Dream Feeds/Late Feeds

[Piglet's Mama]

For those that do dream feeds, what time does your LO go to bed, what time do you wake them, how much is your LO taking & when do they wake afterwards?

Brooke is now on 6oz bottles; she has 3 big feeds between 7-8am & 6pm (a guaranteed 18oz) but her last bottle of the day from 6pm onwards is sometimes a struggle to get her to take, as she's quite tired/ratty by this point.

If she manages to finish the last 6oz bottle before 8pm, I don't wake her for a dream feed but if she goes to bed having less than 20oz I tend to wake her about 11pm (she goes down about 8pm). But she's so tired at this time that she barely has 2oz. She's also so tired she won't wind and then ends up throwing it all up! She then wakes at 1am as well as 4-5am and I'm exhausted...! I don't know if I should try and keep her up a little bit later in the evening to see if she'll take more of her last bottle but she gets really ratty and is genuinely tired by 8pm. Any advice? X

 

[AugustMum]

This is exactly what me and Paige did when she was younger. Have you tried not giving the dream feed? Even if she has less than 20oz, that might be just what her body needs. Babies will ask if they're hungry. She will still wake at 1am and 4-5am but at least youll be able to go bed earlier so it wont be as tiring. She might just be picking her bedtime and has decided 8pm works for her.

Like I say this is exactly what Paige did and not long after I stopped the dream feed completly she slowly pushed the 1am feed back to 3am and then slept from 3am till about 7am so I was only waking once. Its a complete nightmare and so tiring and stressful but she's going to wake when she feels like it so just go with the flow and you'll see she's a clever little thing that will work it all out soon I remember the sleepless nights oh so well so I know how you're feeling xx

 

[Belfast girl]

hi! emma is 14 weeks and we give her 6 oz at 7 after which she goes to sleep. she then gets another 6 ozs at 11 which she doesn't wake for and she stays asleep til 8 at least in the morning, sometimes i have to wake her at 9.

she done this for the last few weeks, fingers crossed it will last!

she gets 30oz over 5 feeds, and usually takes 28 of them!

good luck!

 

[cherelle]

i agree with augustmum, i think if shes not taking it then she just doesnt want it at that time so id go to bed earlier yourself and with time she will go longer. Every baby is so different, Ifan was getting up 3 toimes a night to feed until we started weaning at 3 and half months when he started to sleep through x

 

[Piglet's Mama]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna try her with 4oz when she wakes tonight as she is draining 3ozs without hesitation! So an extra 1oz might top her up for just that little bit longer. I've dropped the dream feed now altogether and will see how the extra 1oz goes down x

 

[Lulu_Laroo]

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how many ounces poppy has in a day, I just feed her totally on demand. Some days she has more, some days she has less. Poppy goes to bed at 9pm, I used to do a dream feed when me & Luke went to bed (11.30ish) and she'd take around 4oz then. She'll sleep til 7.00/8.00 afterwards. x