please explain to me dreamfeed/bedtime

[shannoncorrin]

Hi guys!  I just posted late last week about how my 5 week (now 6 week) old wasn't doing a consistent schedule and it was freaking me out. Well, yesterday AND today we were actually able to do EWS consistently!!!! I hope I'm not jinxing us!! I know this is just in time for thanksgiving when things are going to go haywire again.  Anyway, now that he is not associating feeding with bedtime, I'm worried about bed time.  Here is my schedule and then I'll ask you my question:



7 am feed, then diaper change

8:15 sleeping

10 am feed, diaper change, then play

11:15 sleeping

1 pm feed, diaper change, play

2:15 sleeping

4pm feed, diaper play, change

5:15 sleeping

7 pm feed, diaper change, play, sometimes bath

9-9:30 pm diaper change, feed, sleep



So several of my friends gave me the advice that they keep their little ones up between the last feedings to get them drowsy.  A few weeks ago we started doing it, and as soon as we did, he only got up once a night instead of 3 to 4 times. He has only been getting up once since then and we are afraid to go back. However,  Its not as easy to feed him and have him drift off to sleep immediately, so I was thinking of pushing his bed time up to after the 7 pm feeding and trying a dream feed at 10.  I'm afraid!! Its been nice getting sleep, but when I go back to work in a week and half I don't want to be trying to put a baby to sleep when I want to be sleeping.



Here is another problem.  I had a c section with him (emergency) and I wasn't supposed to do steps.  Our bedroom is downstairs his is upstairs, so he has been sleeping in the pack and play in our living room.  We really don't have room for it in our bedroom.   If we put him "to bed" at 7,we are still up, so I'm afraid he isn't going to get into the deep sleep that he would if he were in a quiet room.  Should I try to get him to start sleeping in his room before attempting a dream feed?  I like him taking naps down here, but I suppose I can try to get him to take naps up there.  Let me know what you think! 

[Ima shel Alon]

So BT is now at 21 and WU is 7? That seems like a very long day to me. I would always aim for a 12h day and a 12h night with babies and toddlers.
I actually think that he is STTN because he is knackered from going to bed so late and having such a long A time before BT. It might work for you now, but you could as well create yourself a very OT baby who will, in a couple of days, refuse to sleep all together because he will be a total OT mess.
IIWY I would with 19 BT and a DF. NF and NW are still very normal at this age and one should expect them. There is nothing "wrong" with a baby that wakes up a couple of time a night.

Re where he should be sleeping it's very much up to you. Till DS was a bit older, I think 4m old, I wanted him close to me when he went to sleep and at night. I understand there is an issue of space, but I am afraid I can't give an advice about that one.

[shannoncorrin]

So I tried to dream feed and he didn't suck!!  It just didn't work, he didn't take any food and we tried for a good 15-20 min.  Has anyone been able to overcome this, or does  it just mean its not going to work for me?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

What time was bedtime and what time did you try the dreamfeed? You may habe caught him in a deep phase of sleep...I would just try it at a bit different time (though my DD3 would not be woken for a df no matter when I tried, but my older two did well with a 7:00/7:30 bedtime and a 10:30/11:00 dreamfeed).

[Regina Phalange]

We started with EASY and the dream feed when my son was around the same age yours is. The dream feed was a bit of a struggle at first. I believe the first night took me over 45 minutes. But slowly he got better with it, and I figured out little things that worked better for him as well. It wasn't long before he was finished in 15-20 minutes with a bottle. These days he takes 15-20 minutes if nursing, and just 5 or 10 when we do it by bottle. I would try a few more times to see if he starts to take to it. Or, like pp said, you could have just caught him in a deep sleep. When that happens, you can always wait it out and try again a short time later.