Dream Feed Backfired!

[sara_derek]

Ok, just want some insight on this one...

I've not done the dream feed with Christian before last night.  He normally sleeps from 7 - 2:30, then eats a full 5 oz, then back to sleep until 7:00 am.  I am trying to eliminate the 2:30 feeding so thought I would institute a df.  Well I fed him at 10:45 last night about 4 oz which I thought was good.  Then he woke at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 5:30 and 7:00.  He just got patted back to sleep each time and then fed at 7:00.  I wanted to pull my hair out!  Why do you think it threw him off so much?  I want to try it again, but don't want the same results!  I'd rather have the 2:30 waking with no df, than all the others!

What do you think went wrong?

[webfoot]

I've had the df backfire on me before too. You end up asking yourself why did you bother!  I don't do it with Evan b/c he'll wake up and be super crabby and just cry and  I can't get him back to sleep. It did work well w/ the other two.

I think the key is to stick with it for a few days. Who's to say he wouldn't have been up that many times anyways, it could have been something else bothering him too.  I'd try it 3-4 nights and see if it takes.

[sara_derek]

Thanks Tanya   That was my plan - I always give things three days, but I might be a zombie at the end of these!  Christian is such an easy baby, I can't imagine it going completely wrong again, but we'll see!

Thanks

[sara_derek]

Well, I fell asleep last night right before I was going to do the df, and what do you  know, he slept through the night and woke at 6:30 to eat!  Who knows what he'll do tonight, but hey, i'm a happy camper with last night.  No more df for us!

[mlhy]

To be quite honest...I have been contemplating the usefulness of the dream feed lately. I think for some babies it works, but for my little lady-unless it's perfectly timed, it disrupts her sleep cycle and she is up more frequently too.

If your little one is sleeping until 2:30 and then takes a full feed and wakes up near 7, I'd say stick with it! When I do the dream feed my daughter isn't fully hungry yet, takes half of a feed and then can only last until 3:00 anyway.

I like the idea behind the dream feed, but women for ages haven't been feeding their sleeping babies for the sake of convenience/a full night's sleep.

My daughter sleeps better with her longer stretch first, a middle of the night feeding and then a full tummy til the morning. If I do the 4 hour stretch (df) first and then her long stretch, she's up at 4 -6 in the a.m. hungry and joyful.

Just an idea....trust yourself! I'd think that above all Tracy Hogg would want us to be intuitive, even if it means no dream feed.

[Little Bear's Mum]

I just thought i'd let you know the DF backfired for me too. So after a month of feeding twice per night and still having early mornings I gave up. And now he's back down to one feed per night at his own time. Infact, thismorning that time was 515am, then back to sleep until 7.15am so I was happy!

I decided I'd try the d/f with the next baby from the beginning, not at 4 months like I tried with Daniel.

[Mom to M&M]

Hi there. I've been thinking the DF may not be for us as well. My Marisa (8 weeks) is on a 3.5-4 hour routine (bottle fed) and normally takes 5-6 ounces at each feeding. Her last bottle is at 6:30/6:45pm and then bedtime around 7:30. We were doing the DF anywhere between 10:30-11. She usually is sound asleep and will only take at most 4 ounces with much coaxing. She also has reflux so we then have to hold her upright for a little while before putting her back in crib, which seems to annoy her. Regardless of how late or early we do the DF and how much she takes, she is back up at 2:30/3 for a full bottle.

Is it worth trying to skip the DF and see what happens? I feel like it may only be disrupting her sleep.

[Little Bear's Mum]

Hi, Marisa's mom, you've got nothing to loose by dropping the feed. You'll either find out she needs it, or she won't! But, you may need/want to increase her afternoon feeds by adding in an extra one. That's what my son still does. He's now nearly 6 months, and unfortunately feeding again in the night, so they soon let you know if they're still hungry.

[Mom to M&M]

She's been doing MUCH better without DF - it must have just been disrupting her sleep patterns. Before we would do DF between 10:30-11. Regardless of what time and how much she took, she would always be up by 2:30/3 - sometimes with a light stirring around 1. Then she would eat and go back to sleep restlessly.

Now instead, she has her dinner bottle between 6:30-7 and then bedtime around 7:30/7:40. We let her wake us - it's been anywhere between 12:30-1:15. She eats quickly and goes right back to sleep until at least 6:15 - yesterday it was until 7!