Dream feed or not?

[andimary7]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if the DF is worth my effort.  My 7.5 week old baby seems to sleep from about 8 pm til 4-5 am regardless of whether I dream feed.  I keep hoping the dream feed will get him to sleep til 6 or even 7, but it hasn't happened.  Maybe I am asking too much?  When I dream feed, usually between 10:30 and 11, he will only latch on one side and eats for about 10 minutes.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I just tried the df with my 4.5 week old last night...she wouldnt stir so I put her back in her bassinet...she ended up sleeping until after 7 am, from an 8:00/8:30 or so bedtime!  Going to try one more time tonight as she went to bed earlier, and at a different time in hopes of catching her in a lighter sleep phase. If that doesnt work I wont bother. I would say try it at a different time to see if you catch him in a lighter phase of sleep and if not dont worry about it.

My oldest didnt take a df long and my middle child had a df and two nf until six months, so they are all totally different in their needs!

[andimary7]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I've tried to do different times and even turn off the white noise so that he won't be quite as sleepy.  I'm just really confused about why he will sleep just as long without the dream feed.  I'm tempted to just drop it, but wonder if at some point not doing it will prevent him from going an extra two or three hours to a realistic start to the day. 

Congratulations on your little one!  That's a long time to sleep!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Well was a wash last night too so I am not going to bother. What about a diaper change? Does he fall asleep easily after a night feed that you could fully wake him with a change?

[Emami]

Wow both of you!  At 4.5 and 7.5 weeks your babies are doing some amazing stretches at night

Andimary, I didn't do a DF either as I also found it didn't make a difference so I thought why bother. 

I'm tempted to just drop it, but wonder if at some point not doing it will prevent him from going an extra two or three hours to a realistic start to the day. 

Mine woke at 2ish for a NF for a while and she dropped it on her own without the DF.  You might find the same happens, but if not you can reduce it gradually further down the line.  He's still so little to be worrying about it, and is really doing great to only have one feed!

[andimary7]

Emami,

Thanks for your encouragement.  Sometimes I get a little too rigid in my thinking when it comes to reading the Baby Whisperer books.  It's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of.  I will try just dropping the dream feed so I can go to sleep whenever I want instead of staying up for it.  Thanks again!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Yeah I remember trying to follow bw to a t with my older two but now with number 3 I am going with the flow. DD2 dropped her nightfeeds cold turkey so maybe that will happen for you!

[andimary7]

So glad I dropped the dream feed!  He's actually been sleeping longer and longer.  Last night, I put him down at 8:30 after he ate and he didn't wake up til 7!  Thanks again for giving me the confidence to try dropping it!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Woohoo! We've been getting 11-12 hour nights with no dream feed. I think that she is having a growth spurt but seems to be tanking up in the day time.