Author Topic: Dream feed or Habit EW  (Read 1948 times)

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Offline stevesmum

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Dream feed or Habit EW
« on: January 27, 2010, 22:29:40 pm »
My breast fed little man (now 4mo4d) has settled himself pretty well into this routine
6am mumma gets me out of bed, i may have been chatting to myself for a bit
feed somewhere between 6 and 7 (as I am becoming really nosy and easily distracted) - mumma keep offering until i take some, sometimes i have to walk and feed if mumma doesn't catch me still a little sleepy
7 - 7.15 sleep for about 1 1/2 - 2 hr (mumma leaves me in my cot as most of the time I resettle after the 45min, or don't even wake up - sometimes)
9 mumma gets me up
somewhere between 9-10.15 mumma tries to feed me again, usually she catches me before I wake up properly)
10-10.15 mumma puts me back to sleep (always between first and second yawns so I can put myself to sleep)
12 - up again (try to feed)
1 - 3pm sleep though normally up by 2 or so
cluster feed throughout afternoon with a short nap at around 4pm
bath at 6, cuddles and final nurse at around 6.15 usually asleep by 6.30
mumma will give me a DF before she goes to bed, anytime from 9-10.30 depending on how many jobs she has left to do....
at 1am I might start grizzling so mumma dummies me and I sleep until 3ish when I'm starving and then i might sleep til 6ish, though around 5ish I may wake up to talk to myself.

Now I should point out that I am quite happy with this routine, as I look after other kids in my home and they arrive at 7.30, so I can get DS organised and ready before they arrive, also his bedtime enables us parents to have some together time (if my husband is home from work by then). But out of interest,  I'm wondering if I have to do something about the DF or the 3am feed. Also should mention this last fortnight Steve has become troublesome with feeding, including one day where he fed every 3hrs the night before, fed at 7.30am and 6pm the next day(absolutely REFUSED to eat all day though slept normally), and slept 12hours straight that night (mummy did try to feed me at 3am even woke Steve up but wouldn't have anything to eat). since then if I don't catch Steve stilll a little sleepy for a feed, he can be quite distractable when I feed him, and won't feed well - long. He's been sleeping great during the day I feel, putting himself to sleep and settlign at the 45min. What would you suggest?
Mind you, we're getting needles tomorrow so that will no doubt throw a spanner in the works!!
Hope your day is going great, and things are good wherever you are.
Thanks,



Offline anna*

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2010, 08:26:54 am »
Hi hun :D

Well, at 4 months it's still totally normal to have one overnight feed in addition to the dreamfeed. We wouldn't usually look at dropping the dreamfeed until around 7-8 months, unless it seems to be disturbing sleep. Butl the main thing that jumps out from your routine is that his awake times are WAY short for his age. Some bubs are low sleep needs but 1hr A times is more like 4 week old not 4 month old. I wonder if giving him a bit more awake time might get him sleeping even better through the night? Also feeding four hourly may encourage him to take more at each feed - around this age, most of them don't need 3hourly feeds any more and this might persuade him to pay a bit more attention to his milk!

At 4 months most can manage 2hrs awake time. I daresay he won't be able to manage all that right now, but I would for sure try stretching him 15 mins every couple of days. An 'ideal' routine at 4 mnoths would be something like

6.30am A/E
8.30am S
10.30am A/E
12.30pm S
2.30pm A/E
4.30pm S
5pm A
6pm E
6.30pm S
10.30pm dreamfeed

What do you think?





Offline stevesmum

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2010, 10:53:58 am »
Sounds good to me, I was wondering if he needed his feeds stretching out as he was hungry towards his first nap time, rather than on waking, which was 3 hrs later. we'll try spreading him out tomorrow.... Thanks so much for your help...!


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2010, 13:58:21 pm »
:-* let us know how it goes!





Offline stevesmum

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2010, 21:07:19 pm »
Hey! Wellthe 4hr system works like a dream... he is putting himself to sleep and resettling if he should wakeup early, and sleeping through for min 1 and a half hrs.... last couple of nights he's been a bit strange, did have needles a week ago today though, he will wake up and not really want to feed. i dummy him and he settles himself back to sleep.I've been putting him in his cot at 6.30pm, and he puts himself to sleep by 7pm though last couple of nights not until 7.30pm. in the morning he seems to be stirring at 5am and rarely goes back to sleep.... I leave him in his cot until 6 as he is happy enough, just lying there looking around. last night i changed his nap before the df (as usual, otherwise i end up with very wet cot sheets the next morning and i thought that this may have been the reason for his early morning start)and then when i offered the df he started to cry. he normally gets annoyed by the speed of the flow in the day, never to the point of crying though, but NEVER at6 night time. so i copmforted him, put him in his cot with a dummy and he went to sleep. he stirred at one, and i thought he may want to feed, didn't take much at all but same thing, in cot and baxck to sleep... I'm sure i should be applauding this, but i'm not sure what's going on...!!!


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2010, 21:20:23 pm »
Is he waking up crying in the night?





Offline stevesmum

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2010, 04:03:49 am »
No not as such, just grizzly type mumbling, moving his head about and such. Last he went down at 6.50, woke up again at 7.30pm, put himself to sleep again, woke  up at 10pm - so I fed here, then woke at 2ish, so fed again, woke at four dummied, woke at 5.20am and takled to himself until 6am when I went and got him up for the day. Should Ijust ignore him unless he's crying... (turn the monitor volume down.....!)?? Idon't hop up straight away, i do let him mutter away a bit first, 5mins or so. He's also got his hands in his mouth throughout the day CHOMPING on his fingers.... my little man is growing fast - but no toothie pegs in sight yet! Thanks for your help too.


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2010, 08:59:27 am »
Yeh I would totally ignore unless he's crying - and even then, ignore if it is a mantra cry - you only go in if it is a real 'I need you NOW!!' cry.





Offline stevesmum

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2010, 23:01:59 pm »
Hey guess what... he had wow i need you now cries ALL NIGHT LAST NIGHT.... it'd take an about an hour to settle him down, and then in his cot for some self settling mumbling, when WHAM start again for another hour.... I think I slept between 2 - 4 not sure.... Love my little boy, he's on routine again this morning (was awake before 6 but asleep still at 5.30) so up at 6 fed at 7 in bed at 8..... still sleeping at 9. I've been putting him into bed at 7pm and he yabbers until about 7.30pm or so - should i try holding him out until 8pm or so? He still has 2 2hrs (or 1 2hr, 1 1.5hr) and a 45min nap. sometimes though he'll swap the 45 and 1 1.5hr around.But he's always awake again by 5pm regardless. routine roughly
out of bed at 6
eat at 7
asleep by 8am
awake by 10am
eat at 11am
asleep by 12pm
awake at 2pm (or so)
eat at 3pm
sleep at 4pm
awake by 5pm
nudie time at 6
bath time at 6.30
final feed and bedtime routine finished by 7, and in cot at 7
What do you think.... I do try a DF at 9.30/10 if he will take it... he's been waking up before i can get to this though....with a cry too...
thanks!


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2010, 09:06:45 am »
His routine looks good - could it be teething? tummy ache? How are you settling him back to sleep?





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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2010, 10:38:06 am »
Hey Anna,
Yeah, I think his teeth must have been moving around as he was chomping on his hands and anything else any chance he got. Plus he's started lifting himself up to his belly button and wriggling from one end of the cot to the other. He was much better today, happiness wise, though he didn't sleep through either of his big naps, just waking and 45 and taking a while to settle himself back to sleep. He was happy enough, just awake. Do you think I need to keep him awake longer in the evening? Both nights now he has woken with 45 of being asleep, and taking almost an hour to put himself to bed.


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2010, 10:41:46 am »
oh, and the times he wakes before his DF not awake fully but crying, I just redummy and off he goes.. Should i wean his dummy do you think? Also, should I wait awhile after he's woken and got back to sleep to DF or just feed when he wakes and its close to DF time. Do I need to drop the DF or the 2ish feed, or just ruin the routine he's got himself into since his teeth have been wriggling?


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2010, 10:43:41 am »
So when he wakes up, will a dummy send him back off? If so it sounds like yes it has become a problem. I would give the feed if he wakes close to DF time. Have you tried pain meds?





Offline stevesmum

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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2010, 22:03:02 pm »
Only bonjella teething gel on his gums when he first goes to bed. I'll try weaning the dummy - any suggestions on how?


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Re: Dream feed or Habit EW
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2010, 08:41:47 am »
I went cold turkey using PUPD it was rough but we were all done in 3 or 4 days. Other people take a gradual approach but I didn't have the patience for it - if you ahve a look in the FAQ section on the props board you'll find loads of info.