Benefits Of Dream Feeding
Let me first dispel a myth. A dream feed does not necessarily prevent a baby from waking up to eat at night. Although, sometimes it does work. I like dream feeds for young babies because I appreciate the insurance policy of extra calories at night. As long as a baby is young enough that the dream feed itself does not wake them, and fracture their remaining nighttime sleep, a dream feed can insure as many calories as possible during each 24-hour period.
What Are Tips To Get Your Newborn To Sleep At Night
A sleeping baby is key to dream feeding. But, if putting your baby to bed is a struggle, it can be hard to make it happen. To help make bedtime a breeze, check out our tips below.
- Swaddle your newborn. This is not only handy if your baby wakes up, but an effective way to start their bedtime routine. Babies like to feel secure when theyre being put to sleep and swaddling provides that reassurance and support. When your baby is comfortable and feels protected, theyre less likely to wake themselves up. This helps them sleep longer.
- Keep naps to a minimum. Your baby should take naps during the day, but overdoing them can make bedtime hard. Dont let your baby sleep too long in the afternoon and try not to schedule naps too close to bedtime.
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- Put your baby down at your designated bedtime.
- Between 10-11pm, sneak into babys room.
- If your baby is dead asleep, you can rouse her with a wet washcloth, unswaddling, diaper change, etc. Dont wake her fully.
- Use one of the techniques listed above.
- Burp and re-swaddle if necessary
- Put her back to bed
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How To Stop Dream Feeding When To Stop Dream Feeding
It typically works best to try to wean the dream feeding before 6-9 months of age. After that, it can disrupt sleep even more than it helps.
Babies tend to become a lot more alert by that age and will fully wake up, wanting to play when you are trying to sneak in that extra feeding!
If you find that your little one is having a difficult time settling after you have done the dream feed, then that is usually a sign to stop the dream feed.
It is important to remember that this is a short term solution to night wakings and will eventually become a habit.
Some pediatricians will agree that babies do not need feedings in the night after 6 months of age, but every baby is different. so it’s important to know whats normal for night time wakings.
Since a dream feed is typically done to get a little one sleeping through the night, it is definitely best to check in with your pediatrician!
You will wait to drop the dream feeding until your baby is able to sleep from the dream feed to their normal morning wake up time, through any other night feedings.
You may choose to keep the dream feeding at that point, or you may want to wean it.
Once they are sleeping from the dream feeding to the morning wake up and have dropped any night feedings or early morning feedings, you will try to wait about 2 weeks before dropping the dream feed.
When you are ready to drop the feeding, you have a lot of options!
This is important because:
Typically, you cannot soothe a hungry baby without a feeding!
Dream Feed Step : Feed
Hopefully, your baby will now be awake enough to take a decent amount of milk.
Ideally, the Dream Feed wants to be just as large/long as a normal day feed. So if your baby spends 15 mins on the first breast and another 10 minutes on the second, this is what you want to aim for. Or if youre bottle feeding and a typical feed is 150ml, aim for the same at the dream feed.
Steps to encourage a decent amount of milk
The best way to do this is by splitting the Dream Feed
Newborns are liable to doze off mid-feed. If yours is one of these sleepy feeders, firstly try splitting the feed:
- feed off the first breast or half the bottle
- burp and a few minutes play/interaction to wake baby a bit more
- offer the second breast/half of bottle
Tactics to keep baby from drifting off
If your baby starts to fall asleep while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, take a break from feeding and then repeat some of the tactics you used to wake her in the first place simulate another nappy change, wipe down or top-and-tail etc.
In addition, you can try the following while feeding:
- Unlatching and re-latching
- Playing and tickling finger, hands and feet
- Pulling your nipple or bottle teat slowly out of their mouth this can often lead to frantic sucking!
- Dabbing some milk on your babys lips
You can read more about trying to keep your baby awake during a feed here.
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What Ages To Dream Feed
There is a wide variance on what ages to dream feed. You can start a dream feed for your baby at any time or dream feed newborn.
Imagine you have a little one who is really fussy in the late evening hours. It’s probably because of the witching hour baby time period. It’s important to know what age does the witching hour stop and how to handle it. Parents often preemptively feed them during that phase and avoid having another lengthy waking from a fussy baby.
You can definitely introduce this concept at any age, however as a professional, I find it works best prior to 3-4 months of age when they already have multiple night feedings.
How To Start Dream Feeding
If dream feeding is going to be effective, its usually at younger ages though sometimes adding it later can work too! It really and truly is just an experiment since it isnt an evidence based practice.
You can definitely introduce this concept at any age, however as a professional, I find it works best prior to 3-4 months of age when they already have multiple night feedings.
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Weighing The Pros And Cons Of Dream Feeding: A Good Bet For Most Families Especially When Combined With Other Sleep
The fact that nobody yet has conducted a proper test of dream feeding a randomized, controlled experiment designed to isolate its effects on family sleep outcomes shouldnt deter you from trying it.
It might be helpful, and theres no reason to think it could hurt not if your baby is getting enough to eat overall, and not if you avoid waking your baby.
If you are waking your baby each night to feed, then we have to wonder: Could these parent-initiated night wakings interfere with the development of consolidated, nighttime sleep? The question hasnt been tested by rigorous experiments, so we dont yet know.
But if you administer the big feed when your infant is already awake or find that you can feed your sleeping infant without awakening him or her it seems you have nothing to lose by trying. Overall, the pros and cons look like this:
Pros
- The post-feed sleep bout may last longer than usual, giving you more opportunity to grab some of that NREM3 sleep. Even an extra half hour could have an important impact on your health and well-being.
- In combination with other tactics like protecting your baby from artificial lights at night the practice might help speed up the development of more mature nighttime sleep patterns.
Cons
- The tactic is inappropriate for babies who are underweight, or otherwise not thriving. Consult your pediatrician before attempting.
How Do I Know If Dream Feeding Isnt Working
Dream feeding can work for you and your baby, but unfortunately it doesnt work for every baby.
In some cases, dream feeds can have the opposite effect, causing your baby to wake more frequently overnight than what they had previously been doing – sometimes as frequently as every 2 hours. Or, your baby might continue to wake at the same times for feeds overnight, regardless of whether you do the dream feed or not.
This means the dream feed is not working how it should. In this case, the best thing to do is let your baby wake naturally for their feeds overnight. Be sure to try the dream feed for a good week before deciding if it is working or not though. Its important to give your baby time to adjust, as its not always an overnight fix.
Other instances where the dream feed might not work for your baby would be if you were really struggling to wake your baby enough for them to feed well. Or if your baby struggles with wind or reflux, a dream feed can sometimes exacerbate those issues. In both of these cases we would recommend dropping the dreamfeed and letting your baby wake naturally for feeds instead.
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How Do I Wake My Newborn To Feed
Babies are born without an internal clock, so they have no concept of day and night. Even when they are young and frequently awake, you can gently teach them this by separating daytime and nighttime feedings.
To feed your newborn during the time of day, you can:
- Make sure they are completely awake before feeding them changing their wet diaper may help.
- Feed them in a well-lit space.
- Talk to them normally as necessary.
When feeding your baby in the middle of the night feedings, try:
- Keeping the lights off-high
Why Should You Dream Feed
Here is why you should consider dream feeding your baby:
- It provides extra feed or calories to your baby while he is still sleeping. This will make him less hungry and thus he will not wake abruptly for feeds during the night.
- As you feed your baby before he asks for it this may help him feel better without fussing.
- A dream feed is helpful for the parents as well because the parents may get better sleep at night too.
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What Is A Dream Feed Anyway
A dream feed is a feeding you do in the late evening hours before you go to bed. Youll usually have to rouse baby for this feed.
Or rather, baby will be sound asleep typically and you will feed baby while theyre still mostly asleep. Hence the name: dream feed.
Ill get into the details keep reading.
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What Exactly Is Dream Feeding
Tracey Hogg, who first coined the term, defines dream feeding as feeding a young infant while he or she sleeps. To accomplish this, you gently hold your sleeping baby in a feeding position, and try to stimulate the rooting reflex by stroking your babys mouth and offering your baby a breast or bottle. Many babies can feed in this way without waking up .
But some people use the term dream feed differently. For instance, in a blog post, Harvey Karp makes reference to deliberately awakening an infant: Dream feeding is when you wake your baby to feed one more time before you turn in for the night .
And others use the label dream feed to describe any attempt to get your baby to tank up before you yourself go to bed. You might awaken your baby for this purpose, or you might administer the feed when your baby is already awake.
In short, theres a lot of variation in the way dream feeding is defined. But the definitions share a common denominator: the idea of getting a baby to take in a big meal before you doze.
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When To Drop The Dream Feed
Different babies will benefit longer than others
If you consistently offer a Dream Feed from when your baby is small, gradually night feeds should drop one by one. Eventually, the Dream Feed will be the only feed your baby has between 7 pm and 7 am. So your baby will be sleeping from the Dream Feed through to 7am. I count that as sleeping through the night.
So you may want to drop the Dream Feed anytime between 3 and 8 months be led by your baby.
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This Is The Dream Feed Not Working
If you have tried the dream feed and you are trying to re-settle through this 1am wake up, and your baby is not starting to sleep longer than this 1/2am, then I suggest you stop the dream feed and let your baby have its longest stretch of sleep form 7pm-12/1am, when they will probably wake for a feed naturally.
Ideally you would be getting 5-6 hours minimum after a dream feed once your baby is 12 weeks old. If you arent getting close to this, the dream feed isnt working as it should.
Some babies will wake every 2 hours after a dream feed!
This is a sure sign you need to drop the dream feed and allow your baby to naturally sleep longer.
If your baby is much past 6 months old, its time to start thinking about dropping the dream feed, as from here on we run the risk of it disturbing their night sleep patterns and encouraging further wake ups.
If your baby needs a night feed and is well over 6 months, its best to allow them to wake naturally hungry, than schedule a night feed.
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Is It Necessary To Burp Your Baby After Dream Feeding
Its hard to make generalizations that apply to everyone. Different babies may have different quirks and needs. But overall, there is little evidence that burping a baby after a meal is beneficial.
For instance, in controlled study of more than 70 mother-infant pairs, researchers found that burping had no impact on symptoms of infantile colic. And babies randomly assigned to the burping treatment actually showed an increased tendency to regurgitate afterwards . So it doesnt appear that its necessary, or even advisable, to burp you baby after a dream feed.
When To Stop The Dream Feed
It typically works best to try to wean the dream feeding before 6-9 months of age. After that, it can disrupt sleep even more than it helps.
Babies tend to become a lot more alert by that age and will fully wake up, wanting to play when you are trying to sneak in that extra feeding!
If you find that your little one is having a difficult time settling after you have done the dream feed, then that is usually a sign to stop the dream feed.
It is important to remember that this is a short term solution to night wakings and will eventually become a habit.
Some pediatricians will agree that babies do not need feedings in the night after 6 months of age, but every baby is different. so it’s important to know when do babies sleep through the night
Since a dream feed is typically done to get a little one sleeping through the night, it is definitely best to check in with your pediatrician!
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Is A Dream Feed A Full Feed
Since your baby will be snoozing through this feed, it goes without saying that theyre going to be sleepy. In fact, they may be too sleepy to even make it through a full feed. As long as they at least get a snack, though, a dream feed can still be effective.
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Will A Dream Feed Work For Your Child
If youâre wondering whether a dream feed works or if itâs safe for your baby, you can consider some scenarios where it would be a good option.
Your breasts are too full. If you have an abundant milk supply, nursing your baby before you sleep will help you rest better. If your breasts feel too full at night, giving your baby that additional feed should help.
Your baby canât sleep for long hours. Many infants are unable to sleep for long and usually like to feed frequently. Sleeping through the night would mean your baby would miss at least two feeds. Giving them a dream feed right before you sleep allows your infant to sleep for longer without missing out on their feed.
You need to nurse your baby early in the morning. If your infant has a habit of getting up before sunrise for a feed, gradually getting used to a dream feed might be a good idea. This would help them sleep for longer and wake up later for their morning feed. Although it might take some time for their body clock to get used to the routine, it becomes easier over time.
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Set Your Baby Up For Dream Feed Success:
As I mentioned earlier, the one-two punch of adding daytime calories and dream feeds can really work wonders to help babies sleep longer. Try offering cluster feeds from about 4pm till bedtime. Cluster feeds are a series of quick milky meals given to Baby every one to two hours. Theyre meant to load your little ones system with calories to keep them well stocked with nutrition through the night. At the same time, put your little one down for night-night safely swaddled with your trusted white noise on. Consider this another dream team to help Baby sleep better!
At What Age Do You Begin Dream Feeding Baby
There really is no right time to start a dream feed for your baby. Once your baby starts showing signs that he can sleep for longer stretches without needing a feeding every 3 hours, then you could give dream feeding a try.
Around 6 weeks of age is a great time to add a dream feed to your babys routine. But a lot of parents start a dream feed around 2-3 months old.
Babies wont need a dream feed forever. By the time your baby is sleeping longer stretches at night on their own usually 10-12 hours they wont need a dream feed. Some babies will keep this feeding until they are 6 months oldothers will want it up until their first birthday.
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