4 month old - only 4 feeds?

[catonss]

Hi!

My dd is 17 weeks old.  After a few weeks of sleeping from after the dreamfeed until 7 am, we had several weeks of frequent night wakings.  Without going into a ton of detail, i had a friend suggest that maybe i try waiting for her to wake up for hunger, rather than "waking her" for the dreamfeed.  She wondered if maybe i was interrupting her night sleep patterns.  So I stopped going to her, and she is once again sleeping better at night.  The thing is, she is not waking to eat at all now.  So she goes from 7 to 7 without eating.  What do you think?  Is this ok for a 4 month old?  We're recently on a 4 hour routine - so she feeds at 7, 11, 3, and 6:30 before bed - so 4 times.  She seems very satisfied and doesn't seem hungry throughout the day.  She is my second baby - my first was very textbook, and we continued w/ the dreamfeed until 7 or 8 months - so 5 feeds.  I guess i've just had it in my head that it's good to have that extra feed at 10 until they are well established into solids.  I'd hate to regret this - like if my supply dropped after a while or something.  But i also know that once they stop feeding at night, they take in more during the day, which i can see she is.  She's eating much more efficiently than she was before.  I think i will pump at 9 or 10 before i go to bed, in case in the near future she decides to eat again at night or i decide she needs the dreamfeed again.  This should help with supply, right?  Any thoughts??
Thanks!
Sarah

[catonss]

Oh - i also wanted to say that io am committed to exclusively breastfeeding as long as possible (which was 21 months for my first dd!)  I do not want to supplement w/ formula, and i want to wait until at least 6 months to introduce solids....

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

You sound like you've answered all your own questions!  Yes, you could pump at that time if you want - it certainly won't hurt your supply...I know what you mean about being paranoid with regards to supply, esp. if you want to nurse that long (congrats on the 21 months last time around!).

I've heard other babies sleep better after dropping the dreamfeed, and she sounds like she's doing great making it up during the day. 4 feeds is within the norm, I'd say.  As long as weight gain continues to do well, along with everything else, then great!  I wouldn't be surprised if she needs some overnight at the 6 month growth spurt...  Keep up the good work, Mom!

[Samuel's mum]

You sound like you know what you doing. i.e. the most important thing is to respond to baby's cues. If she's feeding really well at those times and seems content that's the important thing. I would agree with you to pump in the evening to give yourself some flexibility and you can build up a stash for when solids begin. If you continue to be aware of her cues I'm sure you won't miss out on a growth spurt where more frequent feeding may be needed.
The only other issue is she might go through a 'Wow, the world is interesting!' phase which may effect the quality of her feeds so look out for that. That might mean another feed gets added in. But basically she's on a 4 hr schedule and sleeping fantastically - that's what Tracy liked to see at 4 months and it's right for her.

[daisymelan]

 

I want your baby.  LOL  I'll trade some of my "every two hours" nightwakings to balance yours out. 
 

[Aly Mac]

No advice here sorry but wanted to let you know that my lo doesn't dream feed (never has) & except for her growth spurt at around 4.5months, she sleeps from 7 till 7.  I do 5 feeds (4hr except I feed after last nap & prior to bed)  I think I"m too afraid to take out the one after her last nap incase she wakes!!! I also follow her cues in the day as at the moment I think she might be going through another spurt as she's only going 3hrs again for feeds & she is hungry.  Rather this than the nw!

[malialeanne]

Hi Sarah,

CONGRATS on your great sleeper. I think a lot of moms might want to trade you!!

We dropped the dreamfeed at 12 weeks and my dd's sleep is much improved. Like you, i just decided to let her wake up from hunger so as not to interupt her longest sleep stretch. However last week I did do a df a couple of times--I felt she was in a growth spurt and that she needed it. Just mommy instinct.

Sounds like you're doing a great job.

Malia

[samijoe]

hi sarah,

what you have experienced, we experienced as well.

when we started EASY at 2.5mths, i tried the df.  we previously just put her to sleep and waited (within reason) for her to wake on her own to feed.  i began implementing the df (i found bf for it was hard too) and after about 1week decided that it was too intrusive to her nightsleep.  i suppose we could have tried to do it earlier in the night, but i really think dd did just fine left to wake.  most nights she would go 7-7, and the odd day 7-4 , quick feed, waking at 7.  doing the df meant a whole bunch of crappy nightwakings for us, so i chose the one possible nw'ing over df'ing.

if it works for your dd, it is fine.

as a food issue, as long as she is thriving and full...she'll probably continue sleeping thru.  i wouldn't serve solids at all...you might be able to poke in an extra breastfeed if necessary.  i found bf'ing that my boobs really couldn't handle the long stretch and only the four feeds, so i did need to supplement.  however, my supply wasn't so good to begin with...and you may be better off, iykwim?  (if your supply is better)  i am sure these bf'ing ladies will have the right advice for you on that.  pumping is a good way to go to help this....i have to admit though, i was lazy.

hope some of this helps
sami

[catonss]

Hey ladies -

Thanks for all the good chat about this so far.  I appreciate it! 

Aly Mac - I actually just thought today about doing what you do - mostly b/c i don't like waiting until 7 or just b/f bed to give her a full feed.  She spits up a lot if i do, and has trouble settling for bed b/c she's too full.  Seems like things go better if I give her a full feed at 5:30 and a "top off" at 7.  So i'm going to try 5 feeds - basically in the morning, after the 3 naps, and before bed.  Another friend of mine said she did this until her baby dropped the catnap, like around 7 months. 

Malia, we have chatted before on the night wakings board - about "not rushing in."  You may have started me w/ the thinking that perhaps a dreamfeed could actually interrupt night sleep and not make it worthwhile.  So thanks.  How is your baby sleeping at night now?  And, by the way, things have greatly improved as well now that we aren't rushing in so much.  Her crying when she does wake is so mild - that helps a lot.  I really think it's just a waking inbetween a sleep phase - it's more clear to me now that she's not waking for hunger.  I think it probably comes with age. 

And for all of you who are so jealous.....well, things are improved....but she IS still waking some at night.  Just not so much.  Hang in there - lol!

[Nic and Jackson]

Hi Sarah
Wow i can't believe that even people who have what seems (to me) to be the perfect baby still have concerns that need answering!!  Just goes to show how much we all worry about our babies.  I actually think that if your baby is eating through the day and not at night that i'd try to encourage that behaviour.  My DD is the opposite, she likes to eat at night but not through the day and sometimes i wonder if introducing the dreamfeed is what made her enjoy the night feeding.  Now of course i am trying to stop her feeding so much at night so that she will eat more during the day as she only feeds for a few minutes each time.  It's almost like she knows she can muck around during the day because she can catch up at night.
So..... if it ain't broke, don't fix it -just enjoy your perfect little baby and relish in the fact that i and hundreds of other mums are insanely jealous!!!!

[Wink's Marmy]

Hey there. We have had a very similar experience. I did the DF until almost a month ago when I decided to drop it cold turkey. That was the first night she slept through. I have not had to feed her since then at night except for three seperate times. Those times, she woke and displayed hunger cues. They weren't three nights in a row, just random, 2 of those times she took full feeds & once she didn't. I guess 2 out of 3 properly read cues isn't too bad. 

Anyway, we do a similar thing to Allymac - she feeds around 7am, 11am, 3pm, then around 6 and again at 7:30. She gets hungry at 6 and I just do that last bedtime feed because its comforting for both of us. It makes sense I guess that DD wants to eat at 6 bc. of the fact that supply is lower in the evening.

I don't pump although I am a big worry wart. Those 3 times I have had to feed her at night, it was fine the rest of the day and the next morning my breasts were very full...

[malialeanne]

Hi Sarah,

The not rushing in is working well. DD is sleeping better at night, thanks to that and some other things. Last night she woke at 3, talked to herself for a bit, fell back to sleep and then woke at 4 to feed and slept until 7.

Also in that same thread, Jessica advised me to wean the patting and that has worked VERY well. I just put her down for the night, no patting, no paci and NO crying. Took me 6 minutes.  I am happiest with our progress in that area, the night sleep is a work in progress but we're getting there!!!

Malia