Empathic Sleep Teaching - View topic - Frequent Night Feedings - Infant sleep services for tired parents - Free Message Board Hosting by FreePowerBoards.com

Hi There;
I am new to this forum. I have a son who is almost 5 months old (he is my second child, my daughter is 3). He is an extremely laid back guy - never fusses during the day. We started co-sleeping from the beginning but have now transitioned him into his own bed for the first part of the night. He has no issues falling asleep in his own bed for naps and beginning of night.

Typically he goes down for sleep around 7:30, I do a dream feed at 10:00pm. He wakes for a feed at midnight - at which point I bring him into my bed. Then he nurses every 2 hours (2,4,6). He typically doesn't need to nurse again until 10/11ish am - which is frustrating! He is 18lbs. so I know he doesn't need to feed and he's nursing out of habit. Frankly I am way too tired to try any other method of settling him back down (including putting him back into his bed) - which is why I haven't done anything about it. But, it's getting to the point where I am not getting quality sleep.

So, my question is - where do I begin? Should I make sure I nurse him more during the day and early evening? Which feeds do I try and cut out? (ie: do I have a rule that I won't feed him unless it's been at least 3 hours).
I am aware that the co-sleeping is contributing to this as well so I also want to transition him into his room for the whole night (bringing him in to my bed for a cuddle for his early morning feed).

Other info. that may help - he doesn't use a soother, he naps 3-4 times a day for 45 minutes each (would love longer naps too but my daughter was the same until I went to 1 nap), I don't have consistent wake-up time/nap times at the moment due to scheduling with my daughter, having to be out of the house, etc.

Any wisdom would be appreciated!

Hey Angie,

Welcome! Take a quick look at the sleep plans that are posted and then create your own. You can change it as much as you want as you learn more about sleep teaching and more about what works for you.
A couple of things jump out at me in your post though. I would definitely cut out the dream feed at 10:00. If you are waking him to feed it could be disrupting his sleep pattern and also starting up his digestive system which has shut down for the night, thus causing him to be hungry again in a couple of hours.
Also, I have nothing against the family bed, but it can create an environment where baby wants to nurse all night and you don't get the rest you need. I would definitely move him (what is his name?) to his bed.
You should expect him to go 4-5 hours between feedings at night, if not longer.
Have you read the ebook?
Post as much as you need and we'll get you on the right track!
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I will second the vote for cutting out the dreamfeed. I did that for a short time with my son (around that 5-6month age), thinking it would eliminate one of the other night feedings, but it actually ended up not working out, as he would be far too drowsy to take a full feeding at that hour & then it seemed he woke MORE often during those wee hours - actually wanting to feed. I gave it up - cold turkey - and at first, he woke up around 10-11pm for a few nights, but then drifted back off to sleep ..... You may find that once he's sleeping better at night (not waking up every 2 hrs), he may nap better??? I know that some babes just are short nappers until they transition into that 1 big nap ...but I know for us, the short naps seemed to iron themselves out once we had longer sleep periods overnight ....

I recommend a sleep journal, in addition to your sleep plan - it will help you keep track of progress, as well as help you "see" patterns in his sleep habits ....
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Kris

Thank-you for the feedback ladies. My son's name is Rowan. I have now put him in his bed for the entire night. The first night worked well - he went about 3 hours between feeds and one 4 hour stretch (I was able to soothe him back to sleep once when he woke after 2 hours). But now he has a bit of a cold and is teething so we're back to every 2. The dream feed is no longer a "dream" feed - he's been waking up around the 10pm mark for a feed and he feeds well for it.
I have read the e-book and am working things out. Right now my goal is to get a good stretch between midnight and 4am - so I am feeding him every 2 until midnight and then trying to skip the 2am feed.
Any insights or tips for accomplishing this are appreciated!
Thanks!

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