when & why did you drop the DF?

[dee12h]

K, I'll start a new thread. I'm just wondering at what age you weaned the DF and what were the reasons or what did it solve if anything? tia.

DS is 8 mo & still waking around 5:30 am to eat then goes back til 7 usually. I tried to wean him off this early feed, and it helped for awhile, but now he's back to it. He sometimes has NW issues, but we don't feed him. I have LOVED the DF but am wondering if it's time to drop it.

My question is: What are the signs that they are ready to drop it? and what does it help when dropped or hurt when continued too long?    

I'm just wondering if it could have anything to do with that early feed or the NW. Or since he still needs that early feed, does that mean it's not time yet to drop the DF? Thanks in advance!  

[koe2moe]

hey Dee.  We stopped DF because DS refused to take it at 7.5mo.  Even when he would take it (i kept trying to offer it), he was still having the same NW for his bottle.  So I didn't bother anymore.  I missed those days when he slept 7-7 with DF at around 10:30 .... those were the days...  Probably not much help to you.  bumping u up also

[dee12h]

What does he do now? I thought sleeping at night got better as they get older. lol.

[nona]

i quit the dreamfeed b/c i was so tired i just wanted to go to bed and not stay up to do a DF. i didn't think it helped much anyway and was starting to resent it! he also never fed that much anyway.  my LO didn't STTN until 8 months old.  are you BF? my LO started STTN  when my hubby took over the night shift one weekend so i could sleep!

[A pair of Charlies]

We ditched the DF at 10m. Started to reduce it down at 8m ish and by 9m he was taking an ounce or so only. Just about to drop it and he hit a massive GS at 9m which kicked in massively at this feed. Lasted on and off a month. Took 8oz then fed both sides and still cried for more. But I didn't feed again until 7am (or 6.30 if he was awake and hungry). From what I've seen on here, this was pretty rare though 

DS wasn't an independent sleeper. We had tons of NWs until 10m. Then I did sleep training with GW and it worked fantastically over a couple of weeks. He STTN consistently since then (except for illness, OT etc). Reason I mention this is because after we quit the DF and sorted independent sleep, I came across a few other BW Mamas who'd found that the DF interrupted their LO's sleep; dropping the DF actually meant their babes slept better.

Obviously, I do need to point out to any other Mamas reading this that this is age-dependent! Withdrawing any feed from a baby that is too young to go longer intervals between feeds, or has weight / growth / hydration issues. Likewise, reflux is another issue for nightfeeds as babes generally take smaller and more frequent feeds to manage their pain (soothe throats) and to keep hunger at bay (can't feed for long because of pain!). Tracey talks of dropping DF after 7m; depends on your baby and what's they're telling you. 

I wanted to drop the DF as I didn't think DS needed it - he started to drop it on his own as he was only taking a small amount eachtime. He took the bottle for the DF and didn't take it asleep. Stands to reason that there was no point waking up a baby in the middle of his night only so he could drink 1oz of milk at best.

So. Yes, some Mamas have found the DF causes more wakings as it interrupts the night sleep. For me, I think my role as the sleep prop was why we had so many NWs but I don't know that for sure.

Hope that helps

Charlotte