Hi there
Well, after doing the DF with my LO (now 10 weeks) since 3 weeks old, she now has other ideas. We began to find about a week ago that she was in her soundest sleep around 10.30/11pm (after going to bed at 7.45) and when we tried to give DF she would take very little to drink (say 2oz at most) where she used to take a full feed at this time. Previously she would DF at 11 and then wake hungry at 3ish and then 6-6.30ish. In the last week, not only is she taking very little at the DF but she has been so grumpy at having her sleep disturbed that it has taken over an hour to get her back to sleep where she used to go straight off as soon as she had finished feeding. So, two nights in a row, we DF at 11 but she did not go back to sleep until 12.30/1ish and then hungry at 3.
We decided to try letting her sleep through from bedtime to see what time she would want to eat and she went through to 2am - 6 hours! great! so we stuck with this but she will now typically wake between 1 and 2.30 depending on how much I have managed to get her to have during the day. On a day where she has taken less, she will wake at 1 but then again at 4.30-5. I have been trying to give her a small feed then as I want to start the day at 6.45/7ish with a good first feed.
However, my dilemna (sorry I am finally getting to my point - sleep deprivation making me waffle!) is that she will not settle with a small feed and demands a bit more - she will settle with 3oz instead of 2 but this then affects her first feed of the day and she will only take 2oz at 7ish instead of the normal 4-5 she used to take. Then begins the cycle of having less during the day so waking at 1 and 5 and feeding too close to start of day to take a good first feed. Any tips or advice?
Ideally we would have stuck with the DF as if she is going to have a 5-6 hour stretch I would so rather this was from 11-5am rather than 8-2am! But this just doesn't seem to be something she will go with anymore and despite trying to stick with it, it was beginning to mean more night wakings and fitful sleep for all 3 of us.
Oh, she weighs close to 11lb now and is exclusively formula fed (BF until 6 weeks) - she takes anywhere from 21-25 oz during 7am to 8pm and a further 5-6oz at night (over two feeds). I just don't seem to be able to get her to take more during the day to decrease the amount needed at night - at almost 11lb shouldn't I be able to make some progress on this?
not sure where to go from here (or is it a case of expecting too much too soon?)
thanks
Fiona