Having a newborn at home would result in adjusting your sleeping schedule according to your baby’s feeding patterns. When your baby is in the newborn stage, they would require you to wake up frequently at night as they would be requiring frequent feeding. But if your baby has passed the newborn stage and is still waking you up at night for frequent feeding, you may have to take the help of dream feeding.
Dream feeding or feeding a baby in a half-asleep state will help them and you get back to a peaceful sleep. Mothers who have had restless nights thus far, find comfort in the fact that they can nurse their baby back to sleep. But you can’t continue dream of feeding for as long as you are breastfeeding. Here are a few more facts you need to know.
In This Article
- What is Dream Feeding?
- How Does Dream Feed Help Babies?
- Benefits of Dream Feeding
- Drawbacks of Dream Feeding
- When Can You Start Dream Feeding a Baby?
- How Can You Dream Feed a Baby?
- When Should You Stop Dream Feeding?
- How Can You Stop Dream Feeding?
- FAQ’s
What is Dream Feeding
Well, a dream feed is something given to a baby at night at around 10-11 or when your baby is about to fall asleep. Dream feeding is when you rouse your baby in their half-awake state and do not wake them up thereafter. Dream feeding is done when you encourage your baby sleep for longer without any disruptions.
Furthermore, dream feeding helps to reduce your baby’s frequent wakeups at night. It is like a night meal for babies so that a baby can sleep peacefully for longer and the parents can also sleep through the night.
Every parent is aware that their baby would wake up at night a couple of times or even more as they might feel hungry at any time of the day and for this dream feeding would be the most feasible thing to do.
How Does Dream Feed Help Babies?
Dream feeding is beneficial for both babies as well as parents. As we have discussed above, you should dream of feeding your baby at night when your baby is just about to fall asleep. The reason behind dream feeding is that your baby will be able to sleep longer without any kind of interruptions. This is because their tummy is full just before they go to bed. Dream feeding will help keep your little one’s stomach full for a little longer.
Newborns have a habit of waking up many times in the night because of several reasons. Either they need a feed, or they have a full diaper. Babies have a high metabolism and a tiny stomach. This makes them feel hungry at night, leading to disturbed sleep for you and your baby. But with dream feeding, baby and you would just have to wake up once in the middle of the night. This means that you can have more sleep time than before.
Benefits of Dream Feed
There are ample benefits of dream feeding for babies as well as for parents. Let’s discuss both of them below.
1. Promotes Longer Stretch of Sleep Overnight
One main thing about dream feeding is that it encourages a longer stretch of sleep for babies at night. This means that you and your baby can easily sleep for longer hours without any disruptions at night. Usually, infants have a habit of waking up frequently at night and this habit of theirs results in tiredness in mothers. Hence, it’s quite beneficial to dream feed your baby at night for a good sleep.
2. Helps The Baby Receive Adequate Calories
Your baby requires feeding at regular intervals. This means that even during the night hours, your baby wakes up to take a feed. But sometimes due to a hectic schedule, you may not be able to wake up at night to feed your baby and this is when dream feeding helps. It helps you to feed your baby at night before going to bed which keeps your baby’s tummy full for longer hours.
3. Beneficial For Underweight Babies
If you think your baby is underweight, then dream feeding would probably help get those extra 50-100 calories into your child daily. So, you must talk to your doctor and ask them whether you should dream feed every day, or once a week, or how it should be. They will give you a clear view of the same. It is also good for babies who do not eat much and are very picky once they start solids.
4. Your Baby is Dehydrated or Not Drinking Enough Fluids After Starting Solids
If your baby isn’t taking enough fluids, it is good to dream feed them at night so that they stay hydrated throughout. It should be done without fail when they are sick.
Drawbacks of Dream Feeding
Dream feeding can be extremely beneficial for newborns and toddlers but at the same time, it can have some drawbacks as well. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind while thinking about feeding your baby. Keep reading:
1. Babies Get Used to Night Feedings
One con of dream feeding is that after a certain point of time while dream feeding, your baby becomes used to that nighty bottle of milk which isn’t the right thing. When you dream feed your baby regularly, they become dependent on it, and they are not able to sleep without having the milk.
2. Not Great to Consume Milk at Night
Night milk consumption regularly may not be a good idea as the sugars present in milk may interfere with dental health making it harmful for your baby’s teeth, especially if they have started teething.
When Can Start You Start Dream Feeding a Baby?
In the initial 2 to 3 months of life, a baby has tiny stomach and will get up every 2 to 3 hours to feed. After this phase is over, they are likely to sleep at longer stretches waking up 2 to 3 times at night. This is a good time to try out dream feeding for your baby.
Most parents start dream feeding between 6-8 weeks. You can even dream feed your baby even at 6 months old as there’s never too late to start a habit. Moreover, they would increase their caloric needs around this time too and this will meet their increasing energy requirements.
How Can You Dream Feed a Baby?
There are no special rules for dream feeding your baby. This is a basic dream feeding thing and you can adjust it to your own needs and lifestyle:
- Put your baby to bedtime as usual
- After some time, analyze when your baby has entered a semi-awake state,
- Place the milk bottle or breast near your baby’s lips, but don’t force them. They will latch themselves,
- After your baby has settled back to sleep, go to bed and sleep peacefully.
- Hopefully, you won’t hear from your baby for at least 3 to 4 hours.
When Should You Stop Dream Feeding?
Most babies will be able to sleep through the night by the time they are about 9 months old. Around this time, you can stop dream feeding. First analyze whether or not, dream feeding is working for you. If it is, then you may continue it for as long till your baby is around 8 to 9 months. There’s no harm in setting extra feeding time for your baby, especially if it’s leading you to a peaceful sleep.
How Can You Stop Dream Feeding?
There are three ways you can try out stopping dream feeding for your baby.
1. You can go cold turkey which means that you can simply stop giving your baby night feeds. But this method may have a lot of crying and difficulty involved.
2. Try giving your baby extra milk before going to bed. This will keep them full at night and reduce their need to wake up.
3. Thirdly, you can also slowly reduce the quantity of night feed and stop it completely.
You can combine methods 2 and three where you can slowly increase the quantity of bedtime milk and reduce the dream feed quantity.
Dream feeding is beneficial in helping slightly grown babies who are older than about 3 months of age have a peaceful sleep through the night. Having said that, you should stop dream feeding as your baby grows older as it can interfere with their sleeping pattern, and they can get habituated to needing a feed to fall back asleep.
FAQ’s
1. What is Dream Feeding And How do You do it?
A dream feeding is exactly as it sounds. You feed your baby in a dreamy state or semi-awake state by rousing them and initiating a feeding session.
2. Do You Change a Diaper During a Dream Feed?
You must make as little stimulation as possible. If you initiate a diaper change for your baby, it will wake them up, so it’s better to avoid it.
3. Should You Burp Your Baby After a Dream Feed?
Yes, you should burp your baby even after a dream feed. This will give them relief and they will be able to aim for a sound sleep.
