Author Topic: Dropped feed but still waking  (Read 3866 times)

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Offline mumoftwo

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Dropped feed but still waking
« on: March 28, 2006, 12:14:57 pm »
Hi I'm new to this website and have only just discovered the baby whisperer.

I have a 19 week old son and have been struggling with his sleeping since I came home from hospital.  He developed a sleep association with his dummy so we went cold turkey a couple of weeks ago, since then things have improved massively.

Then I discovered the BW and put him on the 4hr EASY and he dropped a 2am bottle on his own!  I'm now watering down his 4am bottle so that he drops that too.  However, he still wakes at 2am and so as soon as he has started to stir the last two nights I have patted & shushed him back to sleep.  What I want to know is how long he is likely to need this intervention for and I'm I doing the right thing as I will probably have to do this when he drops his 4am bottle too?

Other info:  He feeds for hourly starting at 7am, has a dreamfeed at 11pm and is currently a short napper (which I'm working on).

Many Thanks
Trudie

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2006, 19:54:03 pm »
trudie, welcome to the wonderful world of the baby whisperer..... You may find that his waking at 2.00am is due to habit and you might want to try wake to sleep which is where you go in an hour early than their usual wake time and slightly jostle/rub them so they stir ever so slightly. I did this with my daughter as she was waking at 4.00am every day, we did this for five nights and she never did it again.

She also was dummy dependent and we discovered that if we tied a dummy round her blankie and put it in the cot she was able to find it at night herself and self soothe back to sleep. hope this helps!!!!
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2006, 06:52:50 am »
Hi Kezia

Thanks a lot for that.  Wish I had known about the blankie thing before.  Am reluctant to give the dummy back now after all of the problems I had before, it was sooo exhausting, things are definitely better know.

Guess what, he didn't wake at 2am last night!  However....... He woke at 4,30am.  Tried for 30 mins to pat & shh then gave watered down bottle, he only took 2oz but wouldn't resettle so I let him suck my finger for 20 mins & he went back to sleep at 6am and slept until 6.30am.

Did I water down the bottle too much?  He only took 2oz, I had watered it down 1 scoop to 4oz of water. Or was it because I let him wake too much by trying patting & shhing?  Also should I not have let him suck to sleep - I was trying to keep him from waking up my husband & son and it is only once a day?

Thanks again
Trudie

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2006, 07:42:14 am »
Trudie
so glad he didnt wake at 2am last night, normally i think it is one scoop to 1oz of fluids...... so difficult to know what to do. Are you breastfeeding or bottle during the day ? What you might want to do is up the intake during the day so he wont wake at night due to hunger, although if he is only taking 2oz it maybe down to habit. Again you could try wake to sleep......
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline Inlovew/Charlie

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2006, 15:58:50 pm »
Mumoftwo,

How long did it take of going cold turkey without the pacifier before your lo didn't cry for it ? We are considering doing it, but a little scared. Would love to hear your experience.

Thanks
Charlie's mom

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2006, 18:08:10 pm »
Hi Charlie's mum

Can't tell you how much things have changed since we got rid of the dummy.  Edward was waking roughly every 45 mins after 2am and approx 7 times a night including feeds, it was killing me. 

I talked about giving it up for over a month but every time I tried I gave in when he cried.  But in the end I figured that he was crying with the dummy too because he was sooo over tiered and I it wasn't fair to go on (not on him, me hubby or his brother).  I sat at the computer one evening crying because I couldn't take any more and that was it, I stopped giving it to.

That night it took about 1hr 15 mins to get him to sleep.  He was screaming, but then he always screamed himself to sleep anyway through sheer exhaustion.  I had set myself up for 5 days of screaming but actually it wasn't like that at all.  I think he actually slept better that night than he had for a long time.  He woke at 5 am crying and wouldn't re-settle for at least an hour.  After that we didn't really look back, it got easier & easier.

After that he only woke twice a night for feeds & since I started following the BW and started 4hr easy, only once.

How old is your Charlie, if I can help through pm support please email me, I had an email support through UKparents online & found it really helpful to pour my heart out to whilst things were bad as well as to share our success's.

Good Luck!


Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2006, 18:43:21 pm »
Hi again

Edward still waking at 3am ish & 5.30am ish (he used to have a bottle at 2am & 4.30am before clocks went forward) out of habit.  It's not 3am & 5.30am on the dot though, sometimes 3.15am,  can I still use wake to sleep?  If so can someone explain how to do it?  Do I wake at the same time every night?  I currently use a dummy to re-settle as pat & shh takes too long in the early hours.  Am worried about him becoming dummy dependent, as just went cold turkey to wean him off of it.

Many Thanks

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2006, 09:26:54 am »
yes, the way wake to sleep works is you get up an hour earlier say 2.00am for the 3.00am wake up.... you then gently jostle them so they stir but do not come out of the sleep completly, this is enough to break their sleep cycle so they go back into a deeper sleep. Cant help with the dummy thing as my LO is totally dummy dependent but will find it and put it in herself now it is attached to her blankie
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2006, 10:17:16 am »
Thanks Kezia, may try it tonight.

Last night was the worst night in ages.  Re-introduced 2am feed two nights ago as thought Edward was hungry.  Yesterdays feeds went completely out of schedule, don't know if the 2am bottle messes it all up but he then feed at 9.40 (instead of 10am), 1.30pm (instead of 2pm),pm (instead of 6), gave top up feed at 6pm, then woke 9.40 (instead of 10pm), then 2am (took 4oz), 5am (took 6oz) and now trying to get all his bottles back in line today.  Any ideas what's happening?  Could it be a growth spurt or is it because I re-introduced his 2am feed (and then 5am instead of 6am this morning).  Dont know what to do last night as he cried for an hour between 4am & 5am.

Many Thanks

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2006, 14:44:16 pm »
sorry to hear you had such a rubbish night.... could you write down schedule of bottles, solids and naps please so i can get a better understanding ......
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #10 on: April 04, 2006, 14:56:02 pm »
Hi again Kezia

Normally:

6am wake & bottle

10am bottle

2pm bottle

6pm bottle

10 df

He's a short napper so tends to have 5 catnaps 40 minis each all over the place (need to work on this).
Wakes at 2am ish & 4-5ish but didn't feed until two nights ago when I thought he might be hungry.  Then last night woke at 2am, took 3-4oz & 3.30 (gave dummy). woke 4am but waited till 5am to feed and took 6oz.  Trying to get him back on track today.

Thanks for looking.

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #11 on: April 04, 2006, 15:14:34 pm »
thanks for the schedule how much of a bottle is he drinking in each feed? Has he started on solids yet ?? what time does he normally go to bed?
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2006, 15:25:45 pm »
Oh, sorry, 7oz bottles, but sometimes only drinks 6oz.  goes to bed at 6.30pm, not yet on solids.

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #13 on: April 04, 2006, 19:41:21 pm »
Looking at your schedule its great to see you on a four hour easy. I was comparing your sons bottle intake to my daughter who was quite fussy with the bottles and the thing that struck me is how many bottles he appears to be having. I do wonder whether he might be ready for solids and hes waking due to hunger.

My LO started on solids at four months although i was desperate to do things the correct way and wait until she reached 6 months... but she had other plans.

Have you ever tried him with a bit of baby rice?

The other thing you might want to do is do another posting requesting people to let you know what schedule their 19 week old is on, so you can get an indication of what others are doing and what is and what is not working.

I would still try wake to sleep....
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #14 on: April 05, 2006, 00:21:13 am »
Hi Kezia

It's 1am, trying wake to sleep.  He woke right up! :o  He's a very light sleeper.

Is 5 x 7oz bottles (at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm & 10pm) with no night feeds(this is what he was doing two nights ago), a lot for a 20 week old baby then?  Hes about 17lb now.


Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #15 on: April 05, 2006, 06:47:27 am »
Hi Kezia

Just read your post agin now that I am properly awake.  Edward woke at 3am, gave 3oz of milk, then again at 3.30, 4, 5 & fed at 6am (7oz won't take any more).  Going to see how he goes today.  If he wants to feed less than 4 hourly does that mean he's ready for solids (he's 5 months now)?  or should I change to feeding 3 hourly & increase his 2am feed?

Thanks again

Offline kezzi78

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2006, 07:38:01 am »
Oh dear so sorry it didnt work out for you, might be worth a try for 3 nightds if you feel up to it. I dont think its alot of milk for a 20 week old, my LO has never been a big drinker.

SHe is now 6 1/2 months old and has breakfast, lunch, tea and three bottles of about 7oz each and we are forever trying to get her to take more.

in the past four nights she had been waking at 5.00am something she never does and we discovered it was due to hunger, we ended up giving her ready break just before she went to sleep and she managed to sleep through until 6.45am

I do wonder whether it could be a hunger thing, have you thought about solids at all????
Amelie Grace's mum

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #17 on: April 05, 2006, 09:32:35 am »
Hi ya

certainly thinking about it now. He has doubled his birth weight & is drinking more milk over the last couple of days.  Did want to wait for the six month mark really but it may not be possible if he keeps waking loads at night.  Will see how we go over next couple of days & give more milk at 2am tonight to see him through till 6am (he certainly would have taken more last night). 

Is it ok if I keep you posted?  See what you think is going on.

Thanks a lot.


Jo-FrasersMum

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #18 on: April 05, 2006, 23:34:15 pm »
Hi there momoftwo

Kezia PM'd me about this thread and asked me to jump in and take a look at the issues you are having (thanks Kezia)

Can you answer a couple of questions for me:

How old is DS now?
What is your daytime routine like - what time does DS wake up, feed, nap, how long, how much, when is bedtime?
EXACTLY what happens at bedtime?  HOW does DS fall asleep?
Is there a pattern to the night wakings?  What times?  What happens when he wakes up during the night? How long is he awake for?  What are you doing to get him back to sleep?

I know you've already gone through all of this in previous posts but if you can post all the current information for me I'll see if anything stands out to me.

Jo

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2006, 07:57:35 am »
Thanks Jo

Edward (5 months) was on 4 hr EASY though taking 8oz bottles (though not always finishing them) at:

6am
8am nap (45mins-1hr 30mins if I can extend).  All other naps erratic & usually short).
10am
2am
6am
10pm (DF)

He's always been a short napper & I was working on extending those.  He used to wake a couple of times in the night 2ish &4ish but I used to resettle with a dummy & take it away when in 2nd stage of sleep.

It seemed that he was hungry during the night so I re-introduced the 2am bottle (three nights ago).  Then he started feeding every three hours in the day.  Here's his schedule for yesterday:

6am Awake & 6oz

9.45 7oz

1.20pm 6oz

3.30pm 8oz

6pm 6oz 

6.30pm bed but didn't sleep till 7pm

10pm (DF) 5oz

1.30am 4oz

4.30am 6oz

5.30 awake & settled with dummy

7am (Awake) 3 1/2 oz

As you can see his schedule has totally gone out of the window & I really don't know when to feed him anymore!

He's a short napper (was working on that before this happened as only discovered BW a few weeks ago when I started 4hr EASY).  Often EASAS EASAS etc.

He goes to bed at 6.30 (early because he's a short napper & gets so tiered by that time, also fights tea time nap so doesn't always get one).  He settles himself by sucking his fingers & is swaddled.  If I'm trying to keep him quiet in the night to stop him waking DH & DS1 I used a dummy & withdraw in 2nd stage.

Went cold turkey with dummy a few weeks ago as he had a sleep association (accidental parenting problem) so use with extream caution now!

DS has bath at 5.45pm, bottle at 6pm, bed at 6.30pm with white noise cd.  sucks fingers to sleep.

Help!  Don't know what to do.

Hope I've answered all your questions.  Thanks for looking.






Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2006, 17:44:19 pm »
Hi again Jo

Had a detailed look at my record of night wakings over the last few weeks and the timing is in actually fact very random, not at 2am & 4am as I had thought.  Could that indicate hunger?  Going to try and consolidate the two early hours feedings tonight by doing a dream feed at 11am & not 10pm & give a bigger feed at 3am. 

He feed today at .
7am awake

7.15am

8.45-10.45am nap (2hrs)

11am

12.30-1.30 nap (1hr)

2.45pm

3.20 - 4.00 nap (40mins)

6.00 bath (as very tired)

Tried to feed 6.15 but refused.

6.30 bed

will try & feed again at 7pm (although he's fallen asleep already, will try to feed whilst asleep)!

Anyway, today has been better, could that be because he had more milk in the night?

Thanks Trudie

Jo-FrasersMum

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2006, 22:54:04 pm »
Hi Trudie

I just wanted to pop on and say I haven't forgotten about you, I'll have a look through your posts and get back to you as soon as I can

Cheers
Jo

Offline mumoftwo

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Re: Dropped feed but still waking
« Reply #22 on: April 07, 2006, 07:09:50 am »
Hi Stacey

Thanks for that.

Feed Ed at 7pm & DF at 11pm as planned.  Then he slept till 3.15am took 6oz and slept till 7am!!! ;D

So it was hunger.  He was back on four hour easy starting at 7am.  So fingers crossed that with the 3am feed he'll be fine.  Will work on his naps again now.

Thanks
Trudie