Sleep Habits

dkny155 · September 2013

My daughter will be 5 months next week. She goes to bed around 7-730 every night I still give her what my doctor calls a "dreamfeed" bottle when I go to sleep around 1030-11pm which she eats but sleeps through. I have done this for awhile now cause I felt it helped her sleep longer and because she wasn't eating enough ounces during the day. My doctor said to continue that bottle until she starts cereal/food when she turns 5 months. I felt due to that bottle she was sleeping til 5-6am every morning then she would get a bottle and go back to sleep til 7-8am. Over the past week, week and a half she has been getting up around 3am looking for the bottle that I usually give her around 5-6am. If she woke up around 2-3am in the past I would give her the binky and she would fall back asleep, now she wont go back to sleep until I give her a bottle! I am going nuts and don't want to create bad sleep habits! Anybody have any tips/ideas? Also she still is in her bassinet. I am going to transition her when she goes on cereal/food next week with the hopes that I can stop the dreamfeed bottle and that she will sleep more sound due to a fuller belly and that maybe she would sleep straight through til 6-7. I have kept her in the bassinet so long cause I like having her near me and it was easier when she got up at 5 for the bottle to have her right there. Also when she was sleeping til 5-6am I would feed her then put her in bed next to me to get her to go back to bed for that hour or so. But now when she is getting up at 3ish after that bottle the easiest way to get her to go back to bed fast is to let her lay with me. I know this is a problem and I don't want her in my bed but I also am working now and need my sleep as well. PLEASE HELP!!!! LOL

VPGIRL06 · September 2013

maybe up the ounces for the dream feed and whatever else you feed her during the day if she's bottle fed

08summerbride · September 2013

It could be a growth spurt and she needs the 3am feeding for a week or so. DS is still up every night at 3 or 4 to eat and on occasion he is up at 1 as well. I feed him and he goes right back to sleep. I think their sleep patterns are still fluctuating and just because they Sttn some doesn't mean there won't be regressions or growth spurts wherethey need more feedings.
With my 1st, once she slept through the night once, she never went back and had no regression, but my second is all over the place. He will have an 8 hour stretch one night and then be up 3 times another.

LisaLisa1980 · September 2013

If she's hungry, she's hungry...

lana22 · September 2013

i'd give her the bottle and not worry right now about creating bad habits. if she's getting up at 3 then 5 for awhile then i'd start to think about trying to drop one of the feedings. not sure why you are putting her next to you after the 3am feed, if you want to co-sleep that's cool, but if you want her in the bassinet, try laying her down there after the feed? maybe i'm missing something. after my son's 4am feed sometimes it would take my him 5-15 min to go back to sleep and he'd be a little noisy/fussing so it would take me longer to fall back asleep, but most nights it takes him under 3 min.

i started oatmeal a few days ago for my 5 mo on my pedi's rec and it may be purely coincidental but he's just started sleeping through the night without a wakeup. previously he'd go down b/w 6 and 7, up at 4, down for another 3 hours. now he's down the same time and sleeping until 7/8. if only my older son wasn't waking up at 6:30!

dkny155 · September 2013

Thanks ladies! I have been giving her that bottle when she gets up. Sometimes its 3am other times it's 5am. She obviously does need that bottle.Lana22 I hope the same happens for me once she starts the oatmeal next week. The doctor said she would prob sleep better once she goes onto the cereal. Also I really don't want her in my bed but when I put her back in the bassinet it takes a long time for her to go back to bed which I don't mind but because she is getting so big I don't trust her in the bassinet w/o me watching her. As soon as she starts cereal next week my thought is to put her into her crib. I think it is going to be very difficult transition though cause I have tried to nap her in it this weekend and she cried so hard I felt so bad. So for now I have just been laying her in there while I put away her laundry so she gets use to it. But yesterday I left her in there while I went down to use the bathroom and she freaked (cried) out! She was so hysterical by the time I came back like 3mins later lol. This is going to be a rough week next week! Any tips would be appreciated

katfaz · September 2013

I am also working on transitioning my LO to her crib for naps, in preparation for moving her to her crib for night time down the road. Good luck to you.... I am also anticipating a rough patch while she gets used to it. She's only been in there when I've taken pictures of her with her stuffed animals. he he I have to go buy room-darkening curtains and all, just to make sure its a sleep-friendly environment.

If I have any secrets I will let you know, and same goes for you too. Good luck!

dkny155 · September 2013

Thanks! Wish I could say it's going good but it's not! lol She will lay in there while I put away laundry and stuff but the other day I left her so I could go to the bathroom and I was maybe gone 3-4mins and by the time I got back she was completely hysterical. it's a working progress, this will definitely take some time!

dkny155 · September 2013

Started the cereal on Friday and her morning nap has definitely been longer but hasn't really affected the nighttime sleeping yet. But she is only taking one tablespoon anyway so far. Going to try to up the last bottle at night and see how that goes.

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