Habitual waking or dd really hungry? Please help!

[Sydney'sMom]

Okay. I tried the df for a week now and no changes. My dd  (6 weeks tomorrow)still wakes anywhere between 3 - 4 hours for her middle of the night feed. Should I keep hanging in there with it or try without it and see how things progress? She eats anywhere between 2 - 4 ounces during the day(averaging mostly 3 ounces) eating only 2 ounces or so for both her cluster feeds and df. I just can't get her to take anymore than that. I know the book says to try and up her daytime feedings in order to sustain her at night, but I just can't get her to take anymore food than that.

The middle of the night feeding has me asking another question...is she waking out of hunger or habitual waking? She wakes around the same time every night, usually between 2 and 3 am depending on when I gave her the df at 10 or 11 pm. Looking for hunger cues, I notice that she puts her fist to her mouth so I feed her. But then I second guess myself thinking that maybe she isn't hungry as she wakes the same time every night. How can I make sure I am doing the right thing by feeding her? I do try and give her her pacificer, but this doesn't seem to console her, hence her bottle.

According to the book, 6 week old babies should be able to sleep 5 - 6 hours so I feel like there is something I am doing wrong with the middle of the night feed. I would like to cut out the 2-3 am feeding but not quite sure if it is too early to do this or I am just going about it the wrong way.

Oh, one more thing. I have to fight with her at EVERY feed (besides her df) to WAKE UP. She drinks her bottle, but it can take her anywhere between 20 min and 30 min to eat 3 ounces as she tends to dose off or become distracted by the wall:) I have been letting her eat with her eyes closed as she still seems to suck on her bottle. Should I not do this? Should she be COMPLETELY awake for these feeds? Could it be that she could be eating more during the day if I made sure she was 100% awake? If so, I have my work cut out for me.

HELP!!

TIA

[Paulsmama]

Hi, just wanted to let you know that our DS did not start doing a 5-6 hour stretch at night until just after 8 weeks, so you may just want to hang in there with the night feedings for a bit.  (We did not dreamfeed until he started going a 7-8 hour stretch on his own around 3.5 mos and then we just used the DF to move the time of the night feed from 3-4 am to 11 pm.)  If your baby is small or growing quickly she probably will need to eat more often as her little tummy can't keep up with her appetite!  I do think if you encourage your baby to stay awake during the day while feeding she might take more.  Good luck.

[Sydney'sMom]

Thanks for the info.  When you had your nightfeed of 3-4 am, what time did your DS eat last before this feed?  Just curious.

My dd was born at 6 lbs 10 ounces and she is approximatey 9 pounds now.  Are you thinking since she is on the smaller side so that her wakings at 2-3 are due to hunger?

[Sydney'sMom]

Thanks for the info.  When you had your nightfeed of 3-4 am, what time did your DS eat last before this feed?  Just curious.

My dd was born at 6 lbs 10 ounces and she is approximatey 9 pounds now.  Are you thinking since she is on the smaller side so that her wakings at 2-3 are due to hunger?

[Paulsmama]

When he started having a long stretch he'd eat around 7 pm and be asleep usually between 7:30/8 pm.  DS was 5 lbs 11 oz at birth, ~9 lbs at 1 month, ~12 lbs at 2 months, 15.5 lbs at 4 months -- our pediatrician told us at his growth rate we should not be worried if he wanted to eat twice at night up to 6 months, luckily for us it didn't take that long.  I think we actually had 3 night feeds up until 6 weeks (around 11, 2, and 5 but I'd have to look it up).