Author Topic: night waking? need a strategy!  (Read 1879 times)

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Offline clairejrogerson

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night waking? need a strategy!
« on: December 14, 2005, 22:34:25 pm »
hi..this is all a bit new to me so will try not to ramble. I have 15 week old (second daughter) and she has since approx 6 weeks old, been waking for 4am feed. this is STILL happening. she is on 4-hour EASY, again approx,  as the routine is often disrupted by school runs with my eldest daughter so very hard to stick to as a result. but I do my best. her naps have shortened as seems to be normal at this age to 45 mins and am having a very hard time lenghening them as my 3-year old needs me too and so cannot stay with the baby to soothe her for 20 minute periods. so her day naps are often short or disturbed by having to get in the car and she is still waking for the 4am feed. this week started her on baby rice, which she loves, but no sign of the 4am feed dropping. she feeds well in the day and is like clockwork on the 4-hour mark for the feeds. am at a loss now. I find it impossible to straighten out because I have to interrput her routine frequently to pick up/drop off her sister. help! any suggestions?? am at my wits' end.

Offline mthyne

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night waking? need a strategy!
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2005, 07:20:08 am »
Do you dream feed?  Does she take a soother?  And how many oz. does she get during the day?
I upped my DS's oz., started a dream feed, and then would use the soother at the middle of the night waking.  He still wakes occassionally at 3 am but will go back down immediately with his soother.
Melissa
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Offline clairejrogerson

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night waking? need a strategy!
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2005, 12:54:37 pm »
HI..thanks for your reply. she does take a soother but can't keep it in herself so I have to hold it in which can get tiring/tiresome! she averages about 3 1/2 - 4 oz per feed, having 4 a day plus dream feed at 11pm and has baby rice 3 times a day too. once she's taken what she wants, she just won't take anymore no matter how hard I try. I hadn't even tried the soother at night so maybe that should be my next strategy!

Offline Johno & Aurelias Mum

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night waking? need a strategy!
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2005, 12:59:38 pm »
You could try a bit of cluster feeding in the evening so between going to bed feed and the dreamfeed, do another the same way you do the dreamfeed about 2 hours after the bedtime feed.
Jenny


Offline mthyne

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night waking? need a strategy!
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2005, 05:21:01 am »
I wonder if she's not getting enough oz. during the day to drop the feed.  Our pediatrician told us that it's more important to get the oz. in them versus cereal/baby foods at this age.  If you dropped one of the baby rice feedings and did the cluster feeding like was suggested, maybe she'll last longer at night.  However, if she is full after 4 oz.  she probably needs the feeding since her tummy can't handle that much at one time.  It's not uncommon to need a night feed at this age.  Another option that I've read on here before is to wake yourself up around 3:30 and go feed her then.  Get her out of the clockwork 4am waking, and then slowly move that feeding earlier in the night until in coincides with her dream feed.  I've never tried it, but I know it's a BW method.
Melissa
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Offline clairejrogerson

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« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2005, 10:29:27 am »
so you mean do a 6.30pm then a 9pm and then an 11pm feed? that would make sense.she gets full after about 4oz pretty much hence my starting her on the rice etc...she has actually, in the last 2 days, started going from 11pm DF right up until 5am instead of 4am for the next feed..but then she seems absolutely starving at 5am so the soother just isn't working. so I guess increasing her oz intake in the day/evening would be the way to try it.

Offline clairejrogerson

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routine??
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2005, 19:45:11 pm »
ok..just when i think I know where I am, she changes!
Sienna (4 mths) is now having a bath at 6-ish, trying to give her a bedtime feed at 6.30 but she is suddenly  tired that it just is pointless even trying! But then she wakes back up at 7-ish after a half hour sleep really upset but not hungry! help?! my DH has been soothing her back to sleep - she won't take milk and then she pretty much settles till 11pm DF. totally confused! any suggestions?

Offline Johno & Aurelias Mum

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night waking? need a strategy!
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2005, 21:14:11 pm »
I think at that age, she may well need a night feed.  You could do as suggested and you set it at say 3am then go back to bed.  Then as you manage to up her daytime feeds, you move the 3am forward gradually to eliminate it.

Does she have a catnap in the evening?  That may solve the 6.30 tiredness and feed refusal.
Jenny


Offline clairejrogerson

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« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2005, 19:05:51 pm »
she does catnap sometimes which eliminates the half-hour awakening at 7pm.. also her night feed has def shifted ewd of its own accord as she's generally waking at 5am now.am just waiting a week to see if that improves as she's drinking+eating a heap in the day over the last week..hopefully it will knock on to 6am (or later!) once she settles into the solids? I can hope!    :D  if not, then wake to sleep is going to be my strategy!