Dream Feeding- How, What and When is it time to Drop?
For some babies under 4-5 months of age, a dream feed can help extend nighttime sleep and prolong the time between bedtime and their next feed. For other babies….not so much.
A dream feed is a late night, low stimulus, minimally disruptive feed.
Baby is kept asleep and often swaddled during their dream feed. Dream feeds can be great for breastfeeding moms who are trying to maintain their supply. However, around 5 months old, dream feeding can become more disruptive than helpful. If baby is only eating for 2-3 minutes, or isn’t actively eating and/or is puckering their lips closed, it’s time to drop the dream feed! And guess what, they’re likely going to wake up at the exact same time for their next feed whether they had a dream feed or not! In many instances, they’ll even sleep longer since there is no disruption!
I have two children and while dream feeding definitely helped with my daughter’s sleep, it did not help with my son. All babies are different! For my daughter, I continued to dream feed her and each week she’d extend the amount of time before she’d wake for her next feed, until she phased out her feeds on her own at 13 weeks. My son however, whether I dream fed him or not did NOT change when he woke for his next feed! In this instance it’s much more beneficial to drop the dream feed because unbroken night sleep is more beneficial then rousing baby for an unnecessary feed. He needed a night feed MUCH longer than she did. Both breastfed, both had the same routines, they were just different babies!
To be successful at dream feeding, try it for a week straight, keep baby’s sleep space dark and low stimulus. If it does not prolong their sleep or they aren’t actually eating, dream feeding is not right for your baby, and that’s okay!
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