Should I wake them up?

Well those of you who have read my posts know I am general DESPARATE to get my children to sleep at night...but I am wondering if I should wake them at 11P to nurse them. I'm BFing my twins exclusively (except for solids of course) and I don't know whether I should wake them up to "dream feed" as I get ready to go to sleep or if I should just wait and respond to them when they call for me.

My little girl is pretty small and I'm tempted to wake her up and feed her just to get her the extra calories...but there's the other part of me that says I shouldn't disturb them...and risk the quiet that we've achieved!

Idea?

Thanks in advance.

Sotto

 

I woke mine up to BF before I went to sleep for a month or two. I just stopped doing that last week, and it was honestly the best thing ever! When I WAS waking them up at 11, they were also getting up around 3 again to eat, and then at 6 again. Once I stopped that dream feed they slept from 7-7. Not feeding them at 11 actually made them sleep longer---go figure! So if you're doing the CIO thing, I would just go full blown with it. That's my experience anyways! HTH.

Reyna

 

The lactation conslutant at our breastfeeding support group just told us that babies can technically stop night feedings when they have doubled their birth weight. She said that continuing to feed your babies at night can contribute to sleep problems because their body has to work to digest the feedind. During sleep the body 'shuts down ', breathing slows, body temperature changes, etc. If their body has to digest food, it cannot shut down enough to sleep well.

Do they still wake up for night feedings? Based upon what this nurse said, I wouldn't give them the 11:00 dream feed and see how they do. I wish I knew this when my twins were babies. I never stopped the night feedings until they stopped nursing. It turned into such a bad habbit for us becaue it was the only way I could get them back to sleep. Little did I know that I was contributing to their sleep problems.

I hope you find this information useful. Good luck!

 

It's really up to you... Some people swear by dream feeds to get a little more sleep, but then HSHHC is against them (sleep comes from the brain, not the stomach, yada yada yada). Probably just one of the many trial and error things - see how it works both ways... Good luck!

 

If she is small and waking due to hunger I would feed her when she wakes. She will eventually sleep through when she no longer has to get the extra calories. Mine were night wakers until almost 9 months and believe me I desperately wanted sleep, but they were definitely hungry. When they stopped downing bottles, I gradually increased the amount of time I took to get to them and they learned to put themselves back to sleep. Hang in there.

 

Sotto,

I have always done a dream feed at about 10pm before I went to bed. Then, my girls would usually wake up at about 3am to eat and go back to sleep until about 6:30am. Over the last few weeks, my girls have been refusing (about half the time) to eat at 10pm, so we decided to give up the dream feed seven days ago. To my great surprise, once I stopped the dream feed, my girls stopped waking up at 3am to eat. For the last five nights, they've eaten at 6pm and fallen right to sleep, then not woken up until at least 5:30 or 6am. They have started to eat a little bit more at each meal during the day and more frequently so they're still getting about the same amount of formula. So my advice is skip the dream feed for a few days and see how it goes. You may be surprised!

Mine are 16lbs 4oz each, and about the same age as yours...

 

QUOTE(mrsfussypants @ Dec 18 2007, 08:45 PM) [snapback]539934[/snapback]
I woke mine up to BF before I went to sleep for a month or two. I just stopped doing that last week, and it was honestly the best thing ever! When I WAS waking them up at 11, they were also getting up around 3 again to eat, and then at 6 again. Once I stopped that dream feed they slept from 7-7. Not feeding them at 11 actually made them sleep longer---go figure! So if you're doing the CIO thing, I would just go full blown with it. That's my experience anyways! HTH.

Reyna


I ditto this!!!

 

we stopped waking them to eat at 3 months!! I'd just wait and see wake when she does to feed her. Hopefully you can kick those nighttime feedings soon!

 

Let them sleep. They can go 12 hours now. Let them. My DD is going 12 at only 4 12 mo. Sleep begats sleep. The more sleep they get the better they will sleep.

 

I never dream fed my two. Mine were full-term big twins. At 7 months though, I'd let them sleep and they'll wake you when they need to.

 

QUOTE
The lactation conslutant at our breastfeeding support group just told us that babies can technically stop night feedings when they have doubled their birth weight


Not to hijack a thread or anything but does that go for babes at any age??? I am pretty sure mine have doubled in weight. And does that mean they should eat more during the day? I am breastfeeding....

 

QUOTE(annelily2000 @ Dec 19 2007, 06:41 PM) [snapback]540905[/snapback]
Not to hijack a thread or anything but does that go for babes at any age??? I am pretty sure mine have doubled in weight. And does that mean they should eat more during the day? I am breastfeeding....

I started this thread and appreciate everyone's feedback! I didn't wake them and one went til 2A and the other (my DD) to 5:45 when I woke her up to nurse as I was engorged.

As to your question about any age...my ped said not til 6 months...not sure if that is universal...or just my babies.

Sotto

 

Thanks for the answer, I knew not to hold my breath!! Although, I am sure they would have answered the question for me.LOL!!!

 

I'm thinking about dropping the 10-11pm dreamfeed as well. Interesting that some babies slept better when it was dropped.

 

I originally never woke them to feed; they were nursing every two and then every three hours, usually on a different schedule. It was h*ll on me but I felt like if I was nursing on demand I should wait for them to demand. The few times I did wake one after the other woke they never really ate and ended up waking when they were ready....so - my feeling is wait for them to wake, rather than disturbing their sleep.

As for Weisbluth, well, I wish he would come tell MY twins' brains (nine months,7.5 adjusted) that they no longer need to eat at night! Grrrr........LOL I know, I know, even he says some babies need to eat up to nne months....