Cluster & Dream Feeding Support/Chat

[vml]

I started on the EASY program a bit late for my baby.  She was 20wks old when I added in a DF at 11pm and now she's 27wks old.  She sleeps through the feed most of the time so I don't think that's a problem.  However, she always gets up at least once at night for a feeding.  I think it throws off her waking feed since she barely eats.  She wakes up between 3am and 5am for a feeding every night.  She's now over 6 months old and has started solids but she still gets up to feed.  Here's her routine on most days:
7am-7:30am - wake up and bottle feed 1-5 ounces
Activity
Breakfast of solids
Activity
8:30am-9am - morning nap
10am-11am - wake up and bottle feed 3-5 ounces
Activity
Lunch of solids
Activity
12:30pm-1:30pm - afternoon nap
2pm-3:30pm - wake up and bottle feed 4-5 ounces
Activity
Dinner of solids
Activity
4pm-5pm - late afternoon nap (she sometimes skips this but usually has a nap)
4:45pm - 5:45pm - Activity
5:30pm - 6pm - Massage, Bath
6:30pm - 6:45pm - Bottle feed 6-7 ounces
Read a couple of books
7pm - Asleep for the night
11pm - dream feed 3-5 ounces
3am-5am - wakes for bottle feed 5 ounces

I've tried to see if she's go back to sleep when she wakes for night feed but she always wakes up within 10 minutes and cries.  I do this repeatedly and then realize that she's just hungry so I feed her.  She enjoys eating her solids so I think she's getting enough to eat.

If you have any ideas of why she's not sleeping through the night or any other suggestions for her routine in general I would appreciate it!  Thanks!

[LisaAnnB]

My baby is nearly 9 weeks old and is taking a good 180ml a feed (usually 5 times a day, sometimes 6). his last feed of the day is around 7-8pm and he eventually falls asleep around 9.30pm. he then awakes anything from 2.30am - 5am usually with figgeting from around 2am every hour. I am thinking that a dreamfeed at 10-11 will be a good idea if it means dropping the night time feed and helping him sleep more soundly. Will introducing a df still mean he wakes hoping for the night time feed? I'm a bit confused as to what to do for the best.

[* Paula *]

It might be worth trying a DF, however it is still very common for such a young lo to take a DF and still wake in the night for a feed.

If you do introduce the DF it is recommended closer to 10pm as possible.  It can take up to a week for you to notice any difference.  Some lo's take to the DF and others don't.

Have you thought about cluster feeding in the evening as well?

[LisaAnnB]

With cluster feeding do you give the normal amount, either side of a bath? So in effect i'll be giving him 2 of his 5 or 6 daily feeds in an hour?
thanks!

[* Paula *]

You can try giving the same amount, and then over a few days, you can guage how many oz he is taking, and then adjust your feeds from there.

Good luck.  Let us know how you get on.

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

I have a 2 week old newborn DD.  Can you offer clusterfeeding and DF work for a newborn?  I've never done the clusterfeeding with DS  but have done the DF.  Is it worth trying the clusterfeeding for a newborn or should I wait until she is older?  Will the clusterfeeding help keep DD full during the night?  Or do I have to do the clusterfeeding and DF to keep her full and sleeping through the night?

TIA

[* Paula *]

At 2 weeks old you cannot expect your DD to sleep through the night, her tummy is just so small, and can only hold a small amount of milk, so you can expect your lo to wake a few times in the night.

But yes, you definitely can start clusterfeeding as well as the DF, as it can help your lo tank up during the night, and will help your lo go longer stretches when she gets a bit older.

Some newborns actually start tanking themselves up automatically.  My DD did this for about 3 weeks of demanding a feed every 2 hours in the late afternoon / evening.

Good luck.  Hope this helps.  Please keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula

[lcpm]

Hi there, I have another question sorry.
My lo is 4 weeks old tomorrow and we still haven't given cluster feeding a go as we are just so unsure of what to do. At the moment she is doing great and we are waking her to feed her in the day every 3 hours - she takes between 2.5/3.5oz per feed. Her last eveningg feed is around 10.30/11.00pm although it is not a DF. From then she will sleep roughly 4 hours, then require a feed, then go roughly another 3.5/4 hours
Do we need to cluster? At such a young age, is it fine that she is only requiring 1 feed during the night?
If we do try the clustering, do we give the same amount and what if she doesn't want it? Surely we can't force her to have it?
Oh so many questions. When I read the book, it didn't seem this complicated....
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Lisa

[* Paula *]

Lisa, I would say by the sounds of your routine, that I would leave the cluster feeding out.  1 night waking is fantastic.  Your lo seems to know what he is doing.

If you find that he is starting to wake more in the night then you can consider trying the cluster feed, but at the moment, why try and fix something that aint broke 

My DD was the same she was going to bed around 10:30 and only having 1 night feed.  When we gave her an earlier bedtime, she started cluster feeding on her own.

[leticia2u]

This is my first time posting so I apologize if Im not in the right place. 

DS is 7 weeks old tomorrow and is currently eating every 2.5-3 hours.  He is bottlefed and I've just increased his feed from 4 oz to 5oz.  I am trying to get him to sleep through the night.  Last night was our first go at it.  I fed him his 5 ozs every 3 hrs during the day then 6 oz right before bedtime (fed at 10pm).  He slept until 2, which is longer than usual, and he started fussing.  I went in and gave him a pacifier, ssshed him and patted him until he went back to sleep.  This took about 20 min which, according to the book, is about right.  I was amazed and filled with joy at the thought of sleeping until morning, since before this he usually only woke up once or twice/night.  Well, no such luck.  He woke up every 30min - 1 hr looking for a bottle.  Each time, I gave him the pacifier and he'd fall asleep for a little bit.  I finally fed him at 6am, which was an 8 hr stretch...which is what the book says he should be sleeping at night at this age.  Am I doing this right? Shall I continue with the pacifier at night?  I'm hoping it will get better each night until he sleeps through.  I feel like I'm starving him, although he did have 30 oz during the day...again, the book says this is enough and they dont need a nighttime feeding.

One thing we did not do is cluster feed before the 6 oz at 10pm.  Question: Does he get the full 5 oz at each feed during the cluster feed or just as much as he can drink until I think he's full?  I will cluster feed tonight and hope it makes a difference.

[* Paula *]

At such a young age it is very normal for a lo to be waking in the night for a feed.  If your lo wakes, I would feed him, his belly is very small and cannot hold large amounts of milk .

Some lo's can wake for a night feed even up to the age of about 6 months.

You can definitely try clusterfeeding to help your lo tank up.  You can try 5 oz each time, and see how much your lo takes.  If he takes less over a couple of days, you can then judge from there how many oz to put in the bottle.

HTH's

Paula

[TJ & Stephy's Mommy]

I've tried the clusterfeeding and DF the last couple of nights.  Unfortunately, if I do the clusterfeeding in the evening, she will not do the DF.  DS drank less than 1oz or nothing when I DF. One the same note, last night when I tried to DF, DS did drank about 1oz but then ending up spitting up a few times.  Does this mean that she is still full and doesn't want the DF?  I don't htink I'm force feeding her but I found it strange that she spit up.

If you had to choose would you do the clusterfeed or DF?

[* Paula *]

If your lo is only taking an oz at the DF I would be inclined to just do the clusterfeeding.

[mooclancy]

I am wondering when you cluster feed say the 5 and 7 time do you spilt the Oz. that you give your baby during a regular feed? I usually give my boys between 4 and 3 oz. per feed. So would I give them 2oz. and than the 4 at the dreamfeed?

[grahamsmama]

If I had to choose, I would skip the cluster feeding and do the DF because those evening hours are tough around our house.  But if you're happy to do the cluster feeds, I wouldn't waste sleep waiting up to do the DF for just one extra ounce.