Author Topic: Help! LO will be a toddler still taking a dreamfeed!  (Read 855 times)

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Offline toriaum

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Help! LO will be a toddler still taking a dreamfeed!
« on: March 03, 2009, 01:06:20 am »
Well, I'm exagerating a little but thats how I feel!

My LO is 8.5 months old.  She is 23 pounds and very spirited and a 45 minute napper.  Generally she sleeps through the night alright even though she only has two 40 minute naps all day.( Daycare  - she can't sleep longer due to other noise disturbers)I've been trying to wean the dreemfeed since Jan, but it's been one setback after another ( cold, teething, cold , teething) and we havn't been able to make any progress.  NOw it seems if I do anything different (one less ounce or 30 minutes earlier) I have to feed her sometime between 3am - 5am.  IF I feed her at 5am, then she won't bf at her usual 7am feed.Twice last week, she skipped the dream feed so I though wahoo!  We did it cold turkey - but then the last four nights have been dreem feed plus night feed.  She's REALLY hard to get back to sleep without feeding ( my first dd was much easier at tricking her back to sleep).  It will take at least an hour or more and about half the time she still won't go back to sleep.  IT's really important for her to get as much rest as possible at night since daytime naps are so bad so I feel stuck between feeding her to get more sleep or resisting but keeping her awake more.  I also think I should be consolidating a bottle at this point but feel that the dreamfeed should be taken care of first.  Maybe not?  Below is her routine.

6:30 wake and bf
8:30 cereal with fruit
10am 30-45 min nap
10:30 bottle (ranges from 4oz to 6oz)
12:30 1/2 yogurt container plus 1/2 jar of veggies or fruit
1:30 nap (30-45 min)
3pm bottle (6oz - 7oz)
4:30 veggies and cereal
5:30 bath
6pm bf (plus I've been giving her an extra 4oz bottle which she drank most of the last two nights)
9:30pm dreamfeed 4 oz

I've been up with her to feed her in the early morning both nights.  3:30 am last night and 5am the night before

I appreciate ANY help or insight! THANK YOU

Offline mummypig

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Re: Help! LO will be a toddler still taking a dreamfeed!
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2009, 08:42:06 am »
Hi Toriaum :)

First of all I'd say don't feel you need to rush into getting rid of the dream feed.  Yes your DD is almost 9 months old and the BW books tend to say to get rid of it from 7 months, but that means you CAN start to get rid of it from then, not that you have too.  If your baby is unsettled due to illness or teething (and lets face it a spirited baby can get pretty unsettled!), then there's no reason why you can't wait a while.

Also, seeing as she appears to be waking at different times every night, I would think that hunger is the main reason and would suggest that the way forward is to tackle her food intake during the day first, before removing the df.  I would also try to extend her daytime naps, although I know that can be difficult.

I don't know how much solids you give her for brekkie or dinner, but looking at what you feed her for lunch I would suggest upping these and perhaps adding in some meat or fish at her last meal (the protein will fill her up for longer, but you'll have to deal with smellier poos!).  All babies are different, but as an indicator, my DD is a week older than yours and has finger foods then 3tbsp of solids per meal and a 200ml bottle 3 times a day.  She doesn't always have all her milk, nor does she always eat her entire meal, but more often than not she does. 

Today for brekkie she had a 2 dried dates, a 1/3 of a banana, 3tbsp porridge and half a crumpet then all her milk before her nap.  Lunch was a couple of strawberries, 6 cubes of cheese, a half a rice cake, 3tbsp sweet potato & orange, then her full bottle.  Dinner was a handful of olives, a teething biscuit and (half of MY...   ::)) Spanish rice with chicken dish and another full bottle.  She was swimming today, so a bit more active than normal perhaps.

Regarding the naps, how quickly does she get tired after she wakes in the morning and then after each nap?  Does she have lots of 45min naps, or does she seem to function with only a couple?

Offline TDR'smom

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Re: Help! LO will be a toddler still taking a dreamfeed!
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2009, 20:50:34 pm »
Hello!!  I wonder if your lo is OT causing the night wakings?  She might not even really be hungry, just waking and having a hard time settling.  2 40minute naps is very little sleep for her age!   Any way to speak with the day care providers to see about somehow extending her naps or maybe an additional nap?

This might not even be a feeding issue!!  Could be as simple as having her more rested during the day!

HTH!

xxx
Judy
Judy







Offline toriaum

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Re: Help! LO will be a toddler still taking a dreamfeed!
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2009, 01:15:35 am »
Thank you for your replies!
Judy - I know this isn't enough sleep for her, but I've tried everything to get her to sleep more at daycare.  The room is rather small and there's no way for her to sleep without distractions that wake her up.  I'm not sure I could get her to sleep more myself in that situation.  I"m trying to find an alternative solution but at the moment I can't find one.  I agree with you regarding OT but most nights she does sleep through.  IT's just lately with trying to wean the dreamfeed that I'm having such an issue.  I'm sure better naps would help though.  ON the weekends she will sleep one 45 and another 1.5 hour so it's better.  At home, I can get her back to sleep but at daycare there's just too much partying for her to do!
Mummypig,
I don't think I can add more milk for her as once she's done, she's done.  I'm feeding her as much solid food as she'll take.  SHould I switch the order of bottle and solids?  Or should I try to stop the late morning bottle in hopes she'll eat more for lunch?As far as finger food, I tried her on a couple of cheerios and she did alright, sort of gagged.  I get really nervous with finger foods as my first dd choked real bad and scared me.  ALthough it probably is time for it.  She can't crawl yet, but she's belly crawling.  THey say that's a sign for readiness of finger foods?

Last night's update is - she only took one ounce for the df at 9:40pm and was up at 4:30am.  I fed her around 5am and she was back to sleep til 7am.  THen she wouldn't bf until 8am.  We'll see how tonight goes.

THanks for the help!
-toriaum