Waking up before dream feed

[momofclaire]

Could she be going through a growth spurt?  There is a pretty big one between 3-4 months.
How did she sleep after the feed?
Not being able to get into the position she wants could cause her to wake. 

[KECA]

So everything went down the drain when we went camping this past weekend - but now we're almost back on track.  She tends to wake at around 12:30 and then again at 4am - both for night feeds...(going to be around 7/7:30 and up anytime between 6 and 7am).  We're pretty much on a 3.5 EASY.
Any recommendations on how to eliminate one of the night feedings?  And which one?

[momofclaire]

What happens if you don't feed her?
She may still need one of those feeds. How is she eating during the day? Does she take a full feed overnight?
Can you post todays routine?

[KECA]

I'm not sure what would happen if I didn't feed her 
Today went as follows:
Awake/Eat - 7:40
Sleep - 9:15
Awake/Eat - 10:45
Sleep - 12:45
Awake/Eat - 2
Sleep - 3:45
Awake/Eat - 5:15
Sleep - well, went down at 7:15, though didn't settle/fall asleep till 7:45...guess she was a bit overtired...

She eats pretty well during the day from what I can tell (BF) and the feeds at night seem to be reasonably significant.  I'm definitely ok with one feed at night - just would like to eliminate one.

[momofclaire]

Well then I guess you should try not feeding and see what happens. 
She may not have needed to go to sleep until 7:45 seeing as she woke at 7:40. 
Remind me again, are you doing the df? 
Is there a feed missing in your routine above?  Do you feed as part of windown? 

[KECA]

Ah yes - missed mentioning that one - there was a feed at 7pm - no dreamfeed at this time.
So far tonight she has been up at 10:15pm (not resettled till 10:45) and then up at 1:30am (fed) and up again at 3am for a good 40 minutes and then up again at 5 for another 45 minutes or so.  I did not do a 2nd feed this time and she seemed to manage that ok.
She doesn't cry to any extreme, just fussing.  Sometimes I think she's asleep and so I go back to bed and then she starts up again.  I wish we could figure out how to have her sleep a big more soundly.  I'm starting to think she's just going to be one that doesn't sleep so great at night...
She ate a really good feed at 6:50am.

[momofclaire]

If she isn't really crying, I would wait and give her the chance to go back to sleep on her own.  do you think a df would work well with her? Have you tried?

[KECA]

It's mostly a cough like cry - off and on.  She could do it for a long time...I would say at least 30 minutes - is that ok to leave her?
I tried the dream feed one night and woke her up when I put her back down...have been reading many posts on here and thought I'd leave it be.  Do you think at this age it's possible that if I gave her a dreamfeed she could make it from 10:30/11pm to 7am?

[momofclaire]

It is fine to leave her while she is fussing of and on just make sure to go to her when she cries.  I am sure you can tell the difference in her cries. 
I had a lot of luck with the df but not everyone does.  It is a trial and error thing.

[KECA]

What is a Mom to do???  I'm sooo confused!

Yesterday's day went as follows:
Awake/E - 6:50
S - 8:30-9:45
E - 10 (Dad fed her with bottle as I was away, it's been awhile since she has fed from a bottle and didn't take much apparently and was a mess for her entire wake time - cause she was hungry but Dad couldn't get her to drink any more than 2-2.5oz)
S - 11-1
E - 1
S - 3-4:45
E - 5
Bedtime Routine - 6:20
E - 6:30
S - 6:50pm

So that went ok...
THEN the night...
Awake at 10:30 - left her to resettle herself - took approx 15-20 minutes
Awake at 1 - fed
Awake at 2:30 - left to resettle herself - took approx 15-20 minutes
Awake at 4 - left to resettle....fussed for 20 minutes, then for the next hour fussed off and on with quiet periods.  We have a video monitor and so were able to see that she was just looking around and playing with her legs/feet.  Finally by 5:30 I though maybe she wasn't going back to sleep cause she was hungry (though I really wasn't sure I believed it cause she wasn't crying significantly...but could NOT figure out why she'd still be awake)  She smiled when I got to the room - not crying for food...but I still fed her ...a little... and then wanted to play and talk.  I put her back down and she stayed awake till about 6:10!
I was so confused.  I thought maybe since I had been feeding her at 4 for about the past week (with the exception of the night before last) that maybe she was hungry and waiting for me to feed her... but it really didn't make sense cause she wasn't crying significantly...but I didn't know what to do!!
So I set my alarm to wake her at 7:30 to ensure that she knew that was daytime.  She fed well and is as happy as can be!

Should I really have just continued to leave her?  Why would she be awake for so long in the middle of the night???

This parenting stuff around sleep is so confusing for me!!!

[KECA]

Same thing tonight - minus the 10:30 waking... but instead woke at 12:15 - so fed her early...then up again at 2:30, now again at 4:30 - not serious crying - but still crying off and on...went in for a bit, but she doesn't seem to need resettling as she goes quiet the minute I'm in there - wanting to smile and just looking around...
she's almost 4 months...*sigh*