Having trouble with DF...

[mmddds]

My DD is 8 weeks old.  I have been trying to do DF before I go to bed (11pm-ish) but she is soooooo sound asleep that it's very hard to get her to eat much more than 2.5 oz - and that takes 30 min.  She usually will wake around 3-4 a.m. and eat a good 4 oz then.  I'd love to get that 4 oz in during the DF and start to skip the 3 a.m feed...any suggestions on how to get her to eat more at the DF??  I rub her head, her feet, her hands, change positions, change her diaper...nothing seems to work. 

Also, I've been trying to wait until the last possible minute to DF (thinking that the later I feed her, the longer she'll sleep) but just read on another post that the DF should be done earlier.  I would LOVE to not stay up until midnight!!  Is it better to DF at 10 pm than later? 

I start back to work tomorrow and am nervous about having not getting enough sleep to get thru the day...   So getting this whole DF and sleeping longer thing is in the forefront of my mind right now...

Thanks for any advice!!

[mmddds]

I meant to add this to my post...What if I only offer 2 oz during the middle of the night feed...Is that a way of starting to eliminate it, or just cruel and unusual punishment?  I don't want her to starve, but I'd love to get more formula in her durng the day so we can wean off of the 3:00 a.m feedings...

Thanks.

[AngelaF]

Here's what we've done in a similar situation. We have twins and if one takes a small feed, we change his/her diaper and wake them up a bit. They settle back down quickly and usually take a few more oz. I'm not saying that's the best, but it's worked for us.

Good luck!

[* Paula *]

At 8 weeks it is still very common for your lo to be having a middle of the night feed.  Their tummies are still very small and can only handle a small amount of milk at a time, so they are going to wake in the night for a feed.

With regards to doing the DF earlier, yes you are right, it is better to do the DF as close to 10pm as possible.  Reason being, that doing it later can actually affect their night time sleep.  I would suggest trying to do the DF at 10pm, you may find that your lo takes more as she is not in such a deep sleep.

Good luck.  Keep us posted on how yu get on.

Paula