Dreamfeed frustration.....

[melbrad]

I started the dreamfeed about a week ago and have seen no real progress.  We are actually having more night wakenings.  She used to sleep from 8-12:30, I would feed her and she would then sleep until 5.  Since adding the dreamfeed at 10:00 (usually takes 3-4 oz) she wakes back up at 12:30.  I'll pat her or give a paci and she's fine.  Then she wakes back up at 2:00 and I feed her.  Then she wakes back up at 5.  I'm trying to hold off the first feeding until 6.  I just feel that her sleep at night now is so erratic.  From reading the other posts, I see where other moms are having problems with night wakenings as well.  Since I BF, I'm not sure exactly how much she's getting through the day, but she never complains of hunger after a feed.  Trying to decide if I should continue the DF- I don't want to confuse her little internal clock.

Also, in looking at some EASY examples, one said to only cluster feed if going through a growth spurt, is this true?

Many Thanks!

[teezee]

how old is your lo? regardless, if the df is NOT working for your lo then def don't continue with it. 

[Kimberly®]

I agree if the df is making things worse then drop it. It sounds like your LO was doing really well too.

[melbrad]

My lo is 12 weeks old. 

[brightside]

Sounds like your lo is waking out of habit at 12.30. You could try 'wake to sleep' at 11.30 to see if she will break the habit. I would be willing to bet that this might also help the other wakings. 3 months is a classic time though for night wakings to occur. Lots of ladies at this stage have found this to be the case.
You could drop the DF but if you would prefer to feed her at 10 than 12.30-try the wake to sleep. Worked wonders for me.

[teezee]

great point by brightside - btw don't forget at approx 12 wks lo's do go thru a growth spurt.

[BabyBsMommy]

I understand your frustration - I tried the dreamfeed for over the past 2 weeks or so and my lo wouldn't take to it, he was in such a deep sleep I couldn't even get his sucking reflex going AND he started waking after the dream feed - sometimes and hour later, sometimes 2.  Before the dreamfeed attempts he was sleeping from 8pm - 3 or 4am.  I just decided to stop trying for now as many posts have mentioned that sometimes a lo won't take it at first but to try again later, at 4 months perhaps or when solids are introduced.  In the meantime, he has now taken to waking twice (always at different times) for full feeds - I know it's his 12 week growth spurt but he is also fighting a very bad cold so even though he is eating alot extra through the dat (I bf but I know because he was taking both instead of just one) i think fighting the cold must be taking extra calories away!  I'll let you know if dropping the dreamfeed attempts will put his schedule back in check once the spurt and cold have passed...

[melbrad]

I'll try the wake to sleep tonight.  Is is an hr. prior to when they usually awake?  can you explain how to do it?  I would like to keep the DF at 10 b/c 1230 is a little late for me.  Last night she took 4 ounces at her dreamfeed  (1015) and woke up a little, however it was easy to put her back down.  I had her down a little before 1100 and she woke again at 1230.  She then slept till 3:30.  Thanks for all your advice!

[teezee]

with wake to sleep you don't actually wake the lo.  go in and put your hand on belly and just stir them in their sleep w/o actually waking.  i do believe it is supposed to be done an hr before waking in the night. goodl luck - keep us posted.

[melbrad]

Thanks for all your advice.  Had an even worse night last night.  Tried to put her down between 730 and 8.  was able to do this but she woke at 830.  Able to get her back down by 9 (this never happens).  Dream fed her at 10:45.  Instead of waking up at 12:30 like she normally does, she woke at 1:00 ( what is going on).  Put paci in her mouth and she was down by 1:15. She slept until 3:00.  I fed her and had her down by 330.  She then woke again at 5:00 (she never does this).  She is 11 weeks old so I thought she might be going through a growth spurt.  I offered her my breast and she took it, but not enough for a full feeding.  She may have nursed for 10 minutes.  Put her back down and she slept until 7:00.  I'm really at a loss as to what is going on.  Could not getting that short cat-nap around 5 be the issue?  Is she overtired?  Please help!

[brightside]

Could you post your nap times? When you put her down at 8pm-when had she last had a nap? If she had been awake for more than 2hours and not had the catnap then yes, she probably was overtired. Sometimes my son has extra night wakings if his routine has been a bit off that day or only had a short catnap etc. Having said that, we also went through a period of night wakings from 12-16 weeks that we just couldn't explain. He was a great sleeper before then and suddenly started waking. Some nights were worse than others. It was when I realised that some had been habitual that I did the wake to sleep and since then-things have been great with just the odd rough night. You may have just had a one-off worse night. I'd advise keeping a sleeping log and see if you can spot any patterns occuring.

[melbrad]

She takes her naps usually about 1 and 1/2 hrs. from waketime (830, 1130, 230).  They are usually 1 -1 1/2 hrs.  Should I give her a cat-nap after her 4pm feeding.  She's quite cranky by 730 when we are winding her down for bed.How many hrs/day in naps should I not go over? 

[brightside]

I would definitely give her a cat nap after 4. Babies usually have 4-5 hours sleep in the daytime.

[melbrad]

Thanks, will do! Last night was quite interesting.  Put her bed at 830.  I had decided to cluster feed her at 6 and 8 even thought the 3 EASY routine suggest it only for up to 8 weeks or if going through a growth spurt.  I did a dream feed at 10:30.  She did great she almost took 5 ounces.  I held her upright for about 10 minutes and burped her.  These are the events that happened next. 
1.  Screaming at 12:30.  This is the usual time for her wakening, but she has never screamed this much.  I can usually put a paci inher mouth and she is fine.  I picked her up and started to pat and she had so much gas (both ends).  I was trying to think of what caused so much gas and the only thing I could think of is that she took in more at her DF than she usually does and I had changed her nipples to a level 2.  Would this cause such gas?  Then I also started to wonder if the habitual wakening at 12:30 had something to do with the DF and her little tummy.Is cluster feeding and doing the DF  just too much for her?  Could this be?  Should I do both? 

2.  I finally had her settled by 1:00 and she slept till 3:00.  This is a usual pattern where I feed her.  She went back down at 3:30 and slept until 6:30.  After I solve the issue with the 12:30 wakening, I want to try and work on the 3:00 feeding.  She is getting a total of 7 feedings (including DF) up until that point and is 11 weeks old.  Shouldn't this be plenty of milk to sustain her without the 3 AM feeding.  I am BF, so it is hard to know exactly how many ounces she is getting. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated to help solve problem #1

[teezee]

if you don't give the df does your lo wake with gas as well?  i would ask how the gas is the rest of the day but it usually surfaces its ugly head at night the worst.  at 11 wks if lo's need one or two feeds a night - that is not bad - my lo woke at least twice a night for the first 6 months. about the gas - since dd is bf could it be somehting that u are eating?  i have a little refluxer on my hands with a very very sensitive tummy.  i didn't know how i was gonna do it at the time but i tried cutting out all kinds of foods and it worked...i have NOTHING with caffeine and that has been the main culprit of my dd's gas problems...yes i know - how horrible - no coffee, chocolate, tea....nothing at all with caffeine to this day - but it worked!  other things you can try are cutting out dairy, citrus foods, gassy foods.  try one thing at a time and give it a week or two and see if it has made any improvements.

as far as the cluster feeding - that is a suggest approx time that tracy gives - if it works for your lo than stick with it (why fix something that isn't broken right?!) and the same for the df - she estimates 7 months - whatever works for you.  you may want to play around and see if just the cluster feeding works better for your lo for now...