Dreamfeed and BF -

[tstasko]

Hello,
I am considering starting a dreamfeed for my lo (it's not too late is it?)  For those of you who do it, do you use a bottle or breast?  I don't know if I want to have to commit to pumping every day - right now I do it when I can to put aside for the nanny if I'm going to be out for a while, and for when we start solids (this weekend!! woo hoo).  But it is not something I "have" to do.
Any tips on doing a dreamfeed by bfeeding?
Interested in people's experiences.
Oh - also, if you have done df and everntually dropped it - was it difficult, or did your lo not even notice....I would think it might be hard to gradually do if you df by bf??

Thanks!
Tari

[daisymelan]

I introduced the dreamfeed right around 5 months too, so it can be done.  I had to go with the bottle as neither of us could get the knack of doing it with the breast.  We started out with pumped milk, but slowly weaned him on to formula and then always had his df as formula. 

Quite a few moms just use their breast, some pump and some use formula, the choice is yours and there is no right or wrong way.  It sounds as if you are pretty committed to breast milk so stick with that, no need to introduce something foreign that your cute little girl hasn't had yet.

Dropping the dream feed was a breeze for us.  One night I risked it and didn't offer it and the little turd slept right through.  There are other methods of weaning the df.  IF doing bottle you offer less ozs, if bfing you offer for less minutes or also you can move the time of it closer to when they go to sleep eventually it will coincide with their last evening feed.  I guess you cross that bridge when the time comes. 

If my son woke up at night we would give him a bottle in the first week, but I think he only did it a few times. 

I hope this helps.

But I just wanted to also add that if her night sleep is fine, then you maybe shouldn't mess with it, but if you want to implement one, I imagine you have good reason to want to.

[tstasko]

Thank you daisymelan!
Honestly the reason I am considering it is purely for selfish reasons - my lo takes one feed durinig the night right now - anywhere between 2:30 and 5am - ....and i'm considering trying a df to see if she could just go from that point on and i can snooze through the night   I have a feeling she is getting hungrier, but we are going to start solids so I think we'll see how that goes and what, if any impact on her night feeding.....However, she might be really close to dropping that one night feeding anyway so i'm a little chicken to try - i've just always been intrigued by it since it seems to work so well for so many mommies and their babies.
Thanks again for the feedback!!
Tari

[daisymelan]

Tari, we introduced it for the exact same reason and for us, it worked like a charm.  Rather than one random night waking.  We fed him before we went to bed.   Sigh.  So I can appreciate where you are coming from.  If you do try it, keep with it for a week to make sure you have given it ample time.  You never know, she may surprise you and go right through and give you some much deserved sleep.

Let me know how you get on and what you decide.

[First Time Mom]

Tari, I bf the df, have done so since dd was 5 weeks old. It was difficult at first, some times she was in a heavy sleep and wouldn't suck after 2 minutes so my trick was to insert her paci for a minute to get her mouth moving and it worked. She feeds well w/ the df 80% of the time I'd say. I do not pump, so I wanted to try the df this way and it does work. But... it doesn't necessarily eliminate the nw, up until week 19 dd woke 3-4ish for a feed, recently she has been sleeping through but it's hit and miss (I do continue to feed her for her nw when she has one). By the way, your baby is beautiful and has great hair!

[tstasko]

Jodie - ahhhh, a full night's sleep, that sounds heavenly (I think I remember those?) although I would probably wake up anyway for months! lol  I will give it a go next week (I think!), and stick with it for a week and let you know how it goes.  Oh - one more quick question - how many ounces do you give your lo?  If I were to use a bottle of ebm i guess i would fill it to about 6 or  7 ounces?  What does you lo usually take?
First Time Mom- what a great idea to use the paci to get her little mouth moving!  When you feed her do you just wait until she slows down after a few minutes and then put her back in the crib?  And do you single side feed or use both sides?  For regular feeds I use both breasts for Scarlett and wonder if that would be wise if I were to try a df? 
And to both - do you burp your los?

FTMom - thank you!  Funny thing about her hair - you know how Tracy talks about those los that have that bald spot on the back of their head because they rub it back and forth on the crib mattress as a way of soothing themselves?  That's my girl!  She has all this hair and then this stark bald spot in the back.  It's hysterical...you wouldn't believe how many people ask me if I cut it!!!!   

Thanks again for your feedback!

[tstasko]

FTM - I just noticed our sweet little girls b-days are a day apart!  We were supposed to be the 12th, but our labor kept going....and going....and going...so we ended up having her on the 13th with a full moon!

[First Time Mom]

Tari, I feed both sides for every feed and the df, she will sometimes 1/2 wake when I'm switching her over (especially if I'm clumsy about it) but then she's out quickly. I must admit I'm a "clock watcher" for all feeds, df included. DD is a small baby with relatively slow weight gain so I try to make her feed longer (don't know if it actually makes a difference) plus with no pumping I count on her to activate the supply. I can tell she feeds slow during the df so I try to make it 30 minutes vs her normal 20, I will sometimes gently de-latch her if she stops and doesn't start again and other times she's so out of it she slowly falls off on her own. It's really cute- sometimes her mouth is still moving in sucking motion but she's not sucking and comes off but her mouth is still moving . I never burp now, though I used to when she was younger- now she would totally wake if I did that.

That's cool about their close days, they're both scorpio's- they'll be drama queens when they grow up . Don't you just love people asking about cutting their hair! My dd has the "bald ring" around her head and I get people asking the same thing, I feel like saying yeah, I decided to give her a mohawk .

[jbepko]

My DD DF like a champ...it worked great. She rarely woke up and I "topped" her off until about 6 months. My DS has never done well with DF and after several weeks of trying (bottle and breast)..i just quit trying. Ironically, my son has been the better nurser. Every baby is different. And I agree...try DF if it'll get you some uninterrupted zzz's, I know I am a better Mommy when well rested.

[daisymelan]

Jodie - ahhhh, a full night's sleep, that sounds heavenly (I think I remember those?) although I would probably wake up anyway for months! lol I will give it a go next week (I think!), and stick with it for a week and let you know how it goes. Oh - one more quick question - how many ounces do you give your lo? If I were to use a bottle of ebm i guess i would fill it to about 6 or 7 ounces? What does you lo usually take?

LOL, I still wake every night.  I think I wake out of habit and need someone to do wake to sleep on me, it's awful.  For some reason I always am awake at 3:30.  Grrr......

My lo usually took around 5oz from the bottle.  It varied, but the was the average.  I would base it on what your lo usually takes when  you give a bottle.  Some take less, some take more, but it may take a little while to figure out exactly how much your lo needs. 

Good Luck!