Dream Feeding

[jennifer1981]

Could someone explain to me about what dream feeding is?

I've read a book called the baby whisperer and can vaguely recall something about it in there but cant remember properly

Is it supposed to help LO sleep longer through the night?

 

[kalia]

It's when you feed baby without waking him or her. It's so sweet to see DD drinking away while pretty much asleep

 

[jennifer1981]

My LO usually goes every 3 hours between feeds. If he fed at 6pm then 9pm then midnight etc when are you supposed to try and dream feed him to get him to sleep through a bit longer?

 

[Becs]

I never understood how you do this and wind the baby or don't you?

 

[Sherlock]

My LO usually goes every 3 hours between feeds. If he fed at 6pm then 9pm then midnight etc when are you supposed to try and dream feed him to get him to sleep through a bit longer?

At 6 weeks I'd still be demand feeding. When LO wakes and is hungry feed, if not then leave to sleep at night.

FWIW I've found that breastfeeding a dreamfeed now LO is older backfires on me. He will then wake through the night at least twice (after midnight and before 6am) if I dreamfeed him once he has gone down for the night. So our bedtime atm for him is between 8-9pm and we have a looooooooooooooooooong feed in 2 parts and this works far better. He has a bath and then I bring him upstairs, dry him and stick him on my boob. He'll feed well and then we have 10-15 minutes to get sleepsuit on etc and then he goes into his sleeping bag and back on my boob. The second part of the feed is a lot slower and he then feeds till he nods off or comes off my boob. Pop him in his cot and he is away for the night till about 7am now If he does stir in the night we don't go to him but see if he settles back down again. More often than not he does. Even if he wakes he doesn't scream for food and will settle again with a bit of comfort and his mobile on.

I don't know why the dreamfeed doesn't work for us. Their tummies can last 8 hours plus at least from about 10-12 weeks old and usually then feeding overnight is more a comfort thing than actually being really hungry.

If you are bottlefeeding chances are your LO will start go to longer at night than a breastfed baby. But their bodies should adapt by 12 weeks to going at least a fair stretch overnight without feeding.

 

[Sherlock]

I never understood how you do this and wind the baby or don't you?

You don't wind them usually.

If dreamfeeding they tend to be far more relaxed and not guzzling etc so not sucking in so much air. If baby remains asleep and happy then just pop back into the cot/basket and let them be.

I only used to wind Galen if he woke up after grizzling and kicking his legs. Both sure signs he needed winding. 9 times out of 10 he never stirred.

 

[daftscotslass]

We only started doing it when she dropped her late evening feed and started to wake up hungry at about 1-2am. She went to bed about 7.30/8pm, dreamfeed at 11ish and then she slept till 4/5. A few weeks later we went away to parents in law and were so tired after travelling that we forgot to give her the 11pm feed and she slept through anyway.

Not sure if it's worth it when LO is still on frequent feeds at night, though.

 

[Jade&Evie]

I dreamfed Evie for about a week and TBH I don't think it made any difference- she'd only take a couple of ozs and still wake up the same time to have her nappy changed!

I feed on demand still and that seems to work better for us x

 

[debecca]

WARNING: DO NOT DREAMFEED IF:

1. Your baby is particularly windy and burps lots normally. They will struggle to burp and if you don't wind them they'll be full of gas and scream for most of the next day.

2. Your baby is a good sleeper when asleep as they'll get mardy if you try to pick them up for a feed at 11pm - the alternative is to leave them til they wake up (12/1) and go to bed at 9 yourself - then they'll gradually wake later and later and then hopefully one day never wake up at all without any worries about whether to drop a feed

Can you tell dreamfeeding never worked for us?! Ha ha

 

[CoreysMummy]

I dreamfed Evie for about a week and TBH I don't think it made any difference- she'd only take a couple of ozs and still wake up the same time to have her nappy changed!

Snap! I tried it a few times, but he still woke at the same time, and I could never get more than about 2-3 oz in him... So it never worked for me!! Shame really as he sleeps 7pm till atleast 4am - If he fed at 11, then hed go thru til about 8am (thats when he wakes in the morning, but feeds at 4/5am n goes back down)

When he wakes to feed at 4-5am, he litterally sucks the bottle down with his eyes shut.. I pat him on the back while I go back to his room, if no burp (there never is) he goes back down, and has never stired with wind...

 

[lfc_sarah]

Ive never tried it

Callum sleeps through fine anyway

 

[Charlie:-)]

Some nights it works for us and some it doesnt and Maia ends up waking at 5 ish after her dream feed at 11pm.

I find that if I feed her from me then she doesnt take a lot cause she is too sleepy but if hubby gives her a bottle of ebm then she usually sleeps till 7am ish.

When she was fairly new I would dream feed her myself and she would feed normally from me but as she is now a bit older she's just too sleepy to take a full feed from me.