Author Topic: can't get dream feed to work  (Read 4884 times)

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Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« on: September 17, 2005, 06:55:21 am »
My LO is 4.5 months and i've been doing (more like trying to do) the dream feed for about 6 weeks now and i just can't get him to take a decent feed.

His day feeds are at 7, 11, 15 and then just before bed between 6:30 and 7. During these feeds he'll take between 6-7 ounces however for the dream feed at 10:30-11 he'll only take 2.5 ounces and then  ALWAYS wakes up for the other 3.5-4 ounces anywhere between 1am - 3am. Its the same thing every night. I've tried giving him less at his bedtime feed hoping he'll take more at the dream feed but that didn't change anything.
I know if i could get him to take a bigger DF then it would eliminate the one night waking.

Any ideas?
Laura


Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2005, 01:58:41 am »
Hi there,

Okay.. keep giving him a good bedtime bottle, don't change that feed amount. 

What time is the dreamfeed?  How does he stop feeding-- push out the bottle with his tongue, fall back to sleep?

Also, the feed after that.. does he wake up at the same time (ie. 3 am) for this feed?  This is the feed we want him to drop, but I just need a bit more info.

Thanks,
Jane
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Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2005, 21:24:41 pm »
Hi Jane,

I normally start the dream feed around 10 and he'll take about 60mls and because i know it's not enough, i'll then try again at 11 and he'll take another 60mls, some time (very occasionally i can get him to take the full 120 mls in one go but NEVER more). When he's done, he'll push it out with his tongue but so i'll try again and put it ontop of his tongue and he'll push it out again, sometimes he'll just stop drinking with the teat still in his mouth and if i try to put it in again he'll turn his head awayfrom side to side almost refusing to let it near his mouth, he'll even purse his lips together (his eyes remain closed during all of this so i'm not sure if he's actually fully awake during this little battle)

The feed after that is never at the same time, it can be 1am and sometimes it'll be 3am and it can be anywhere between 40-100mls.
I've tried increasing his daytime feeds but he can only just finish what i'm already giving him.

Hope this helps
Laura


Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2005, 01:55:59 am »
Alrighty,  here's what I like you to try. We're going to do this in a two week block:

First week,

Move the dreamfeed to 11:00, and just view it as a top up feed.  When a baby sleeps, their digestive system slows down and takes longer to empty. Basically, if they are on a 4 hour feed cycle (after 4 months old), then they can go longer periods between feeds at night (at least 5 hours).  So that is why he will only take a few ounces less at the dreamfeed. But we don't want to wean this feed.. we want to eliminate the feed after. (which we will start next week).

I want you to keep a log for the next 3 days, of all of his feeds day and night.  What will probably happen, since the dreamfeed is at a consistent time, the next feed will become at a consistent time as well.  If he wakes up before 3 am, I want you to try to resettle without the feed.  Generally, a infants night sleep looks like this: very deep in the first part of the night, then after 12:00, it gets lighter and lighter-- with awakenings at the end of a sleep cycle as the night turns to morning.  An infant will also have partial awakenings every three hours (ie. asleep at 7 pm, awakening at 10 ish, 1 ish, 4ish etc) Sometimes we mistake this awakenings for hunger.. when really all he needs is just some patting to re-enter sleep.

So, for the next 3 days, just establish a consistent dreamfeed time, and log the rest, and then we will eliminate the feed after.  I have a gradual approach that works well. But I just want an established dreamfeed in first.

If this works for you, great. If not that's okay  :wink:

I'll check back!
Jane
Whispering since 2001
Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2005, 08:36:09 am »
i appreciate your help, i'll get started on that log and let you know how i get on
Laura


Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2005, 01:03:19 am »
Hi there,

How is everything going?  Thought I would check in.
Jane
Whispering since 2001
Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2005, 20:43:59 pm »
ok, so i've logged all his feeds for the last three days,

Heres how it went......

Day 1

     7:30 am           7 oz
     11:10 am          7 oz
     3:10 pm            4 oz
     6:30 pm            7 oz
DF 10:45 pm          3 oz
     2:40 am            4 oz (i know you said to wait till 3 but he was having none of it and after 30 mins of sh/pat, i gave him a bottle)
     5:00 am            1 oz (probably should have just sh/pat instead of feed, brains a bit dead this time of morning :oops: )
     6:10 am            2 oz (again)

Day 2
     7:30 am            2.5 oz
     11:10 am           4 oz
     2:35 pm             7 oz
     5:45 pm            4 oz (hadn't napped well so i put him to bed early, hence the earlier feed)
DF 11:00 pm           3 oz
     3:30 am             3 oz

Day 3
     7:00 am             4 oz
     11:00 am           7 oz
     15:00 pm           7 oz
     18:30 pm           7 oz
DF 11:00pm            3 oz
     3:30 am            5 oz

Day 4
     7:00am             5 oz

Its weired, the days i think he's eaten well he takes a big feed around 3am yet the days i think he's going to be starving at 3am cos he hasn't eaten well during the day, he only take a few ounces???
Laura


Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2005, 20:49:17 pm »
just re-reading my post and i've noticed that the last two nights night waking have been at 3:30 am, not sure if thats just a co-incidence or a habit, i'll check tonight what time he wakes up
Laura


Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2005, 00:50:32 am »
Okay, it looks like we have an habitual wake up/feed around 3 am-- which is what I was hoping for!!  What we can do, is drop that feed. I have a gradual approach, which involves adding a second dreamfeed and then decreasing the amount of that second dreamfeed. What ends up happening is the other feeds will increase.

I have a post on another board, I'll copy it and add it to here.
Jane
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Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2005, 00:57:48 am »
Here's the post:

Okay, here's my plan to shift his feeds back to the day:

If his habitual feed is around 3:00, set your alarm clock to 2:30, and give him one ounce less than he usualy takes at this time (for example: if he usually takes 5, then give him 4 ounces.) Treat this like another dreamfeed. Any wake ups after this, just treat it like a nightwaking, and resettle him back to sleep. Then give him his morning feed at his usual time. Do the 2:30 am time for 2 days.

Then set your alarm clock to 2:00 and give him one ounces less than before (for example: was 4 ounces, so now make it 3 ounces) Again, resettle any other wake ups, and feed at the usual morning waking time. Do this for another 2 days.

Then set your alarm clock to 1:30 am.. another ounce less..

Then  1:00 and once ounce less..

Then lastly 12:20 and one ounce less.. then full stop

What will happen is he will increased those decreased ounces from the second dreamfeed, to his morning wake up bottle. Keep a running tally of his days.. writing down how much he takes in at each feed, and you will see that he will shift the bulk of his feeds to the day bottles.

Keep the first dreamfeed in until he is 7 months old and well on his way with solids.

Remember, night sleep can be viewed in two phases, the first part of the night sleep is very deep, after midnight, as the night progresses, the sleep gets lighter and lighter with brief awakenings closer to the morning.  Hunger isn't the only reason why an infant wakes at night-- so make sure your little one is falling asleep independently at the beginning of his night sleep. Going into his bed awake but slightly drowsy. 

Hope this helps!
Jane
Whispering since 2001
Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline Baby Ethan

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2005, 09:53:31 am »
Last night he had 4 ounces as apposed to his usual 3 for his DF and i didn't hear a peep from him until 5:30 this morning. YAY!! probably just fluke  :roll:
Laura


Offline twoblacklabs

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2005, 13:10:16 pm »
Hope you don't mind if I jump in here... I'm having the same problem with the dream feed.

My DS is 15 weeks old and I started trying to do the dream feed about 3 weeks ago.  He rarely takes more than 3 oz, usually betwen 2 - 2.5.  Then he's up again between 2 and 3am and takes a full feed.  This post is great, and I think it can help me eliminate that early morning feed, but I typically breastfeed him at the 2-3am feed. 

He gets a bottle of mixed formula/breastmilk at around 7 and is asleep by 7:30.  I do the dreamfeed around 10:40.  He wakes for that early morning feed and then is usually up for the day between 6 and 6:30.

His eating schedule typically is:
7am
10am
1pm
4pm
7pm bottle, 7-8 oz
10:40 dreamfeed

It's so hard to tell how much he's really getting when he's breastfed, and I suppose I could do a bottle at that early am feeding just so I could tell how much he's getting, but BF is sooo much easier :).  His day feedings are usually 20-30 minutes long and the early am feed is about 20 minutes.

Is he too young to try to eliminate that last feed?  Can I do it while still BFing?

Hope things are still going well for you, Ethan's Mom!!

Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2005, 03:02:22 am »
I would go for it. You never know unless you try!
Jane
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Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004

Offline travis's mum

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #13 on: October 17, 2005, 11:09:48 am »
Can I also ask a question I am going to give this formular a go because I think my DS is waking out of habbit rather than hunger. He only drinks 3oz at 3am.  I have a question though, My DS always finnishes his morning bottle and I always offer 6oz at every feed, however he does not drink all of his df only3/4oz. How will this pan out do I continue offering 6oz at all feeds and he will eventually take what he needs, because I can't offer more for the morning feed, can I?

Offline Matthew's Mommy

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can't get dream feed to work
« Reply #14 on: October 18, 2005, 01:59:00 am »
I just want to clarify, which feed are you wanting to eliminate?  I read above and I think it's the 3 am feed.. but I just want to make sure it's not the dreamfeed (he'll need that one until he's about 7 months)

Am I right? (a little tired right now! :oops: )
Jane
Whispering since 2001
Matthew July 27th, 2001
Brendan October 21st, 2004