BabyWhispererForums.com
SLEEP => Night Wakings => Topic started by: michellebateman1 on September 29, 2005, 19:58:05 pm
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My 5 month old son has gotten into the habit of waking up somewhere between 1.30am and 2.30am for a bottle. He is a really bad eater during the day and I am trying him on the pu/pd method for the last two nights to try and get him to drop the night feed. Last night was my second night which we managed to get through but this morning at 6.45am I tried to feed him but he would only take 1.5 ounces! He had 6 ounces at 11am (his dreamfeed) and cried on and off between 1.15am and 2.30am and then 3.30 until 4.30am until he settled into a light sleep until 6.45am when he woke really happy. He was on a perfect 4 hour EASY routine during the day yesterday but today it has really gone out of the window. I am persisting but I wondered whether anyone else has come up with this problem. He does have reflux but is on infant gaviscon which has helped and doesn't seem to suffer very much as long as it is in his bottle. We have him on solids (only given at 11am and 6pm feeds). he doesn't have much - just a ice cube of veg or fruit with some rice and a little milk. He loves it but then will only take about 4-5 ounces of milk. I know we are supposed to try and up their milk intake during the day so they won't be hungry at night but I struggle to get 28 ounces in him (that includes his dreamfeed). Am I worrying about nothing?
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What happens if you skip the df? Could he have an upset tummy? Sometimes the solids can actually make things worse than better too. My ds couldn't handle the rice, so we just skipped it and he did better with oatmeal, but I didn't start until after 6 months old.
Sounds to me like he is just waking, especially if he had a 6 oz bottle at 11 and then woke at 1:15. At that age, they wake for a whole bunch of reasons, from developmental to teething. It is hard to reason at 2 in the morning, and hard to get them back to sleep sometimes!
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Last night (I was at work :( ) so my husband df Thomas but he changed his nappy beforehand so Thomas woke up and wouldn't feed (he only had 2 ounces). He cried off and on all night (I only managed 1 hours sleep) but when I came to feed him at 6am this morning he would only drink 3 ounces! So dropping the df would not work I don't think. I don't think he actually takes enough during the day but I don't know how to increase what he drinks. I am also thinking about taking him off of the solids. He certainly doesn't like rusk but doesn't mind the rice or any veg or fruit which I make for him. The last couple of days since doing this new routine he has been very unsettled during the day and has been arching his back, going red in the face so I have just put him to bed and he has gone straight off to sleep. I know it doesn't follow the routine but he is so tired from three nights of not much sleep (don't I know the feeling!). Does anyone else have a problem with babies not eating - even though we know they must be hungry! This is what will let down my getting him onto the EASY routine.
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The theory with the dreamfeed is the importance of not disturbing their sleep cycles to get them to eat. If they wake up, you've shot the whole night. The deepest, most restful sleep is right at the beginning, and they can't seem to get back there until they are older. If you disrupt that deep sleep, they are overtired, and can't put themselves back to sleep and wake every hour like you describe.
Absolutely put your baby to sleep if they are tired. And hopefully you are napping today too. Listen to him, feed him when he is hungry, and back off the solids if you think they are giving him a tummy ache. Solids are so iron fortified that can be incredibly constipating! That is why we go slow. And at this age he should only have a couple teaspoons of solids. If he has any more than that, he won't want his milk, which is what he needs. Make sense?