Dreamfeed {Poll Discussion}

The dreamfeed is the feeding you do in the 10-11 PM hour. You get baby, feed him/her without waking him up too much, and then put baby back down for the night. The idea is that your baby will then sleep longer through the night. It works for many babies! But not for all. Let’s discuss your dreamfeed experience.

 

Please take a moment to answer the questions below. Doing so will help other parents now and in the future. It is very helpful for me when compiling answers if you at least number the answers you give. You can also copy the questions and answer them. If the question does not apply to you, simply put “N/A.”

  1. Did your baby do well with the dreamfeed right away or did you have to work at it for a time first?
  2. What time did you do the dreamfeed?
  3. Was your baby sensitive to the exact time the dreamfeed happened? (for example, did great if dreamfeed at 10:35 but not if it was at 10:45)
  4. Did the dreamfeed seem to help baby sleep longer through the night/help baby wake up less during the night?
  5. What age did you drop the dreamfeed?
  6. Why did you drop the dreamfeed?
  7. Would you try to do dreamfeed with your next baby?
  8. Any words of wisdom for parents out there?

5 thoughts on “Dreamfeed {Poll Discussion}”

  1. 1. Did your baby do well with the dreamfeed right away or did you have to work at it for a time first? We tried it and it interrupted sleep so much for both myself and the baby. My husband finally said why don't you let her sleep. So that's what I did. Instead of dream feeding then sleeping all night, my kids would sleep til 4-5am. When they woke on their own, I'd feed like a dream feed (quiet, dark, no diaper change) and then put them right back to bed. (This was of course after the all night feeding sessions stopped :))2. What time did you do the dreamfeed? NA3. Was your baby sensitive to the exact time the dreamfeed happened? NA4. Did the dreamfeed seem to help baby sleep longer through the night/help baby wake up less during the night? They woke up more, because they still woke up when they wanted. It did not help them sleep longer, just made me have to stay up later!5. What age did you drop the dreamfeed? For both kids it was around 6 months that we dropped that 4-5am feeding.6. Why did you drop the dreamfeed? They weren't eating for it. It was more for comfort.7. Would you try to do dreamfeed with your next baby? NoAny words of wisdom for parents out there? Just know it may not work for you and that's ok!

    Reply
  2. 1. She did very well with the dreamfeed.2. The time changed depending on her schedule, age, and how well the night was going. It started out at 11:00 so that she'd make it longer into the night, but staying up that late is hard for me, so I started moving it back until it was at 10:00 and it stayed there for a while, and now it's at 9:30.3. No.4. Yes.5. We dropped it around 6-7 months (don't remember exactly), but then when she turned 8 months old, she had a terrible month of not sleeping through the night. (teething, Wonder Week, 3 new skills, then a growth spurt) So we added it back in, which helped. She's now almost 10 months and we're still doing it. It doesn't seem to disturb her sleep, so we haven't dropped it yet, but we probably will try to again soon.6. We dropped it around 6 months because I knew that when a baby is older, it can actually disturb sleep instead of helping. 7. Absolutely yes!8. Besides being cozy, the dreamfeed is also a great time to make sure baby is at a comfortable temperature, and hasn't leaked through her diaper. (I'd much rather do a diaper/pajama/sheets change at 10:00 than at 2:00am.)

    Reply
  3. Oh, I should add that my baby is small – just 15 pounds now at almost 10 months. She's healthy, just small, which is another reason we don't feel too much pressure to drop the dreamfeed.

    Reply
  4. 1. Did your baby do well with the dreamfeed right away or did you have to work at it for a time first? I would unswaddle him and begin the feeding. At first he WOULD NOT WAKE UP even to eat, or he would begin eating and then fall asleep during the feeding. I would sometimes have to turn his room lamp on, rub his feet like crazy, and change his diaper mid-feeding just to keep him up enough to eat. He eventually got to where he would at least finish the bottle, but he never opened his eyes at all even with the unswaddling, diaperchange, and reswaddling at the end. 2. What time did you do the dreamfeed? 10PM3. Was your baby sensitive to the exact time the dreamfeed happened? I fed at 10PM majority of the time, and sometimes I would fall alseep and not do the dream feed until 11pm. He was find either time. 4. Did the dreamfeed seem to help baby sleep longer through the night/help baby wake up less during the night? YES!5. What age did you drop the dreamfeed? 8/12 weeks 6. Why did you drop the dreamfeed? He wasn't waking up at all during the feeding, so I thought I'd try dropping it and it worked. The first couple of nights after dropping it, he did wake up at 5AM / 5:30AM so I went in and fed and also fed again at my preferred wake time of 7AM. After that, he slept until 7AM on his own and eventually until 7:30AM on his own. 7. Would you try to do dreamfeed with your next baby? YES!Any words of wisdom for parents out there? Stick to a consistent schedule for morning wake up time and last bottle of the night! Let the baby cry it out unless of course you know something isn't right!

    Reply

Leave a Comment