up and put him to burp because i'm afraid to wake him up. The problem is around 4 a.m he starts to wake up with lots of gases. Is this a problem? Is it because I don´t put him to burp that he has gases? what should I do?
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Blitz - I am so pleased that things are going so well - keep us posted.
Afonso_mum - Is there any particular reason you give the DF so late? It is recommended that you do the DF between 10:00 and 11:00pm, although closer to 10pm is best. It could be that cause you are DF your lo so late - it is interferring with his night time sleep and this is why he is waking.
Also you say you lie him on the bed - does your lo lie flat or is he propped up a little?
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Hi!
I'm dreamfeeding him at that hour because his last bottle before that it's around 8:00/8:30 pm. He is on a 4 hour easy routine that it's like this:
He wakes up and eat around 8:00 a.m, and then it's activity time until around 9:30/10:00 a.m, after that he sleeps until around 11:30 a.m, and then he eats again at 12:00 pm, and so on...
He is propped up a little, he has is head on a pillow. does this has any influence?
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The DF can be done closer to 10 as it is not meant to be a full feed but rather just a top up to help your lo tank up for the night. I would definitely consider doing it closer to 10 or 11, and see if this helps - it might not interfer with your lo's sleep as much.
I was just curious about your lo being propped up for a feed, as they say that feeding a lo flat on their back can cause ear infections.
Please keep us posted on how you get on.
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How many ounces does the average baby take during a dream feed. MY DD is almost 4 months old and takes in about 3 to 4 ounces during the dream feed. her bottle before that at 8pm she polishes off almost 6 ounces. Just curious? And y'all are really sure you don't need to burp baby, just want to make sure as I thought you were always supposed to burp them throughout every feed.
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3-4oz after a 6oz feed sounds about right.
You don't need to burp your lo at all - when they are asleep they don't take in as much air as they would normally do when awake. If you feel your lo needs a burp, you could always just pop your lo over your shoulder.
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Hi,
I have a six week old daughter that I want to start the cluster feeding and dream feeding but I am kind of confused. At what time of day do you start cluster feeding. For example do you start say with the 4pm bottle then 6 then 8 and then a dream feed? This is my first child so I am very new at this.
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Hi and welcome to the BW boards ;D
It all depends on your routine, if you put your lo to bed at 7pm then you could cluster feed at 4 and 6, or if you put your lo to bed at 8 pm you could clusterfeed at 6 and 8 pm - There is no right and wrong way to do it, it is whatever suits you and your lo.
They do suggest doing the DF closer to 10pm as doing it later can actually disrupt your lo's sleep pattern and actually cause more night wakings. Remember though, the DF does not work for every lo, but you should give it at least a week to see if things improve.
Good luck, please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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Paula,
Thank you so much for the advice. I am going to try it tonight and see what happens.
Heather
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Good Luck Heather,
Please keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hello I have just come across this wonderful site and was wondering of someone could please give me advice on the dream feed. My little boy is seven weeks old and feeds every 3/4 hours normally about 140-150ml per feed. How much should I be giving at the cluster feed and the dream feed.
Hope I may join in, thanks in advance
Rachel
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Hi Rachel, welcome to the BW website.
With regards to the cluster and dreamfeeds, I would say that for the first few days just make up a normal size bottle and judge how much your lo takes per feed, from there, you can re-adjust the amounts i.e if your DS takes 2oz at the cluster feed you can make smaller bottles etc.
Hope this helps. Good luck and please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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Thank you so much Paula, will let you know
Rachel
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Ok. I tried to do the dream feed last night but I couldn't get her to take anything. I had fed her at 5 then at 7 and tried to do the dream feed at 10. Should I change the time? or does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her to eat.
Thanks Heather
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Hi Heather,
How did you try offering the DF - was she fast alseep in her cot, did you pick her up? Did you try rubbing the teat on her mouth to see if she would open her mouth?
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Hi Paula,
I picked her up but she was dead alseep. I rub the bottle on her teeth and she put the bottle in her mouth but then just wouldn't suck on it. Do you think I should have tried it at an earlier time?
Heather
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Heather,
10pm is perfect time to offer the DF - I would give it a couple of days and see if she gets the hang of it. It could just be that she will not take to a DF - My DS never took a DF at all - some lo's it just does not work for.
Try it a few more times and see how you get on.
Keep us posted.
Paula
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Heather,
I have an 8wk old and I've had this problem with him. He would be dead asleep that I couldnt even get him to open his mouth. Its true what paula says about the df not working for every lo. My dd did clusterfeeding and df from 6wks with no problems and was sleeping 10:30-5 right away, but it hasen't worked for noah. I have tryed to do the df with him this past wk and have decided to stop. He was taking the bottle but waking alot more in the night then before I started. I do however do clusterfeeding for him. So i was feeding him 4oz every 3hrs at 9am,12pm,3pm,6pm a clusterfeed at 8pm(4oz) and straight to bed and he sleeps until 1amwith a feed at 1am and 4am. I'm currently trying to loose the 4am feed and have him down to 2oz at that bottle. You could also do 5:30pm and 7:30pm for a clusterfeed and straight to bed until the df.
Good Luck :)
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Hello everybody!
Just to let you know how things are going!
I've started to do the df just a little early, I'm now doing it around 11:30pm and it seems to be working... The past few nights he sleeps from around 9:15pm to 8:00am, just waking one or two times before midnight but going back to sleep very easily, just by putting him again in his side! :) let´s see how things will progress :D
Now, another thing, as I said before, I df my lo in his cot, with him laying, with a small pillow under his head , do you think that this can cause ear infection??? ???
(http://b1.lilypie.com/5gb0p1/.png)
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I am pleased that things seem to be improving. Keep us posed.
Now, another thing, as I said before, I df my lo in his cot, with him laying, with a small pillow under his head , do you think that this can cause ear infection??? ???
As long as your lo is propped up, this should be fine. It is just best to ensure that your lo does not lie completely flat.
HTH's
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Thank you very much for your help...
I will keep you posted.
Sónia
(http://b1.lilypie.com/5gb0p1/.png)
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Hello everybody
Things are going very well! :D
Starting to do the df just a little early, around 11:30pm is working like a charm... Now he sleeps all night long :) Thank you for your help... Let's hope that it continues like that!!!
Now another question, I'm giving my LO around 180ml of formula in his df, the same that he drinks during his other feeds, and he takes it all, is there a problem with that???
ThanK you
Sónia
(http://b1.lilypie.com/5gb0p1/.png)
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That is fantastic that things are going so smoothly and that he is sleeping all night.
I cannot see a problem with the DF being 180ml - your lo would not take it if he was not hungry.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi hope you can help me. My DS is just 7 months old and he has been taking consistently taking less and less of his 1st feed of the day so we decided it was time to get rid of the dreamfeed. Well, night 1 dh did dreamfeed at 10pm with 4oz but ds pulled off after 2.5oz and screamed the house down which we put down to teething and I guess we were right as his 1st tooth arrived yesterday (yay!!). So deciding that was just a teething blip we decided to carry on with the wean and did 4oz at 10pm again last night but he did pretty much the same thing except he took the full 4oz and then took an hour to settle, not much fun when mummy was supposed to be getting an early night!! I don't really know what to do? He hasn't woken any earlier after either reduced feed but I feel like it is now disturbing him too much but am scared to go cold turkey!! Anyone with cold turkey success stories?
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Your best bet is to wean by reducing the amount of oz and time of the feed. So carry on as you are for tonight doing 4 oz at 10:00pm, and then the next 3 nights you can do 3oz at 9:30pm, and then the following 3 nights 2 oz at 9:00pm etc until you are done with the DF.
Are you waking your lo for this feed as the DF is meant to be done while your lo is asleep?
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No thats the problem. He is waking during the feed when he has never done before and having a hard time getting back to sleep so was thinking that cold turkey is the way to go? Up until the last few days he has stayed sound asleep throughout dreamfeed but now it seems to be distrubing him loads.
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Hmmm that might be the way to go then. Sorry I miss read your post.
How about watering the feeds - have you thought about watering them down instead?
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Hey thats ok. I still remember what its like waiting for a baby to arrive, especially when you are overdue!! Hope your little one arrives soon. I am going to give cold turkey a go tonight and if that doesn't work I will try watering down feeds. May have more questions but hoping you may have a little one to worry soon!!!
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Good luck with the Cold Turkey -I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
Please keep us posted.
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Ok now I really don't know what to do!! Decided to go cold turkey last night but typically he only took 4oz at bedtime instead of his usual 8oz so I knew it wasn't going to work :-[. Well, it didn't, surprise surprise he woke at 11.15pm so I fed him his 4oz and he went right back to sleep but woke at 4.20am for some unknown reason and stayed awake crying on and off until 5.30am? So I let him have a little lie in and he is only just up now but still not bothered about milk. I really need to get rid of the dreamfeed so he will take his morning bottle again but i'm really not sure how to do it now? Any insight would be most appreciated.
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sorry, haven't read all the responses but have you tried dilluting his bottle for df and offering less and less every few days? that's what we did, I was too scared to go cold turkey, and it worked great
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Hi thanks for reply. My plan was to do the gradual wean following the method in the baby whisperer book, but the problem is that he is now waking after his dreamfeed and finding it hard to get back to sleep. He has never woken during or after dreamfeed before and at first I put it down to teething but his tooth is through now so don't think that is the problem. I had thought that maybe the dreamfeed was disturbing him too much now and I should just leave it but I'm so confused now!! I think that maybe if he had taken a full feed at bedtime he might not have woken at 11pm but obviously I can't guarantee it without trying again. Think I should give it a go again tonight? Things would be so much easier if they came with instruction manuals!!!
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Even though a tooth has come through, there could be another tooth on the way. The pain is not just when the teeth are cutting through, but also when the teeth are actually moving up in the gums. Have you tried rubbing some teething gel on his gums a few minutes before a feed to see if this makes a difference? We always found that with our DS when he was teething his last bottle of the day was usually the worst and found that the teething gel worked great. Might be worth a try.
Hugs, I know how hard it can be.
Please keep us posted on how you get on.
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Oh what a good nights sleep ;D. Before I put Samuel to bed last night I gave him some teething gel and some calpol and he took a good 7oz bedtime bottle and I didn't do dreamfeed just decided to wait and see what happened and he slept until after 6am ;D. Yay ;D. Now I probably should have tried to resettle at 6am until his usual wake up time of 7am but as he had been such a good boy I fed him at 6.15am and for the first time in ages he took a full 8oz. What a lovely little man :D. Heres hoping it continues to go well today and the same happens tonight!! Thanks to everyone for their help and support.
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That is fantastic news ;D I am so pleased he had such a great night.
Keep us posted on how tonight goes.
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I have a question- sO, HOW exactly does the df work? Am I doing this correctly? I feed them at (twins) Ethan at5 and Izzy at 5:30pm. Then Ethan at7 and izzy at7:30 pm, and thenI give ethan bath at 8 and izzy right after, which puts another feed at 9 and 9:30. Now, I haven't done a df yet, and it is time for bed. So...... it would put it past 10pm. Also, do't know how much to give them. They usually eat 3-4 oz a feeding normally HELP!!!!!!
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Hi. I'm Dana, mother to Hayden, almost 5 months old. Just wondering if anyone knows what to do when your LO starts waking early for DF. Hayden has been waking at 10pm, 10:15pm and tonight 9:45pm!!! He went down pretty easily afterwards tonight, but not the last couple of nights. Any suggestions?
He has been also waking up at 2 or 3 to feed again. And takes a full bottle, I've tried to only give him a bit, but he wants the whole thing or he screams. Maybe a growth spurt?
Maybe I should start clustering at night. Right now I've been feeding him 1/2 the bottle before bath (and his rice cereal) and 1/2 the bottle after bath then to bed at 8pm.
Any ideas?
Dana
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michelinka - I would say that after the 7:00/7:30pm feed you can put them straight to bed, and then offer the DF at 10:00pm when they are both asleep. You can try making up a normal size bottle for a few days and judge how much they take and from there you can adjust your bottles accordingly. Good luck - please keep us posted on how you get on.
Dana - It definitely sounds like a growth spurt - I would try doing a cluster feed to see how that goes. How long has your lo been on rice cereal? Could this be affecting his sleep, as it can be quite heavy on their tummies just before bed time.
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Hi Paula I see you are still here :D hope you aren't feeling too bad? Last night was good again, he slept from 7pm to 7.15am without a peep. Had a pretty bad nap day today so hoping that doesn't affect tonight but I think we may have cracked it!! He is actually taking more food in 24hrs than when he was having dreamfeed, weird :D.
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Yep I am still here - If nothing happens over the weekend - baby will be induced on Monday.
I am so pleased that things are going so well. Fantastic! I hope that the bad nap day does not affect things. Perhaps try putting him to bed a tiny bit earlier just to compensate on the bad naps. Please keep us posted on how you get on.
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Yes put him to bed at 6.30pm, hoping it will help, no wakings yet so fingers crossed. I am sending you some going into labour naturally vibes ;) ;). Hope something happens soon and all is well x
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Thanks for the labour vibes.
How did your night go?
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Perfect night, no wakings until daddy came home at 6am and did his usual, boil the kettle under samuel's room!! Never mind 11hrs better than none :D
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Fantastic - I am so pleased you had such a good night ;D
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If I feed my boy at 6, give him a bath then down to sleep, he's still asleep at 8. Should I give the 8 pm feeding as a dream feed then the 10 also?
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Hi and welcome to the BW.
How old is your lo?
If you think that your lo will sleep until the 10pm feed you could leave the 8 feed and just do a DF at 10. You may find that your lo takes more at the DP.
Or you could let your lo wake up for the 8 feed, and then still do the DF at 10pm.
Paula
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Hi my lo is 4 months old I have always done a df but of late she is waking during the night more and having earlier wakings. She then is not interested in her morning bottle. I also cluster feed now. She takes 6oz every 4 hours but i cluster feed at 5 and 7 and within those feedings she can take 8 - 10 0z. Last night i didnt dream feed her she went to bed at half 6 and then woke at 1am took 40z then slept till 6 this morning. She took her full 60z this morning for the first time in ages.
Do you think i have done the right thing the df isnt working any more. When do they start to sleep through the night i am not worried as ahe feeds and straight back to sleep just wondered.
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hi there
have you thought of doing the reverse thing- cutting on cluster feeds and sticking with DF?
at 4 months your LO does not necessarily need cluster feeding anymore but one feeding at night is very common and perfectly normal so there's where DF could be helpful.
what time do you dreamfeed? and how?
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lucyc - the DF does not always work for every baby, and can in some cases cause more nightwakings than normal as it can disturb their sleep.
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we do the df at 10:30 take her out of her cot and feed her but she stays fast asleep. I have found also doing the cluster feeding she is alot happier on a evening before bed.
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I started on the EASY program a bit late for my baby. She was 20wks old when I added in a DF at 11pm and now she's 27wks old. She sleeps through the feed most of the time so I don't think that's a problem. However, she always gets up at least once at night for a feeding. I think it throws off her waking feed since she barely eats. She wakes up between 3am and 5am for a feeding every night. She's now over 6 months old and has started solids but she still gets up to feed. Here's her routine on most days:
7am-7:30am - wake up and bottle feed 1-5 ounces
Activity
Breakfast of solids
Activity
8:30am-9am - morning nap
10am-11am - wake up and bottle feed 3-5 ounces
Activity
Lunch of solids
Activity
12:30pm-1:30pm - afternoon nap
2pm-3:30pm - wake up and bottle feed 4-5 ounces
Activity
Dinner of solids
Activity
4pm-5pm - late afternoon nap (she sometimes skips this but usually has a nap)
4:45pm - 5:45pm - Activity
5:30pm - 6pm - Massage, Bath
6:30pm - 6:45pm - Bottle feed 6-7 ounces
Read a couple of books
7pm - Asleep for the night
11pm - dream feed 3-5 ounces
3am-5am - wakes for bottle feed 5 ounces
I've tried to see if she's go back to sleep when she wakes for night feed but she always wakes up within 10 minutes and cries. I do this repeatedly and then realize that she's just hungry so I feed her. She enjoys eating her solids so I think she's getting enough to eat.
If you have any ideas of why she's not sleeping through the night or any other suggestions for her routine in general I would appreciate it! Thanks!
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My baby is nearly 9 weeks old and is taking a good 180ml a feed (usually 5 times a day, sometimes 6). his last feed of the day is around 7-8pm and he eventually falls asleep around 9.30pm. he then awakes anything from 2.30am - 5am usually with figgeting from around 2am every hour. I am thinking that a dreamfeed at 10-11 will be a good idea if it means dropping the night time feed and helping him sleep more soundly. Will introducing a df still mean he wakes hoping for the night time feed? I'm a bit confused as to what to do for the best.
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It might be worth trying a DF, however it is still very common for such a young lo to take a DF and still wake in the night for a feed.
If you do introduce the DF it is recommended closer to 10pm as possible. It can take up to a week for you to notice any difference. Some lo's take to the DF and others don't.
Have you thought about cluster feeding in the evening as well?
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With cluster feeding do you give the normal amount, either side of a bath? So in effect i'll be giving him 2 of his 5 or 6 daily feeds in an hour?
thanks!
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You can try giving the same amount, and then over a few days, you can guage how many oz he is taking, and then adjust your feeds from there.
Good luck. Let us know how you get on.
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I have a 2 week old newborn DD. Can you offer clusterfeeding and DF work for a newborn? I've never done the clusterfeeding with DS but have done the DF. Is it worth trying the clusterfeeding for a newborn or should I wait until she is older? Will the clusterfeeding help keep DD full during the night? Or do I have to do the clusterfeeding and DF to keep her full and sleeping through the night?
TIA
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At 2 weeks old you cannot expect your DD to sleep through the night, her tummy is just so small, and can only hold a small amount of milk, so you can expect your lo to wake a few times in the night.
But yes, you definitely can start clusterfeeding as well as the DF, as it can help your lo tank up during the night, and will help your lo go longer stretches when she gets a bit older.
Some newborns actually start tanking themselves up automatically. My DD did this for about 3 weeks of demanding a feed every 2 hours in the late afternoon / evening.
Good luck. Hope this helps. Please keep us posted on how you get on.
Paula
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Hi there, I have another question sorry.
My lo is 4 weeks old tomorrow and we still haven't given cluster feeding a go as we are just so unsure of what to do. At the moment she is doing great and we are waking her to feed her in the day every 3 hours - she takes between 2.5/3.5oz per feed. Her last eveningg feed is around 10.30/11.00pm although it is not a DF. From then she will sleep roughly 4 hours, then require a feed, then go roughly another 3.5/4 hours
Do we need to cluster? At such a young age, is it fine that she is only requiring 1 feed during the night?
If we do try the clustering, do we give the same amount and what if she doesn't want it? Surely we can't force her to have it?
Oh so many questions. When I read the book, it didn't seem this complicated....
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Lisa
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Lisa, I would say by the sounds of your routine, that I would leave the cluster feeding out. 1 night waking is fantastic. Your lo seems to know what he is doing.
If you find that he is starting to wake more in the night then you can consider trying the cluster feed, but at the moment, why try and fix something that aint broke ;)
My DD was the same she was going to bed around 10:30 and only having 1 night feed. When we gave her an earlier bedtime, she started cluster feeding on her own.
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This is my first time posting so I apologize if Im not in the right place.
DS is 7 weeks old tomorrow and is currently eating every 2.5-3 hours. He is bottlefed and I've just increased his feed from 4 oz to 5oz. I am trying to get him to sleep through the night. Last night was our first go at it. I fed him his 5 ozs every 3 hrs during the day then 6 oz right before bedtime (fed at 10pm). He slept until 2, which is longer than usual, and he started fussing. I went in and gave him a pacifier, ssshed him and patted him until he went back to sleep. This took about 20 min which, according to the book, is about right. I was amazed and filled with joy at the thought of sleeping until morning, since before this he usually only woke up once or twice/night. Well, no such luck. He woke up every 30min - 1 hr looking for a bottle. Each time, I gave him the pacifier and he'd fall asleep for a little bit. I finally fed him at 6am, which was an 8 hr stretch...which is what the book says he should be sleeping at night at this age. Am I doing this right? Shall I continue with the pacifier at night? I'm hoping it will get better each night until he sleeps through. I feel like I'm starving him, although he did have 30 oz during the day...again, the book says this is enough and they dont need a nighttime feeding.
One thing we did not do is cluster feed before the 6 oz at 10pm. Question: Does he get the full 5 oz at each feed during the cluster feed or just as much as he can drink until I think he's full? I will cluster feed tonight and hope it makes a difference.
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At such a young age it is very normal for a lo to be waking in the night for a feed. If your lo wakes, I would feed him, his belly is very small and cannot hold large amounts of milk .
Some lo's can wake for a night feed even up to the age of about 6 months.
You can definitely try clusterfeeding to help your lo tank up. You can try 5 oz each time, and see how much your lo takes. If he takes less over a couple of days, you can then judge from there how many oz to put in the bottle.
HTH's
Paula
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I've tried the clusterfeeding and DF the last couple of nights. Unfortunately, if I do the clusterfeeding in the evening, she will not do the DF. DS drank less than 1oz or nothing when I DF. One the same note, last night when I tried to DF, DS did drank about 1oz but then ending up spitting up a few times. Does this mean that she is still full and doesn't want the DF? I don't htink I'm force feeding her but I found it strange that she spit up.
If you had to choose would you do the clusterfeed or DF?
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If your lo is only taking an oz at the DF I would be inclined to just do the clusterfeeding.
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I am wondering when you cluster feed say the 5 and 7 time do you spilt the Oz. that you give your baby during a regular feed? I usually give my boys between 4 and 3 oz. per feed. So would I give them 2oz. and than the 4 at the dreamfeed?
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If I had to choose, I would skip the cluster feeding and do the DF because those evening hours are tough around our house. But if you're happy to do the cluster feeds, I wouldn't waste sleep waiting up to do the DF for just one extra ounce.
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When we did the cluster feeding we would make up a normal size bottle - at that stage we were on 4 oz bottles too, and DD would take 4 oz at each feed :o - We did not do the DF as she would never take it, so it worked quite well for us.
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Hi, I am new to this forum and looking for advice on dreamfeeding. I have been following the BW routine (3-3.5 hours) without doing the dreamfeed. My 11 week old (weighs 16 pounds) would have his last feed at 8:30pm and then wake up at 2 and 5am.
Now that we have started doing the dreamfeed at around 10:30pm with a last feed at 7:30pm, he now wakes up anywere between 1:30-3am to feed (6 oz bottle), quick wake up at 5am (no feed) and then awake again at 6:30am to start his day. It has been a week and he still does not sleep through the night with the DF. The other problem is that he only take 2-3 ounces during DF.
My LO will eat between 5-6.5 oz at each feed (x5).
As per a section of the BW book, should I maybe reduce his last feed so he takes more at the dreamfeed or should I feed him at 7pm and wait until 11pm to make sure he`s really hungry as he is a big boy...any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I think before I reduced the last feed, I would first play around with the DF time. It might be nothing more than the point in his sleep cycle when you are feeding him. And because I'm absolutely against staying awake any longer than I have to, I would actually move the DF up to 10 first. See if that makes any difference. If not, then try moving it later. If that doesn't work, then try moving the last feed up a bit.
Anyway, that's the way I would do it. There isn't a right or wrong answer, I don't think. You just have to find what's right for your lo. We did our last feed of the day at 6:30 and DF at 9 for a long time and it worked out well.
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:) Thanks for your advice. Recently I have done the DF at 10:45pm with a last feed at 7:30pm...he seems to sleep until 4-4:30am. Is that good or should I still play around with the times to see if I can get him to strecth it out and take more food at the DF.
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If you're feeling good about it, I think that is a nice long stretch for an 11-12 week old. Many babies are still having one NW to feed at this age. If it were me, I would just leave it be (if it isn't broken, don't fix it!) and as he gets bigger he'll probably stretch that EW later.
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Hi, I need some help with the cluster feeds.
I have twins and they have a dream feed no later than 11 and cluster feed either at 4 and 6 or 5 and 7. (Depends whether they woke up at 7 or 8 or in between.)
Last night Yardena(She is an Angel baby from what I read from the textbook and she was born 6.8 lbs -last weigh in she was almost 13 lbs 4 wks ago) went to sleep at 8, stirred at 5, and fell back asleep till 7:30. I feel like raising my hands to the sky and praising the big man upstairs! However, she feel asleep from 8:30 to 9:45, we had to go out for the next nap, so she napped in the stroller from 11:15-12:00, fell asleep from 2:15 (again in the stroller I tried to make it home :-\ ) until 3:30 did not take a cat nap (was exausted, but would not go to sleep properly in the crib) and passed out after the 6:00 cluster feed (She eats 120 ml, however this time she ate an addition 60-90 ml)
Am I not feeding her enough during the day? Am I doing the cluster feeds to early? Should I increase her formula at the dream feed? I need another night of sleep.
Now, in terms of Asher, he is another baby altogether! He is having a much harder time falling asleep in the crib. They used to sleep with us, and I do PU/PD. I find he goes to sleep better if I just put him in the crib. He doesn't cry and he could be up for at least a half hour, but then eventually falls asleep. Which is what I am aiming for right? Wait until you read his day and night last night, than you can see I am doing something wrong.
he barely takes naps and last night was a disaster (He was born 6.3.lbs and last weigh in he was 11 and half lbs he also takes 120, but takes a much longer time to finish his bottle)
He was awake by seven missed first two morning naps, slept from 2:15 to 4:05, had cluster feeds at 6, slept from 8 to 11:00 dream feed, woke up at 1:30 hysterical,tried sleeping with him in my bed, up every 20 minutes (at least i think he was, i know I was up every 20 minutes :-\ ) until 5:30 am, fell asleep for about an hour, had a bottle 6:30, woke back up at 7:30 went to sleep at 11:15 till 1 (woke up a few times but my husband was able to shush him back to sleep. we had to go out today so he slept in the stroller) slept a few minutes anytime from 2:15 to 4, missed cat nap, but than passed out in my husband"s arms around 5:50. tried to put him in crib, woke right back up. had full 120 ml at 6 but is up right now.
I know I am doing something wrong, but what?
Please tell me if this is affected by the cluster and dream feeds and please help me. I am severely sleep deprived, over stressed, and am becoming more and more anxious with each exausting night.
I know EASY isnt easy (personally i feel they should just get rid of the You time, it doesn't exist) but I need a breaK!
Thanks
Looking forward to your feed back.
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When I read about Asher's sleep, my first thought is OT. Since you said he missed his first two morning naps, that sounds likely. I would say my first priority for him would be to try to get him more daytime sleep, easier said than done, I know.
For Yardena, your cluster feeds sound like they're at the right time. If she'll take more during the DF, go ahead and give her a bigger feeding. I do think she sounds a bit OT, too, maybe that's why she won't go to sleep in her crib?
I really don't think your problem is so much the timing/amount of the cluster/dream feeds, but more getting on an EASY routine.
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I have 2 twin girls, almost 7 weeks old... and I have been clusterfeeding at 6 and 8pm (right to bed after). I've been doing the dreamfeed for a couple weeks now and it's such a struggle! One, it's hard to get them to take the darn thing...(FF from bottle) and another... they might take 1 oz or slightly more. There was one night where they actually took the whole thing and that was the night they only took one feed afterwards. However, it's never happened again. I'm rather frustrated with it... not sure what else I can do. Usually for DF (happens around 10pm) it takes me 10 min at least with fiddling with the bottle before they finally take it... and I usually have to pop it back in there 3-4 times before I get fed up. They tend ot squirm away...
For 8pm, I usually give them a full 3-4 ounces... and 6pm I BF, at 4pm... they get about 3 oz... oddly enough up until 6 weeks old they were ravenous but since then they have been eating less than before in total. Not sure why, maybe metabolism has stabilized? I just find that after the DF... all their other night feeds (2 usually at least) they do not seem as hungry and stop showing hunger interest after 2 oz (although they still manage to be coaxed to taking 3 oz).
Am I doing something wrong? I'm just get extremely frustated with this dreamfeed. Tempted to give it up altogether if it doesn't work in another week. Just seems they last no longer than 2-3 hours... only once they lasted 4.5 hours (I was so elated!).
Wei
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The DF does not work for every lo, and if you say that you have been trying for a couple of weeks now without sucess, I would agree with you and definitley give it up. For an oz or two, it really is not worth it.
Sometimes the DF can actually affect your lo's night time sleep, as they are disturbed, and are more unsettled for the rest of the night. This sounds like what is happening with you and your twins. Perhaps, when you are offering the DF and trying to get them to take the bottle even though they are asleep it is stimulating them too much, and this is what is causing the night wakings, not acutally out of hunger.
If your lo's are doing well with the cluster feeding, I would just consider keeping up with the clusters. Then at least you have the evening to yourself.
Hugs, keep us posted on how things go.
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Hi all
Quick question, which I think I've asked before in a post about NWs, but couldn't remeber the reply or find the post.
Wanted to ask if there is a recommended limit to the DF? Our lo will take a varying amount each night, but at 5 months, and probably about 15lbs, will sometimes take 220/230ml. Is this too much? should we restrict it or let him have what he wants?
We do sometimes get odd wakenings at about 1 am (either cries out in his sleep, sometimes we hear him parping, or a quick resttle by us) and I wondered if this could be caused by tummy trouble from his DF - am keeing a record to see if it happens on the nights he takes more, but no pattern yet. Is that too much? As he's BF at other times, I don't really have a benchmark for what is an average feed.....
His feeds on an average day go something like:
6.30/7 - BF, single side 10-15 mins
10.30/11 - BF, both sides, 10-15 mins
2/2.30 - BF, both sides
5.30 - BF, both sides
6.30/7 - bottle before bed, will take between 100 - 200 ml
We sometimes have a nightfeed between 4.30 and 5.30, at which he'll take about 100 ml
H
H
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Hi all,
Im looking for some advice with my dd, she's 6wks today and we've had a terrible time with colic..... which hopfully seams to be better now with colif and infacol.
Im trying to get her in to a routin.... each time ive tryed we've had another bout of colic and it throws everything out the window.
She goes to bed at 8pm in the nite after a bath & bottle, up in her room, she settles her self with the dummy or some times with out. If she had a feed at 6 i still try her with a few oz at 8pm as part of her routin...... i then try and give her a df at 10/11 ish, the first couple of times we did it she drank the whole bottle, but will now only take a oz or two. She then wakes between 2 and 3.30 for a bottle, then settles for another 3/4 hours...... if she's looking for food at 6/6.30 i feed her then but she'll be looking for more when im taking my son to school so i usualy give her a top up at 8am.
Is there any changes you could advice for me on. Like all mothers i cant wait for her to sleep tho (my son never did till he was 18months ish).
Am i doing the df right? if not can you advices me.
What about cluster feeds? again can you advices me.
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Babymonkey, I would say that if your lo is happy with that amount I would continue to give the bigger bottle. if he did not want it all he would take less.
A lot of lo's do have wakeful periods at night and as long as he settles quickly, I would say that it is fine.
Mogsjap, the DF does not always work for everyone. I would suggest playing around with the DF timing a bit, perhaps try around 10:30ish, give it a week, and if you do not see any improvement, then you can consider cluster feeding.
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About the DF... normal bottles during the day are around 4 oz. Is it normal to be giving a DF of a bigger bottle... my LO takes 5 oz but I thought I heard that most LOs take 1 oz less than their normal daytime bottle for DF.
Wei
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Same for us - I put it down to a distraction thing. How old is your lo? From about 4 1/2 months on our lo got harder to feed during the day as he was just too nosy - and he's still nigh on impossible to feed away from home....I figured that the Df is hte only time he's not nosing at other stuff - tbh even then I have to be careful - if the windows are open and the curtain flaps he's off looking at that even half asleep!
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I guess it varies. If your lo is happy taking that amount and is sleeping well I would leave it at that.
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Hi
I am currently using the cluster and df with my 7 week old, we have been doing this since 5 weeks and it works well however i read in the bw book that this should be stopped at 8 weeks?? do i just stop and revert to feeding dd at 7pm a 5oz bottle instead of splitting a bottle at 6pm-8pm?? or is ther another way to do it
thanks
janie
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In the book Tracy does suggest combining the two feeds at 8 weeks old, however, a lot of mums stick to the cluster feeding for longer. If it is working well for your lo, I would stick with it, and then drop one of the clusters when your lo starts to show less interest in one of the bottles.
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Hi
My LO is nearly 8 months old and Ihave been dream feedding her at 11pm since she was very little. She is now on 3 good meals a day, and I was planning on dropping her DF at 7 months but she has had a cold for weeks and I thought that it might but good to keep it up in order to get some more fluid into her.
So instead of going cold turkey onthe DF we have been cutting it down oz by oz. We are now on only 3oz. I don't think she wakes up hungry in the morning (about 7am) as sometimes she struggles with her morning bottle. Basically I am just wondering if anyone thinks 3oz's actually makes any difference to a 8 month old who has 3 good meals a day or whether I should just stop now!!
Our day routine for milk and food is:
7 - Milk (about 5 oz)
8 - BFast (porriage or 1 weetabix)
11.30 / 12.00 - Milk
12.30 / 1 - Lunch
4.00 / 4.30 - Milk
5.30 - Dinner
7.30 - Milk
11.00 - DF
She never has more than 5 oz's and one of her day time bottle (mid-morning or mid-afternoon) is sometimes not taken at all!
Just wondering what people think...
Thanks
K
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Hi K
I think the first thing I would try is shifting the 3 oz forward by maybe an hour at a time and dropping it by an oz an hour.........if as you say you don't think she's that hungry in the am, you can just stop..........
H
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3 oz is not an awful lot of milk, so I would be inclined to drop it cold turkey. If your lo wakes for it then you can always do what the previous poster suggests, by moving it forward by and hour and dropping an oz, every few days.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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Thanks for this. We are actually going away this weekend to Friends so I don't want to change anything too much just in case, but will try going to 2 oz's for a couple of nights and then go cold turkey. I was thinking of moving it forwaard by an hour but sometimes she half wakes up and I don't want to disturb her too early.
I will keep you posted after the weekend.
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K - good luck with that I hope it goes well!
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Good luck, let us know how you get on.
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Hi ladies - I was just wondering if someone could give me some more info on how cluster feeding actually works i.e. how often do you feed and in what timescale?
Many thanks.
Toni
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Cluster feeding is generally the last two feeds of the evening, and are done in 2 hour intervalls i.e. 5:00 and 7:00 pm.
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Hi
Well we had our weekend with friends and my LO is a little all over the place with her DF to be honest. We are now onto 2oz's only at 11pm. So far:
Fri - 11pm; 2 oz's - woke at 6.45
Sat - 11pm; 2oz's - woke at 7.30
Sun - 11pm; 2oz's -woke at 6.45
Mon - 11pm; 2oz's - woke at 6.45
Tues - 11pm; 2oz's - woke at 6.30
Wed - 11pm; 2oz's - woke this morning at 6.15!!!!!
BUT - She wasn't crying just babbling away so I went in, gave her her dummy and she carried on for about half an hour and then went quiet and woke up again at 7.45. She didn't cry for her bottle but I gave it to her at 8.15 and she downed 6oz's (she normally has 4) but this was 1 hour later than normal and 2 hours after she first woke up.
This makes me think that she is not waking because she is hungry because she would not wait 2 hours with out crying and go back to sleep would she???
So I am thinking of still going with the plan and dropping the DF tonight and see how we go. I THINK the earlier waking is more to do with sleep that hunger???? !!! Basically I think she has always woken about 6.30 / 6.45 but used to go back to sleep for a bit longer but she is now taking longer to do this. She has found her voice in the last 2 weeks and just loves chatting to herself.
Please let me know what you think!!! Support needed...
K
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Defiitely sounds like she is ready to drop the DF.
You may want to post your EASY routine on the EASY boards to see if we can help you tweak your routine.
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Ok have done this... thanks...
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She did it.. DF dropped. And she woke at 6.45 - and was quiet until 7.15 when I got her up!
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;D ;D Fantastic News ;D ;D
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I haven't yet got the hang of the cluster/dream feeds.
My 1 month old seems to be happier on a 4hr EASY - even though at this point I know it should only be 3hr - and is drinking 3oz (bottle fed) every 4hrs. (I'm sure we'll go to 3hr EASY when she hits her growth spurt.) However, she follows this routine right through for a 24hr period.
To cluster feed, should I be ensuring that she drinks the full 3oz each time? I can't get much more than 1oz into her whenever I attempt a cluster feed.
For the dream feed - do I take her out of her crib, or try to feed her in her crib?
How do I burp her without waking her?
Again, how much should I expect her to take?
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If your lo is only taking an oz at a cluster feed, then I would not worry too much about it. When cluster feeding the aim is to try and tank them up, however if they are not taking much then it is just best to stick to normal feeding times.
With regards to the DF, yes take your lo out of the crib and hold her in your arms. Feeding a lo lying down in the crib can cause chocking as well as ear infections.
With regards to burping at a DF. There is no need to burp your lo. Becuase they are asleep they are not sucking in as much air as they would normally when feeding during the day so do not require burping.
DF, you could probably aim for about 3-4 oz. You can increase this as she starts to take bigger bottles. Let her guide you, if she takes more at a DF great.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi all,
Is it too early to start dreamfeeding a 4 week old? Should I wait until he is 6 weeks? He seems to sleep from after his 6pm feed till about 1am.
His day is 6.30am/7.00am wake - feed, play sleep - down 1.15mins later
10.30/11am - wake - feed, play sleep - down 1.5 hours later
2.30/3pm - wake - feed play sleep - out for a walk 1.5 hours later - small sleep about 30-45 mins
5.30/6pm - bath
6.00/6pm bottle
6.30/7pm sleep
10pm Dreamfeed
My husband and I tried the dream feed at 10pm but found he woke again at 2pm, then woke again at 5pm which then seems to wreck the day as he is difficult to resettle at 5am.
I am wondering if I wait for another 2 weeks until he is 6 weeks whether this would be beneficial or should I continue with the dreamfeed at 10pm. The main issue I have is that he seems to wet himself and wake himself up - he is still in the smallest nappies which are not that absorbant!
Any help would be appreciated
Cheers
Danielle
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The DF does not always work or every lo. You say that your lo is sleeping from the last feed at 6pm, until 1am in the morning, that is fantastic.
The DF can go either way. It can either cause more night wakings as it interferrs it their sleep pattern, or it can work and help them sleep longer.
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Hello
May be a bit of a daft question, but I am new to motherhood, how much do you give in a cluster feed?
My 8 week old is currently on 5-6oz every 3-4 hours
xx
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I would make up a normal size bottle and judge over a few days how much your lo is taking between the two feeds. You can then adjust your bottles from there.
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My baby is typically having 4 ounces sometimes 3 ounces. She is 5 weeks old. She has slept up to 7 hours straight without waking for a bottle. Is that normal?
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Sounds like your lo is doing fantastically ;D
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Hi there,
I'm new to the boards and hope you can help. My DS is 7.5 months old and I've started thinking about weaning the dreamfeed. Before reading Tracy's advice in BWSAYP, I was thinking of gradually offering less milk but still at the same time of 11pm. Does anyone know why Tracy recommends reducing the volume of milk AND gradually bringing the dream feed forward?
Also, my DS is breast and bottle fed with a 210ml bottle before bed (about 7pm) and another 210ml bottle for the DF at 11pm. He drains both bottles and very quickly! He is always awake during the DF but settles back to sleep OK afterwards. My question is, if he's still taking the DF at speed should I be thinking of weaning him as it looks like he still needs/wants it??
The other 3 feeds are breast with one before breakfast and a top-up after lunch and tea (as recommended by HV). He's on 3 solid meals a day of 2 courses each totalling about 8 tablespoons in quantity per meal (cereal and fruit for breakfast, protein and fruit for lunch, vegetables and fruit/dairy for tea) and he's gaining weight really well for the first time ever!. He always has a good breastfeed first thing between 7am and 7.30am and eats a really good breakfast so DF not affecting his early feeds/solids.
Has anyone followed Tracy's schedule of weaning the dream feed, how did it go? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
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Hi Im new to this website and to the baby whisperer books.
I wanted to ask about doing a dream feed and wind. I have given my 8 week old baby a bottle dream feed the past two nights however both times she hasn't burped but has then spent the next few hours straining (whimpering and moaning) to do a poo. When she has finally done the poo she has then needed to be changed as it has gone through her clothes. This has meant she hasn't settled to sleep. Prior to doing these dream feeds her sleeping pattern would vary but she would go from 11.30 until about 4.00 most nights over the past two night with the dream feed she has woken and cried to be fed more 2.00. Does anyone have any ideas to help the wind following a dream feed or any other ideas. Im just trying to get her to go a little longer than till 4.00.
thank you
toni
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Hello and welcome to the BW website.
EmandBen, with regards to weaning the DF, Tracy suggest weaning that way by bringing the DF forward, so that your lo is still taking some milk, and then hopefully starts increasing their intake with their first feed of the day. Have a look at this link on how one of our members weaned the dream feed. She has given day to day progress. It is definitely worth a read.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=103104.0
tonihomer, the DF does not always work for every lo. It can take up to a week for it to actually start working properly, but unfortunately it can affect their night time sleep for some lo's. It sounds like it is doing this with your lo if you are saying that she is waking earlier than normal. It is up to you, you can give it a week to see if it makes any difference or you can just leave the feed and let your lo wake up for it when she is ready. Another way to try and get extra feeds into them is to cluster feed, and you can offer these last two feeds 2 hourly to help them tank up.
We never did the DF when DD was yonger, we always waited for our lo to wake and then feed. This worked well for us. We did however introduce a DF on days where her intake was lo due to illness or teething, but this was when she was a lot older and it seemed to work well and helped keep her full for the night.
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Accidental EASY/Dreamfeed -
Well I had one of those days - considering my last 2 it was coming... It was G-R-E-A-T so I decided to push my luck and try a dreamfeed - So here it is:
After a horrific day yesterday including a very OT LO and a sporadic EASY we knew we would be in for a rough night - no naps = not great night!
So this is how it went (usually we get him bathed/bed for 8 and asleep for 9 or so then he wakes at 4 and starts the 3 hour Easy)
1am - E - 5oz
2 S
5:30 E - 4 oz
6 - S
7:30 - awake
8:30 - E 3.25
9:30 - S
12 E - 4.25
1:15 - S
3:15 - E 4.25
4 ish - S - wasn't a great nap a lot of crying and coughing - reflux
5 - Awake
6:15 - E - 4.75
8 - sleep -
This is when I didn't know what to do - he would be due at 9:15 for E , BUT at this point he should be in bed for the long haul, he was also due to take his reflux med - so I tried to wake him -NOPE., He was awake a bit and took his meds I held him upright. He fell back asleep. So at 9:20 I made a bottle and with my hubbys help we did the DF - (hubby rubbed the palms - it really WORKS!). I am curious to see how long he goes - he drank 3.75 ounces = he even burped without burping. He really was sound asleep - limp arms and all - what was really nice is he didn't fight us at all - with the reflux sometimes we get a bit of a battle. I held him upright for 10 mins, and we sleep him upright in his carseat in a bassinet. SO here's hoping! If it works I may cluster feed and do the Bath routine at 7 and DF at 10:30 or 11. This ends up being 29 oz which is a lot but we started at 1 am......
Oh wouldn't it be nice.... shouldn't jinx myself but we'll see - he is only 8 weeks old BUT 10.5 lbs book says he should go 8 hours at night now....
Linda
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hmmm - made no difference he was up at 2... sigh... I am going to chk back on my previous nights when he went to 4....
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I would not be too disheartened about the DF, it can take up to a week before you start to notice any difference. It does not always work for every lo though. I would definitely give it at least a week though to see if it helps.
I would not worry to much about him not going 8 hours at night, he has been battling with his reflux, and once he starts taking more milk per feed, he will start to increase the amount of time between feeds at night.
Keep us posted on how the meds go.
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Today we are a bit off - I fed him at 3:15 I was going to do the next one at 5:45/6 ish then bath and bed for 9 ish. This is what I did in the past and was able to sleep longer - he is happy today and I was a little late with one of his feeds- he was crying but (in the car) but then I got home and chatted with him while making the bottle and he calmed down - which is nice - esp w reflux I don't want him taking in too much air :)
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Has anyone tried adding Rice cereal to the last nighttime bottle before the long stretch of sleeping? A friend of mine started her daughter at 8 weeks and she says it really worked well. My son slept 8 hours the last two nights with a 6 oz. formula bottle at 8 pm and then a 4 oz. formula bottle DF at 10 pm... amazing.. Just wondering if someone thought that instead of the DF the rice cereal would be a good idea.... Thanks in advance!
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Hello -
I would probably check with your pediatrician/doctor before introducing cereal this early on. There are a lot of studies that are showing an increase in food allergies and digestive troubles b/c of the introduction of "food" too early. Their wee digestive systems aren't ready to handle the processing of the cereal. The only reason to intro it at this point is to extend OUR sleep.
I have a little man with reflux and our pediatrician advised against introducing cereals just yet.
My mom told me it was something they used to do when we were kids - added a bit to the bottle. She didn't b/c even then they were told it could be problematic. It can cause constipation etc...
Sorry just offering my opinion. I would have felt awful if I gave my LO cereal and it totally messed up his digestion.....
We are going to try the DF again in a couple weeks to see if it extends his sleep - right now he goes to bed around 8:30/9:30 and sleeps until 4 which is pretty good for a 9 week old. I am REALLY tired too and would LOVE more sleep but it is only for a short time (hopefully) - then teething starts LOL....
Just a thought
~L
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I completely agree with LindyLou.
Adding cereal to a bottle is not recommended, as it can also be a chocking hazzard, as well as all the reasons LindyLou explained. Rice cereal is extremely constipating, and introducing it too long can cause alot of problems. The cons really outweigh the pros.
Also there is not proven fact that adding cereal (which is empty calories) to your lo's diet will help your lo sleep longer.
Paeds do sometimes suggest thickening a lo's milk with rice cereal if a lo has reflux, but again this is on a Paeds advice, and they will tell you exactly how much to use etc.
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Or try the Enfamil thickened/AR.. (for refluxers)
L
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Okay so today we got up late - much later than I would have liked but here is the schedule so far
9am - E - 4.5 oz
11 am - S - 40 mins
12 - E - 4 oz - he was getting really sleeping during this one
12:45 - S - which is where he is now
So here is my question -
For some reason my LO who was going until 4 am from about 9:30 is now up at 2, 5/5:30, 7 - ??? So I was thinking about a cluster/DF. My plan was next feed at 3, nap in there somewhere. Eat - 6pm, Activity - 1 hour, Bath then Eat at 8, followed by a DF at 10/10:30? It works today because we started at 9am but what would it look like (ideally) if we started at our normal 8 am? .....
~L
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If your normal day starts at 8, you could probably try the cluster feeds at 5 and 7 or 6 and 8 which ever you prefer.
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WOW!! I've finally found posts that I can so relate to. I'm glad to have found other people who are having as much trouble with the df'ing as I am. I'm new to this posting thing and have posted other things elsewhere on the website, but this looks like the place where I have to be. Madison is 10 wks old (11 wks this Thurs), and ever since we started on cf/df last Thursday, she has not slept well at all. Her feeding schedule is 6am, 9, 12, 3, 5, 7, and 10 now and used to be 6,9,12,3,6,9, and approx. 2:30am. She does okay at the cf's but horribly at the df. We try to not wake her for it, but she ends up waking up or we end up having to wake her to get her to even eat anything. Then she will wake up several times during the night, generally going back to sleep with the binky. But last night, giving her the binky would not work. When we had her on her old schedule, she would sometimes sleep until 4:30 am, MUCH longer time than df 10pm to 1:30 am!!! My husband and I are soooo tired and are going to drop the df tonight and go back to our old schedule. My question is about the cluster feeds though...should I stick to my 3 hr schedule (3pm, 6, 9) or try to cluster feed (3pm, 5, and 7)? Generally she would take the same amount, but I guess doing the cluster feed, we would get a longer evening?? ANY advice would help.
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Hi and welcome to the BW boards.
Unfortunatley the DF does not work for every lo. Yes, I would suggest sticking with the cluster feeding for at least a week, and see how your lo goes from there. Put your lo to bed after the 7pm feed, and then leave your lo to wake on her own for the next feed. Give it at least a week to see how your lo does.
Good luck, and keep us posted on how you get on.
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So, Paula...you're suggesting that I still try to cf at 5 and 7 instead of going back to my old schedule of 3pm,6pm, and 9pm?
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The cluster feeds will definitely help your lo tank up, even if it is only taking in an extra oz or two, so will probably make your lo go a little longer at night.
It is defintley worth giving it a try and seeing how your lo does.
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So is the point of a cf to not allow your lo to go through a sleep cycle, making it easier to wake them up from a catnap then a full nap? Sorry, I'm just so confused
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Sorry, I am not 100% sure what what you are saying :-\
Can you post what your routine looks like at the moment so that we can see where we can try and fit the cluster feeds in.
E
A - how long
S - how long.
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E - 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, and middle of night (old schedule that seemed to work
well)
- we were doing 6am,9,12pm,3,5,7, and df 10pm. Which we are dropping the df as it does
NOT work for us and Madison at all. This schedule we have implemented since last Thurs.
A - approx 30min to 1 hour
S - 1 1/2 to 2 hours
From Monday through Thursday, we drop her off at the sitter's and she generally stays on this routine as well, she may get off a little but we have stressed the importance to our sitter about the EAS method. She reads Madison's cues more than anything though.
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Is it realistic for me to think that by DF my son at 10:30 he should be lasting longer then 2 a.m. He is 7 weeks old and we have been doing this for about a week now. I am just wondering if the DF is working for us. Obviously, I guess I just want some sleep so I am hoping for longer stretches but I just don't know what is realistic at his age. Any suggestions? Also, the past couple of nights he has has had a hard time with taking his DF and the cluster feeds. He just doesn't seem hungry? Any suggestions for this?
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Valerie h. Did you try the cluster feeds last night? How did it go?
Barley - At 7 weeks it is still very realistic for your lo to be waking at 2:00 am for a feed. When does he wake for a feed again in the night?
If he is not hungry at the cluster feeds / DF, perhaps pick one and stick with it. Either go for the cluster feeds, or go with the DF - which ever you think will work better for you.
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Paula, I did not do the cluster feeds. We kept with our original schedule and will continue a middle of night feeding for now, as she needs it. She still woke up a couple of times, but definitely less than what she was with the cf/dfs. Also I'm going to try the w2s method as she has woken up at 1:30 am for the past several days. I don't fully wake her though, right? I just nudge her and allow her to stir a little?
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With W2S, you don't fully wake them no. Like you say, just nudge / stirr them to help them ease into the next phase of sleep.
I used to just move DD, and when she moved, would pop her dummy in and she would sleep through her original waking. Keep it up for at least 3 days to try and break the habit.
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Hi there,
I have a 6-week old and am thinking of implementing the dreamfeed. His schedule is a little crazy in terms of times right now but we have been trying to follow EASY since birth.
He typically has 7 or 8 feeds in a 24 hour period, something like this. 5 am, 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, 7:30 or 8 pm and about 9:30 pm or 10 pm, then between 1 am and 2 am. We are BF'ing exclusively.
He does not always take the cluster feeds every 2 hours, but sometimes 2.5 or 3 hours he will eat in the evening.
I am wanting to know if I am able to do formula for the DF so that I don't have to worry about pumping a bottle daily for the late feed. Since we do not typically feed at this time with breastmilk, would it be okay to do formula for the dreamfeed without messing with my milk supply? I know it is supply and demand so as I am not feeding at that time then it would be okay?
Also, I am not sure how to do cluster and DF if he will not take the cluster every 2 hours in the evening. Do I have to do cluster and DF?
Thanks!
Terri
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Hi Terri,
It is up to you if you want to do the DF with Formula. Remeber it will take your lo's tummy a bit of time to get used to the formula, and may cause gas too.
If you are wanting to drop the DF via BF then I would think it is fine. Yes your supply will drop, but as long as you keep on BF the other feeds, then this will maintain your supply for what your lo needs.
You don't necesarrily have to do both the cluster and DF. Most mums only do one, so if you want to drop the cluster feed and stick to the DF this is fine.
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How do you know if the dream feed isn't working for you baby? How long should you keep it up before expecting results? My son is 8 weeks (6 weeks cause he was early). He normally doesn't even wake up for the 2nd cluster feed at around 8. He will only wake up for a bit when we give him a bath after that feed. The dream feed is normally at around 10 or 11 and he will still wake up hungry 2 hours after that.
Any suggestions?
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Actually - sorry! He is 9 weeks (7 weeks) - sleep deprivation!
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It is not uncommon for a lo that young to be waking for another feed after the DF.
You generally know when the DF is not working as it tends to cause more night wakings than without a feed i.e they wake numerous times needing to be re-settled.
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Thank you, I'll keep an eye on it. I have noticed that he wont sleep for more than 3 hours since I've started the dream feed and cluster feeds. Before he would have a 5 hour stint once in a while. I also saw that most moms apparently only do either the cluster feed or the dream feed. Why is this? Is one better than the other?
Thanks!
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If a mum is finding that the DF or Cluster Feeding is not working for their lo. i.e the DF causing extra night wakings or their lo's not taking much at the cluster feed, they will pick one and just stick with it.
How long have you been doing the DF?
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I've only been doing it for 4 nights now. Last night I dropped the cluster feed because he barely eats any during those feeds. But I thought I would continue doing the dream feed for a while. And i was really surprised that he actually doesn't wake up with a burp after that feed.
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If you have only been doing it for 4 nights, I would definitely keep it going for at least a week, perhaps a bit longer with you dropping the cluster feed.
With the DF, if they take it while they are sleeping, they do not need to be burped, as they are not taking in as much wind that they would when they are awake and feeding.
Good luck, keep us posted.
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Ok, thank you! I will for sure keep it up for a little while longer then. Is it ok for the dream feed to be 3 hours after the bed time feed? Or should it be sooner than 3 hours?
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Yes it is perfectly fine for it to be 3 hours after the bed time feed. Keep us posted on how you get on.
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Well last night I gave him the dreamfeed at 10:00 and he ended up sleeping til 2:30 - 3:00, I was amazed! So I'm going to keep it up at 10:00 every day and see how it goes!
Thank you!
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;D Fantastic news ;D
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I have a question about the dream feed. I haven't started it yet with my 4 week old. She is on formula from a bottle. Do you get them out of their crib for the feeding or leave them in the crib? How does this work? I'm nervous about not burping her during this feeding. Any advice would be appreciated.
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You pick your lo up out of the crib. It can be very dangerous leaving them lying flat in the crib and feeding them as they can choke and it can also cause ear infections.
Pick your lo up, and rub the teat of the bottle onto your lo's mouth, once your lo opens their mouth you can manipulate the teat in and wiggle it around until your lo starts drinking.
It may take a few days for your lo to actually drink a big amount, but stick with it for at least a week to see if it works for your lo or not.
With regards to burping, your lo will not need burping if the feed has been in her sleep. When they sleep and feed they take in a lot less air, so should not require burping.
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I have a 7 month old boy and the dream feed has been working great! He has been sleeping all night for 4 months now, When is it time to end the dream feed and how do I do it?
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Hi and welcome to BW website.
Tracy suggest weaning the DF at around 7 months. She says the best way to do this is to start dropping the oz's every and bringing the feed 30 mins earlier every 3 days. This way it helps your lo adjust to taking more calories during the day.
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We have 8 1/2 month old B/G twins and we decided to begin stopping the DF at 8 months rather than 7 since they are 25th %ile and below in weight. DD, who is below 10th%ile in weight is adjusting GREAT, however, cannot get DS to eat and drink enough during the day to satisfy him. He also got all 4 teeth during this time and his nose has been running a bit for the last week, so am not sure if the 4 and 5 am awakening is because of the DF or other "issues." Any advice???
Thanks!
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Can you post your routine of what your DS takes both bottle and solid wise?
What size teat is your lo using? Do you think he could be ready to go up a teat size?
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The schedule is USUALLY
Wake up- 6:15
6:30-Eat- 1/4 c. cereal and 5-6 ounces (including what is put into the cereal)
7:00-8:45- Activity
8:45-10:30-NAP
10:30- 5 ounces (I make all of his bottles 7 oz, but, I am lucky if he eats 5) and fruit
11-1- Activity
1-2:45-NAP
2:45- 5 ounces and vegetable
3:15-6- Activity
6-7- 5-6 ounces and 1/4 cup oatmeal and bath
7-10- Sleep
10- Dream Feed - we originally were doing the DF at 10:30 and put it back 15 mins. per 3 days BUT stopped at 10 for the moment because he has been waking up JUST ABOUT every night.
Any advice you may have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
ccb9801
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Looks like he has a good routine.
What size teat are you using?
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Hello. I have a 11-week-old baby and have been DFeeding him since week 2. Although he stills wakes up around 3-4 everynight. And then goes untill 6:30, 7. I was thinking about using formula on his DF ( I heard it takes longer to be digested so the baby takes longes to be hungry) to see if he goes trough all night. Does that make any sense at all??? Please answer me !!!
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Formula does take longer to digest than breast milk, so it is quite possible that it will keep your lo fuller for longer.
Has your lo had formula before or will this be the first time you will be introducing it?
Having a waking for a feed after the DF, is very common for a lo this age. Sounds like your lo is doing well.
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It would be the first time. He takes the milkbottle sometimes, but always with my expressed milk. Wiil I ruin things if give him the formula at the DF??? I need to sleep sooo bad.
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I don't think you will ruin things at all. However, you have to take into account that the formula could give him gas / tummy ache, as his tummy is not used to it.
Personally before trying it at night, I would probably try it for a feed in the AM so that you can watch him and see how he does.
Remember though that introducing a formula feed instead of a BF can quite possibly affect your supply, so would continue to pump to help compenstate for it.
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Hello. I tried the formula for 4 days. I'd give him 90ml of formula, then put him in my breast to finish his "meal"( and pump afterwards to empty it). For 2 nights he slept straight till 5! I was so happy! but then, the 2 following nights, I did the exactly same thing, and he woke up even more than usual. At 1:45, 2:15, 3:30, untill I finally gave up and fed him. The next night same thing happened. So honestly, I don't know if the formula works or not. Tonight I'll drop it and see waht happens!!!! Thanks for the support!
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Good luck, keep us posted on how things go.
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Hi! I'm no expert - I have twin 3 month olds so I'm new at this - but I thought I'd mention that the Baby Whisperer book says that the dream feed should never occur after 11 pm at the latest. If you do it that late, or later, you are interrupting the baby's night sleep and the baby won't sleep as well.
I would try adding either a cluster feed before bed (7 pm and then again at 9 pm is what the book suggests, right?) or adding a little more during the day, but at least do the dream feed earlier. We do the dream feed around 10 and they sleep soundly until 6 am-ish most mornings.
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ARH, you are correct. The DF is best done between 10 and 11pm. As it can interfer with a lo's night time sleep.
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Hi,
I have been trying hard to dream feed my 9 week old son for some time now but he only takes about 2 oz, last night only 1 oz! He then wakes every 3 hours so I usually feed him at 2am and 5am. Last night he woke at 1.00am, 1.45 am and 4.45. The two 1am feeds he only took 1.5 oz each time.
Shall I leave him a bit longer before picking him up to feed him incase he's not hungry? I did try doing that the other night and I was then up for 2 hours instead of a quick 30 mins like usual. I'm a bit confused. I do give him a 7 or 8 oz feed in the evening - this is split either side of his bath time.
Also, will he naturally start to take less during the night?
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The DF does not always work for every lo, and can sometimes cause more wake ups than normal. If you find that this is the case with your lo, I would perhaps stick with cluster feeding your lo and see how your lo does on the evenings without the DF, he may surprise you.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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Thanks Paula, I'll try it. xx
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Hello,
I hope you don't mind me adding a question to your thread. I'm Helen & am 35 weeks pregnant with my first. I was watching Baby Whisperer on discovery home & health last week & saw the dream feed that I'd read about in the books being put into practice. I am amazed that this is possible, it seems such a beautiful & natural thing to see the baby do.
Do you need to use the habermann bottle to do this feed if breastfeeding at other times or will a normal bottle such as the tommee tippee closer to nature one work too? I was wondering if the normal type of bottle might cause the baby to choke during the dream feed?
Many thanks & again sorry to hijack your thread.
Helen xx
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Hi Helen, Welcome to the BW website :-* you will find a lot of fantastic advice and information on here.
With regards to the DF, a normal bottle can be used, but just make sure it is is a slow flow that you start out with so that the milk does not come out too quickly.
Good luck with the birth of your baby, and hope to see you round the boards.
Paula x
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Hiya
I'm jumping if that's ok. I'm new to the site. William is 10 wks old and is on a 4 hour feeding routine, although it's far from EASY as he doesn't sleep well in the day. William has a cluster feed between 7-8pm and then is waking for a dream feed between 11.00-11.30pm but only takes a few ounces as he's still asleep. I think that's what he should be doing but he then wakes at 3am for another 3 ounces. He's only 10 weeks old so I'd be quite happy with that. The problem is that he is then awake from 4.30am and stays awake with wind. I can't win if he feeds in the night he can't get rid of his wind but I can't get any more food into him during the day.
Someone suggested giving the DF earlier around 10pm. How does this help ? And does this mean I wake him to give it to him ?
Claire.
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HI Claire,
The DF tends to work better around 10pm as it does not interferr with their sleep pattern, and most of the time are not in a deeper sleep.
With regards to wind, have you tried wind drops like infacol or something like that.
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Thanks Paula
I'm going to try waking him at 10ish for the DF tonight. I'm not sure if he'll feed as he only finished his cluster feed at 8pm but we'll see.
We've tried Infacol, Gripe Water and Colief but nothing seems to work for his wind. Now he's on this Lactose Free milk I'm not sure what else we can do. I might try and elevate his moses basket see if that makes any difference.
cheers
Claire
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Sorry I'm also jumping in ... I am new to BW and started introducing the DF when I started EASY about 3 weeks ago.
My LO was having her last feed at bedtime and then would wake for BF around 3/4ish before I did some accidental parenting at 4.5m and she started waking ever 1-2hrs which is why I started EASY 3 weeks ago and it has been going great so far but she now has her last feed at bedtime and then DF at 10:00 but still wakes for feed now at 2am - she then drinks very little to nothing on morning waking and at 11am feed. Could this be caused by the DF? Should I rather drop the DF?
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Claire, it is not recommended that you wake your lo for the DF, rather just lift your lo out of the moses basket and offer the feed whilst lo is still asleep.
LinziB, if your lo is not taking much in the morning feeds, I would definitely consider trying to wean the DF. Try and do it slowly so that it does not affect your lo too drastically.
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Hi - sorry to jump in but hope you can help!
I have a 7 week old DS on a 3 hour daytime EASY and we are trying to suss out a bedtime routine that works for him. To this end, we would like to try the cluster feed but are unsure how to go about this. At the moment he feeds at 7am / 10am / 1pm / 4pm / 7pm. After each feed, up to and including 4pm, he stays awake for an hour or so and then naps for between 45-90 mins. If I do the cluster feed at 6pm and 8pm, then should I wake him up if he is still napping after his 4pm feed? We wanted to try it this evening so today, I waited until he naturally woke at 6:20pm, fed him some formula early instead of 7pm, and then gave him a bath and a massage before 10 mins of quiet play. My DH took him to the nursery to give him some more formula in the quiet at around 7:40pm and he spent 25 mins screaming the house down as I think he is became too overtired, and he wasn't interested in any additional formula. We will do the DF tonight at 10pm instead of 11pm as I have seen some other posts about that, but any advice you can give on how to fit in the cluster feeds when on a 3hour EASY would be very much appreciated!
At the moment he only feeds once in the night at around 3am. He also gets fussy about 2am but and 5am but shush or shush + dummy seems to do the trick most of the time.
:D Thanks very much in advance :D
Zoe
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If the cluster feeds is not working at those times you could try doing them at say 3:30 / 5:30 and then again at 7 before bed.
Definitely give the 10:00pm DF a try and see how you get on.
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Super - thanks very much will let you know how we get on!
:D Zoe x :D
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Hi, i don't want to cluster feed as such right now as things are going well but i would like to dream feed. My routine is: 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9, 12. My baby is 5 weeks old, almost 11lb and is bottle feeding 4-5oz (we are upping her feed today for the first time).
I would like to go to bed earlier than 12.30am so would like to feed her at 6pm, then 7pm bath and put her to bed at 7.30pm. Obviously i need to feed her at 9pm and instead of 12.30am i would like to do it at 11pm. Is it ok to dream feed her twice at 9pm and 11pm? She goes through from 12.30am after her feed until 5-6am usually which i am really happy with, i don't want to jeopardise that, do you think i will?
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You could try the DF at 11 and see how your lo does.
Alternatively if you did not go that route, you could cluster feed at say 5:30 and then again at 7:30 after bath, so lo is nice and relaxed after the bath and then put to bed and do the DF at 10 - 10:30.
Which ever you try, give it at least a week before you decide that it is working or not working for your lo.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.
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Yeah, maybe i'll try the 5.30pm and 7.30pm, followed by a 10.30pm df. If she takes 4oz normally how much should i expect her to take in at the cluster feeds?
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I would make up normal bottles for a few days and just guage how much your lo drinks and then can adjust from there.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you get on.
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Hi, I hope you don't mind that I jump in, but I am a little confused when it comes to cluster feeding, are they suppose to be having a nap in between clusters or is it awake time, my little bub is going great throughout the day sticking with a 3 hour easy routine but it hits cluster feeding time and DF time and we get a little confused with what we are suppose to do, we do the DF (most of the time he is awake) it is hard to get him back to sleep (he is only 2 1/2 weeks old) then wakes up nearly 1-2 hours with wind, and is difficult to resettle, have we commenced this routine to early, should we just be feeding him every 3 hours, we are unsure and in the middle of the night (as I am trying to learn the ropes of breast feeding) it is hard to latch on etc and we are tired. so if someone could help us understand the cluster feeding a little better, I think that, that may help.
Cheers Sandy
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Hi Sandy,
Congratulations on the birth of your lo - he is so cute :D
I would not worry too much about the cluster feeding at this stage, just concentrate on getting your lo onto a good feeding routine and working on your latch. Once you both know each other a little better, you can then start working on your routine.
I think at around about 3-4 weeks of age, my DD got herself into her own cluster feeding routine, and we kept it up for a few weeks - think it must have been a growth spurt.
With the cluster feeding, your lo will generally have a cat nap between feeds, so that will help your lo get through until the next feed.
Have you tried doing the DF while your lo is asleep? This way they take in a lot less air, so your lo should not be as windy.
Keep us posted on how you get on.
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thanks paula,
my LO is now 6 weeks, and we have managed to find an afternnon routine that suits us all thanks for your advice
Sandy
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Hi Sandy,
I am pleased that things have settled down for you ;D Keep us posted on how you get on.
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HI Bensmum
That is exactly what I was going to ask. At 7 weeks my wee boy was going from 8pm to 4am, the first night I introduced a dream feed to get him through the night he lasted to 5.30 am and we thought Great, but he hasn't doesn't since, in fact he wakes up earlier now at 2 or 3 for a feed. Like you I thought the dream feed would extend his sleep. He will be 9 weeks on Sunday and we have been unable to move on.
The alternative was to add another bottle in the day bringing him back to 3 - 31/3 hours between feeds instead of 4 hour, so he gets more in the day, but that doesn't seem to help either.
Can anyone suggest getting what to do about dreamfeeds?
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Just realised that the message I replied to was years old, can anyone now shed any light on getting baby through the night? thanks
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The DF does not work for every lo. Sometimes it can actually cause more night wakings as it can interfer with their sleep. Have you tried cluster feeding instead?
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Advice please-I am totally unsure which to do-DF or CF...
??? ???
DS is 10 weeks old and 13 lbs so feeding going well. He is pretty good during the day and we roughly follow EASY. Prob is the nights-
Option 1-the DF is finally working in that he takes the bottle (his only 1) instead of fussing like he used to. He then goes for approx 4 hours and is therefore awake at 3 or 4. I then BF him but he'll only take 10 mins and then drop off despite my best efforts. Then fusses a bit in cot, wakes 2 hours from start of feed and then...it's morning and I've been awake since 4 : ( I know his night should be 11ish til morning but he goes for such a short period IMO and then it's morning. I do not why he only goes this long as he has the max amount of extra hungry formula and you'd think as a BF baby this would be v filling. He does seem v hungry by the way when he does his 10 mins. I don;t think he's having us on. His last bedtime feed is 6/7.
OR
Last bedtime feed at 6/7 then a CF at 8-8.30 (BF), wait for him to wake (usually around 1-2), DH gives him the bottle then back to sleep til 6
The second option seems silly as we're creating a nightfeed and going against BW, plus DH has to get up to do bottle.
Please advise-we have talked over and over and over it until we're blue in the face and cannot make a decision...
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What time are you doing the DF? How many oz is your lo having?
Have you tried re-settling your lo when he wakes in the night to see if he is actually waking out of hunger or habit?
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Question about the dream feed...my son is is just about four months I am going to start dream feeding but not sure how many ounces to offer.
One other question, what about wet diapers, isn't he going to wake up from it?
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When offering the dream feed, most mums offer a normal size bottle to see how much their lo takes and then alter it after a few days.
With regards to the nappies, perhaps try the next size up nappy at night that way there won't be any leaks.
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Hi All,
Sorry to jump in but I'm confused.
My LO took the DF for the first 3 weeks of trying it (he was then approx 8 weeks old). He is now 12 weeks and for the last week he has only been taking between 1 and 2 oz at the 10:30 - 11pm DF. He is on a 3.5-4 hour feed schedule at 7:15am (7oz), 11am (6oz), 2:45pm(7oz), 6:30pm(6oz) and then 10:30pm (1-2 oz). He is sleeping through from 11pm to 7am, which is great but it is a bit of a gamble as some nights in this last week when he simply wouldn't take the DF he woke at 3am looking for a feed. Has anyone any ideas on how I can take the uncertainty out of the DF situation as I go to bed wondering what might happen at the DF and therefore if we are going to get a restful night. Any advice, should I CF instead?
Thanks
Lisa
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Lisa, have you tried bringing the DF a little earlier to say 10:00 pm? Your lo may just be in too much of a deep sleep to take much. I would definitely try it a bit earlier for a week and see how you get on.
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Ok, will try this BUT....
Just by chance last night, my OH was due to do this feed and set his alarm for 10:30, but his phone was on silent so we missed the feed and we woke at midnight but decided it was too late to feed him and decided to just let Harry wake naturally for his feed. Well the little man didn't wake up till 6am and proceeded to chat to himself for 15 mins in his cot and so we left him. We went in at 7am and he was fast asleep. I wonder if this is just a fluke or does the little fella now get enough from his daytime feeds (which I've recently upped by 2 oz during the day....). Nice dilemma to have.
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Hello,
Was just wondering if anyone can help me? My LO has been going form 19.00-07.00 with a DF at 23.00 since 7 weeks, she is now 12 weeks & I was wonderingf how will I know when to drop the DF & how to do this?
Thanks in advance,
Helen. xx
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Wow that's fantastic! Well done both of you!
There is info here about cluster and DF http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0. This should help.
Most babies drop the DF by about 7/8 months when they are established on solids.
HTH!
Laura
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Oh wow I didn't realise it would be that long! I have friends with babies the same age who are already going 12 hours! Thanks for that link, seems a sensible way to do it. xx
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I have been dreamfeeding for two weeks and have found that it has caused no end of problems, Before dreamfeeding, my DD was sleeping from 8pm through to 3am, sometimes 4. Then she would generally go through till 6ish and with resettling we could get her through to 7 or 8am for her breakfast feed. Now she is waking at 1:30 - 2am. We have to resettle her because she yells out, not just cries and she wakes our 9YO son who sleeps in the next room. We feed her at 3am and she goes back down, only to wake up in the early hours yelling again.
I generally feed her at around 11pm and have been making it a little later to see if it helps. I have also been giving her a larger dreamfeed and 3am feed to try to stretch her through to morning without the constant resettles. It worked this morning, but now she doesn't want her breakfast feed and has been worming around and rejecting her day feeds when only half way through. I am now panicking a little. I think from reading this thread that I should bring the Dreamfeed forward to 10pm and have thought I should cluster feed, but don't know how especially now she is rejecting day feeds. Before dreamfeeding, she was taking 150mls at 3am, 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm. What should I give her for the cluster feeds and do the other feeds stay the same (same times and amounts)?
I am almost ready to drop the dreamfeed - its been very disruptive. Its hard to understand how babies work. You'd think that it would make a positive difference and that babies would be more content and sleep through.
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To be honest not all babies take to the DF - my two never did. We found it really hit and miss, sometimes they would drain a bottle, sometimes refuse anything and still wake around 2 am for another feed and then often 4am wakings. We gave up with both of them and just waited for them to wake. I don't think you need to cluster feed at this age unless going through a growth spurt so stick with your 4 hour routine and don't do a DF if it is more disruptive than helpful.
Have you changed to a faster flow teat recently? If not that would be worth a try if day feeds are getting less.
Laura
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Hi girls,
Can Anyone tel me how to wean dd off the dreamfeed,DD is on 3meals and 5bottles (6oz) ,I Give her a dreamfeed at 11pm now she has started waking for it,I want to stop it completely.
any tips are welcome.
Thanks girls x
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My DD is 5 weeks old, should I start the DF? This is my first day with EASY so I'm not sure how it is all going to play out, but I am hoping for the best. I also read in another post that you shouldn't burp her after the DF. Is this true? I feel like every time I dont burp her, she spits up or gets the hiccups. Thanks!
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hi,
new to this website so not to sure if to post here or not!
i have been following EASy roughly since my son was born (he's now 10 weeks)
the problem we have is when i go to give him his dream feed, between 1030-1100 he sucks on the teat two or three times then start shaking his head from side to side and waking up, he doesnt seem to want it. I leave him in his cot for his dream feed and he use to take it fine but lately he has not been taking his day time feeds very well either.
is there any suggestions, or should i forget about the deam feed?
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You could try giving it to him a bit earlier - try 10 or 10.15 instead. He may drink better in a different part of his sleep cycle. The other alternative is to stop doing it and see what happens. My two never really took to the DF so we just waited for them to wake up for a feed. How many times a night is he feeding?
Laura
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he sleeps through the night most of the time. he goes to bed about 8:00-8:30 then dream feed 10:30-11:00 and then he use to sleep till 07:00 but recently started waking at 05:00
ill give it a go tonight and see how he is over the next few days.
thank you
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what a difference half an hour makes he took his dream feed without a problem
thanks you again
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That's great!
Laura
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My baby is 4 weeks old and I believe (and hope) has just finished a growth spurt. Anyways, we are having trouble with the dream feed...he has a hard time staying awake in general. How can I help keep him up a little longer in the evening? And, how can I help him take the bottle for the dream feed?
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As this thread has become so inactive I am going to lock it.
Please post any questions as a new topic on the main board. You can also chat about these issues with Mums of similar age babies in the birth clubs.
Liz :-* :-*