I have read a little bit about it. I'm assuming its for babies a few months old not newborns. Is it just a night feed without waking them up?
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I have read a little bit about it. I'm assuming its for babies a few months old not newborns. Is it just a night feed without waking them up?
my understanding is you feed them while they are asleep or not fully awake, leaving them to sleep for longer, ive never intentionally officially done it.p. I think it can also be used to describe no stimulation while feeding at night so no lights or noise for night feeds? but im not sure
You can start at anytime. Some mums like to give their babies a top up feed just before they go to bed while baby is still asleep (saves waiting for them to wake or being woken just after falling asleep yourself).
It never made a difference to my babies, they would wake at their usual time anyway. It really only worked if it was actually their feed time and they hadn't woken, but it can backfire and wake up baby instead.
I found following baby's cues easier. It's a long road to surrender this motherhood business. It's worth trying a dream feed if you like, it's worth trying everything I think, because every baby is so different!!
It worked great for my now 4 year old - last feed at 6:30ish, then feed at 10pm. Started at about 10weeks, kept doing until 12+ months? At first I actually had to wake her (strip her down etc) then after a week shes do it automatically - lights left low, little talking. She'd then sleep through to 4am ish until she started sleeping through till 7am.
Give it a whirl for a week or so and see how it goes. Never worked for my sisters kids - she couldn't wake em enough for it to work.
Hmmm, she wakes every 3-4 hours at night anyway. And when do late feeds I just put the TV on and no lights. I think she might be learning the difference between night and day. Can they at 3.5 weeks? Maybe i'll try when she sleeps through the night a bit longer. say 4-6 hours. Poor DH was stuck with her cranky mood last night. He fed her at 9:30 and she just wouldn't settle! She would drift off to sleep and then wake 10 minutes after, for hours. I am finding she fights till the death over sleeping! I just got her off to sleep now, but she will be due to feed in an hour anyway! :wall:
Worked for me, but probably at about 12 weeks. Before I'd go to bed I'd pick her up and give her a top up feed. Some nights she'd have more than others.
She only stopped a couple months ago with the dream feed.
Some babies will feed in their sleep and some just won't. You can just try and see if it works.
I started using it with DD3 fairly early on. I would give her a dream feed around 10pm, but it was more so that I could go to bed knowing I'd get at least a couple of hours before having to wake for another feeding session. She was until very recently a shocking sleeper, so that initial block of sleep was the best I'd get all night. It certainly didn't work for prolonging her sleep or helping her sleep through the night - purely for my benefit.
Neither DDs 1 or 2 had dream feeds. I tried a few times with each but they either flat out refused the feed, or they woke for it and then were cranky and took ages to settle. Worth giving it a try, but also be prepared for it not to work. Like MadB said, they all come with a different set of rules so don't feel like you're doing something wrong if your LO doesn't take to it.
I dream fed DD for ages. The first few goes didnt work- she simply didn't stir to latch on. But one night she did and we took it from there. Just picked her up and popped her on... I made sure my boobs were ready and waiting - ie not fiddling to unbutton or push things out of the way while baby was in my arms.
Oh and for us the dream feed did make her sleep longer through the night for sure.
I tried dreamfeeding but it quickly became clear that it did not affect my girls and their feeding times.
Instead ofo trying to top them up before I went to bed, which what most who dreamfeed do, I just stayed up until a particular feed time. Would feed then crash after I put them down.
DD1 taught me the best/worst lesson about routines though. Everyone always told me a lot of babies like the 3hr routine, in other words I could expect dd to sleep in 3hr blocks.. What dd taught me was that that 3hr block included everything, nappy change, awake time, feed time and all. Sometimes that would take 2hrs to get done before she was back asleep, then she would be back up exactly 3hrs after the last round started. Sometimes it took us less time and she would sleep longer. And then if I couldnt get her settled in that 3hr period, then it would just be groundhog day, and the routine would start again.
^^This. Dream feeding didn't 'work' for us - my DD just kept waking 3-4 hourly overnight. I just let her decide when to feed in the end b/c it made no difference in her sleeping for a longer stretch. Like MadB said, you can only try.:
So you usually pick up bubs out of the cot asleep and attach them on & they feed then you put them back to bed and hope like crazy they sleep for a longer stretch! lol Usually the dreamfeed is between 10-11pm at night.
I'd be too scared to wake her considering how long we spend trying to get her to sleep sometimes!! Lol
i was the same, was scared to try a dream feed once i actually had a sleeping child.
Just a thought, are you trying to get her to sleep too early? Maybe she likes to check out the world for abit before going to sleep.
Neither if my girls dream fed. Dd2 wakes between 10-11 anyway so I just feed her then
We did a dream feed before I went to bed only if it were at least 2 hours (or three, as he got older) since the last feed, and it worked well for us between about 6 weeks and 6 months. Then, as he could easily go longer between feeds, we stopped doing it, as it wasn't changing how often he'd wake me up in the night for another feed anyway. And I started going to bed earlier- 9.30ish, so it was rarely more than 3 hours since that last feed.
I was able to dreamfeed DS1 and DS2 from when they were newborns. As has been explained, I would just gently pick them up, put them on the breast immediately once I'd sat down, feed them and put them back down in their cot. All with lights off (just a dim nightlight) and no talking to them. They slept through the night from very early ages (3 months old and 3 weeks old, respectively - and this was their lead, not mine). For whatever reason I don't dreamfeed DS3. I have done it, and he will happily feed while asleep, but whether he gets a late night snack or not, he will still wake in the wee hours for a feed.
I'd agree with other comments, some babies will dream feed and some won't.
HotI, that's what takes so long sometimes. It's still taking me 40 minutes just to feed and then she's wide awake most times so i play for a while and then finally put her down. And then it starts again in an hour lol
I might start doing it in the next few weeks...give it a try. At the moment she is feeding around 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 and then 12-1. So I would feed at say 10:30? And hopefully shed sleep till when? 3am?
I'd stop playing at the night feed, including the 6.30 one so she starts to realize its sleep time. For that feed, just prior we started a bedtime routine, so bath, massage, feed then bed. Dim lights, minimal interaction etc... I also never chatted, had bright lights, unwrapped , anything really to rouse my DD out of her sleepy state when she woke for feeds during night times/overnight. Try the rollover feed tonight about 11 as i think at 10.30 it will be too close to the 9.30 feed. Are you waking her for the 9.30 feed? If so, then I'd push her out to 10/10.30pm and do it as a dreamfeed - so don't wake, just attach her on.:
Thanks RhiChiChi. I usually do the bath at 6pm and feed at 6:30. She hates the bath though, screams the house down. And the night feeds I just put the tv on, no lights, no talking. But DH does the 9:30 feed and he will usually let her sleep over if she does. And she is in the bassinet in the lounge with him. I guess I could try the 12.30 feed as the dream feed and make it 11:30...
If she hates the bath Tash maybe try a shower with her. Two of mine have much preferred a shower over the bath in the early months and the skin to skin contact with Mum or Dad is very relaxing for them. Very good when you first try it though for both parents to be around - one to get in the shower and the other to pass bub in, and then to take bub out again to dry.
Just thought I'd mention you don't need to bath a newborn everyday if she isn't a fan and it is just stressing her out. Or maybe try moving it to a different time of day?
I found putting a facewasher on my DD tummy when in the bath helped, she didn't seem so stressed being naked!
DH filled the bath up more last night and more water covered her. She still screamed when we took her clothes off, but was better when we put her in.
Do you pop her in a baby bath or get in the bath with her babe? When both my girls were little they loved it when is get in the bath with them, and they could lay on my chest, have a feed etc. It was very relaxing for us both, maybe worth a try :)
My daughter didn't like the water so a friend who works in NICU suggested this and it worked great. Wrap them up tight in the cloth nappy like a normal swaddling and once they are in bath unwrap it little bit at a time til they get used to it.
Well tonight was completely different! I undressed her and she didn't scream. I put her in the water and she didn't scream. She was quiet and seemed to be enjoying it! DH ran to get his phone so he could record it LOL. She did scream when I took her out, but otherwise it was great! :) .