Dream Feeds

Chances are you've heard other Moms talking about dream feeds or maybe you've been told by someone that it is what you need to do to help your little one sleep better.

So let's talk about dream feeds - what they are, when's a good time to do them and when do they stop being beneficial for you and your baby.

DREAM FEEDS ARE a feeding that you give to your baby while they are still partly asleep right before you go to bed for the night. Once baby has had a complete feed, you then lay your baby back down to sleep. This sometimes results in you getting a longer stretch of sleep before your baby wakes again in the night for another feeding.

If you're anything like me you're probably thinking "that sounds like a really good idea, but what if they wake up completely and can't get them back to sleep?"

So here's some things to consider before adding dream feeds to your routine.

1) The best age to use dream feeds are in the first couple of months (up to 3 months) when your baby only does small stretches between feeds.

2) I would recommend stopping dream feeds at 3 months as your baby is usually capable of doing longer stretches at this age. They are also getting closer to the 4 month regression that could result in the dream feeds turning into a habitual wake up.

3) Dream feeds won't work for everyone. If it's something you want to try, give it a week and if it's not working then it's better for you to just not do it at all.

4) See if your baby can do a long stretch at the beginning of the night before adding the dream feed in. Some baby's are great night time sleepers and adding the dream feed in isn't necessary.

5) Your baby may not wake enough to feed at all so it will be a battle to feed them. In this case, don't push to wake them up or you may have a hard time getting them back to sleep.

To sum it all up, dream feeds aren't always the best option. I don't recommend adding dream feeds into your baby's routine. I've seen a lot of success with not doing them. There are other ways to help your newborn have longer stretches at night. If you'd like to learn more about how you can do this, check out my freebie "6 Secrets to Help Your Newborn Sleep Longer Stretches at Night"