Start EASY tomorrow - need help re: overnight feeds 5.5mths

[magicbelly]

I have committed to getting my 5.5month old daughter into the EASY routine as set out in the book i.e 7am start to day etc. but i have couple of questions:

1. she seems to wake around 3-4am and has a full feed, in fact her best in 24hrs because she is so distracted breastfeeding during the day (too busy exploring the world). tracey states its possible to sleep 10hrs at her age. if her last feed is around 7am and i have started experimenting with dreamfeeding at 10pm (i prefer to be in bed at 9pm) is it reasonable she is genuinely hungry at 4am or is this a habit i can break? if i dont feed her i suspect she will wake at 5 or 6am. she is then sleeping from 4.30am to around 7am but not that hungry when she wakes.

2. if i feed at 5 or 6am do i continue starting the day and feeding again at 7am?

3. is the dreamfeed considered a feed therefore she should go all night to 7am without a feed? how long should you dreamfeed for, i continue gently pulling my nipple in and out to stimulate the suck reflex, it seems she gets a small feed.

i have been trying the routine/observing basically for 3 days but officially start tomorrow so any other hints or advice is warmly welcome. day sleeps i get her down no problem but her bedtime sleep she knows the ques and screams for approx 1hr before falling asleep. the moment i say "shh, sleepy time..." her little lips curl down, she grabs me tightly and crys, then its on.

<posted same in E.A.S.Y forum> thanks

[GraceKellysmom]

I think it's really important to start the day when you normally wake up for the day, or at least when your baby wakes up. Say for example baby wakes me around 6:30am, that is when I will start the day. So we feed at 6:30, and then I shoot for feeding again in 3-4 hrs after the first nap. If baby doesn't wake for the day until 8am, then that is when the day "starts". 7am is just a random time, you need to make it work for you.

Yes, babies may still need one nightfeed around 5-7 months, some even have one night feed until 12 months! Even if you df at 10pm, she still may not go through until 7am-ish. They wake so often at 5 months old for other reasons and think feeding is a great way to get back to sleep, so it is always hard to determine true hunger. My ds fed once per night until much older than your baby.

For more sleep related issues, you may want to post in our sleep forums. We breastfeeding moms can answer questions about nursing and give support any time you need it!

[daisymelan]

My little one is 5.5 months as well and he's jsut recently started goign through the night wihtout a feed.  It did take work though... he didn't just up and do it himself.  But I do a dreamfeed as well.  As mentioned by the last mom, some babies still need a night feed.

Hopefully others have some more advice.

Jodie

[annamum]

I would say that some babies truly need a feed in the middle of the night. Yes, some can sleep throgh and some are hungry in the middle of the night.

Does your baby have usual time she wakes up? If she does use it as a start of the day, feed her first thing. Some babies unfortunately don't have a predictable sleep patterns, my dd would wake up any time between 6 and 9 am, that was making my day really unpredictable. Some moms aim at regulating their baby's inner clock and keep waking them at a set time everyday, however, I haven't tried it so I don't know if it works.

A dreamfeed is supposed to help your baby fill her tummy and thus not wake up hungry an hour or so after her mom retires to bed. But you don't really have any guarantee that it will make her last till 7 am.

As for her crying before sleep that sounds to me like she is spirited. Spirited babies fight sleep and are difficult to learn how to go to sleep independently.