please help me with my 3,5 hrs routine... I'm very confused!!!

[fairy]

Hi everyone,
My LO is 3 months 2 weeks old. I think she's a textbook baby except for the catnapping problem.

Here is our story:

While I was following the 3 hrs routine, she woke up at 6:00 AM in the morning.
Throughout the day, she sleeps for 45 min. 2 naps in the morning, 2 in the afternoon. It is not very much structured so I cannot be very brief about it. Sometimes one of the afternoon naps are longer like 1,5-2 hrs. But the E times were all planned through the 3 hrs routine.

The evening&night routine was more structured like below:
She was sleeping at 8:00-8:30 PM.
I was dreamfeeding at 00:30 AM (she does not wake up in between)
4:00 AM She woke for eating
6:00 AM she's all awake.

A few weeks ago, she stopped waking up at 4:00 AM. I was very happy thinking that she's sleeping through the night from 00:30 to 6:00AM. Then I tried to take the dreamfeed time to 12:00 (because I couldn't wait until 12:30) As I did that she kept sleeping through the night but waking up at 5:30 instead of 6:00AM.

So I tried to cut the dreamfeed. I let her sleep after she falls asleep at 8:00. She wakes up hungry at 2:00AM. I feed her and she sleeps until 7:00AM when she's all awake. I am not sure if this was a good routine...

Last week we switched to an 3,5 hours routine a week ago as our doctor recommended. The night routine is a mess now.

I feed her at 7:00 (regardless of the the previous E time)
I read in BW book that dreamfeeding should not be later than 11:00PM. So here is what happened last night.

She slept at 7:30-8:00 PM
11:00 dreamfeed
2:45AM woke up hungry
6:45 AM all awake

Am I doing this right? Is dreamfeeding time ok?

One more question. I change her diaper when I take for dreamfeeding. Is this ok? I read somewhere that I should not change her unless I hear/feel she's wet. But is it ok to keep her diaper for 12 hrs?

Please help me with any suggestions, critics, anything...

Thanks,

[numa]

My baby is about the same age.  For a while we could put him to bed at 7:30 and he would wake on his own at 3 AM we would feed him and then he'd sleep until 7 AM.  In your post you said that worked for you - right? That sounds like it is the perfect scenario to me!

[fairy]

thanks for your answer numa. that seems to be working to me too. but is it ok to have no dreamfeeding?
i fed her at 10:30 last night but still she woke up at 2:00 AM and 6:40 AM. she was really hungry. Maybe this is  a growth spurt...

what do you think about diaper change?

[numa]

I am new at this too but I have never done the dreamfeed since I go to bed really early.  For me it's just easier to feed him when he wakes up since I would have to wake up anyway for the dreamfeed. 

I don't change the diaper unless it is dirty or if I feel like it is really wet.  I do put diaper rash cream on before I put him to bed. 

[*Liz*]

The dreamfeed should be done with your LO still asleep - if you change the nappy then you will be waking them up and disrupting their sleep cycles. So I would not change the nappy unless dirty, or leaking.

Most good night nappies will last 12 hrs when just wet.

Tracey recommended a DF no later than 11pm to avoid interrupting night sleep.

Your LO actually did REALLY well without the DF though - so I think it is up to you whether you want to continue it or not.

HTH 

[fairy]

thanks to you all.. I'm not changing her today and I did DF. So I'll see how things are going to work out tonight...

[*Liz*]

Let us know 

[fairy]

right or wrong... I don't know, i want to believe that each baby is different and it's definitely the baby who is setting the rules
for the last two nights, i feed my LO at 10.30, 14:00, 17:30 and i feed a little at 20:00 before she falls asleep. DF is at 23:30 and she sleeps until 7:00 AM...

I'm not changing her diaper after she goes to bed at 20:00 until 7:00 AM in order not to disturb her sleep.

this seems as a great pattern to me. I know tracy recommends DF not later than 23:00. if my LO settles down with this pattern, I'm planning to take the DF time backwards to 23:00 step by step.

what do you think?

[*Liz*]

Each baby IS different - you are totally right about that  .

I'm always very consious when giving advice on here that I am basing things on MY son in the main part, so what worked here certainly won't always work.

That all looks great  and the DF is obviously doing its job for your LO. I never did one and just did a night feed FOREVER - and I did come to regret not trying properly later on.

TBH if the 11.30pm isn't causing any sleep issues it is probably fine as it is  .

[numa]

Why did you regret not doing the DF?

[*Liz*]

Just that when he was 9 mths old and I was giving a 4am bottle, I wished very much that he had done a DF and gone until 7am. Took me until 11 mths to drop night feeds due to his reflux and poor weight gain.

So a DF would have been lovely  .

[fairy]

thanks for all the good advice liz