dreamfeed

Hi, DS is a bit over 5 mnths, since sleep school i have been doing a dream feed at 11pm, this generally sees him thru til appr 5.30am. and then i feed again and he sleeps generally til about 7.30am. (goes to bed at 7pm) so i really only want to do the dreamfeed.

Last night DS woke at 2.45am, i knew he couldnt be hungry, screamed and screamed, i tried to settle him by double patting, but then he started up again, after patting.not pattind etc for 1 quarter hrs, DH said, just feed him which i did at 4am. but he wasnt hungry i could tell..

It was just a comfort feed, and i should not have done it,,, i wonder will he wake this time again tonight, i have gotten him out of the habit of it for the last few weeks.. sleep school told me not to feed til 6am, if i have done a dreamfeed :glare: :glare: :glare:

It may have been his teeth moving, so i also gave him some baby panadol & rubbed on some bonjela, but this did not calm him down at all

Anyone else do the dreamfeed and occasionally have to do a comfort feed.. do u think he will start waking up this time every night again... he was doing so well

Maggie, they say 3 times and it's a habit. One night waking doesn't mean it's a pattern so it could still go either way. I dream feed Tom at about 10pm but he nearly always still wakes for a feed around 3 or 3:30. I know he's hungry so I feed him and he guzzles. He has only gone 3 nights without waking for a feed.

Personally I don't think you've done the wrong thing feeding him, but that's just me. Jack started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, but occassionally would wake in the night. I would feed him and he would still sleep through the next night so I don't think it formed a habit. But I know that other people have other experiences so this is just my opinion.

Teething could well have been the reason your DS woke, especially if you're sure he wasn't hungry. Tom is just on 5 months and got his first 2 teeth this morning. You will find night wakings will occur with teething and developmental milestones. You will have to decide whether you comfort feed at these times. Some people do and other don't. I'm in the do camp. I find if it settles them back to sleep, it's better than them crying or being distressed. And once they cry a lot it wakes them up and then they are less likely to go back down. So I pre-empt that and feed straight away. I know this isn't what you have been told, and it's not for everyone. It's a personal thing. It really comes down to what suits you and DH. I am sure there is a risk of a habit forming if you do comfort feed so you have to weigh that up. Good luck, I hope you find what works for you.

Id tend to think its his teeth as hes at that age being it seems a one off.. but i may be wrong. Jess can go days without waking and then will start again, i usually just give him his dummy and he goes back to sleep easy. Id probably try and get him back to sleep(he may have been hot, had a bad dream etc who knows?) if you have already given him a dreamfeed. Does he take dummies? Use the feed as a last resort.

Also just be careful when giving bonjela and panadol at the same time as bonjela is medicated and shouldnt really be given at the same time as panadol. We tried bonjela on Jesse and he just spat it out.. found panadol to be the best thing for teething, but it can take a half hour or so to kick in unfortunately :)

My DD has dreamfeed at 10:30 usually (we've cut it out this week from being unwell). She then still wakes anywhere between 2 and 3:30 then again around 6:30ish. I was told not to worry bout this til at least 6 months as its totally normal. Plus was told babies go thru phases where they suddenly will start doing this and then stop again. maybe wait and see how long it goes on for or if it increases. Keep trying to settle by the patting but if it doesn't work just do whatever you feel comfortable in doing.