Dream feeding - how does it work????

[kelmcd]

I have heard lots of people referring to dream feeding - I have an idea of what it is but could someone explain in more detail for me
My DS is 6 weeks old and think it will help us in the late evening when we struggle to get back to sleep. He ends getting over tired and not being able to settle for couple of hours.
Would a dream feed at this point help do you think?????

try reading these threads, I dont know much about it myself.

here
and
here

Google often has mumsnet discussions at the top

We put DS to bed about 6.30-7ish, he then sleeps til about 10.30 when we get him up (in the dark, like a nightfeed) and feed him - he's almost asleep. Helps him go through the night without feeding.

Having said that I think we need to cut it out now as he's losing interest in his morning feed, but certainly helped when he was smaller. He's 5 mo now.

my dd has had dream feeds since she was 2weeks & i think it has helped her sleep better. As others have said you put them to bed, my dd goes around 8ish, then when dh & myself are going to bed at about 10:30/11:00 i give her a bottle of ebm. You just pick them up out of the cot without waking them & feed them, sucking is a reflex so they just drink it down. If bf you can just feed from breast as normal, but with my dd i've always found giving expressed milk helps as i know she's had a decent feed rather than just a sleepy comfort suck)I think at about 6 weeks dd would drink about 4/5oz & then sleep til about 5am. Now at 20 weeks she takes 9oz & sleeps through til 9am. Hope that helps!

Kelm - I also use EBM for the 10-11 dreamfeed and DH gives the feed. I express milk at about 9/ 9.30 and head to bed. DH feeds/ winds/ settles bub and at the moment DS is going for about 4 - 4 1/2 hrs after that feed. Basically giving me 4-5 hours sleep. Doesnt give me that much sleep all the time, but on the nights he does - it is fab!

my DS1 had a dream feed from 3months. i dont know whethere it helped him to sleep through but he had it to keep his milk intake at the right amount (he was FF) he used to stay asleep for it. However DS2 is breatfed and i didn't use EBM i just used to feed, got a really bad back from bending over, tryin not to move him, but he stil woke up and thne wouldn't settle.

try and see

I've only ever successfully dreamfed one of my children - and even then it was only once!!! So much for "sucking being a natural reflex"............well yes it is if they open their mouth and you actually manage to get a nork or bottle in - otherwise you're buggered

The first few times I tried to df both my dd's the would not suck, would not open mouths, would not wake at all. i gave up then with dd1, with dd2, after a few nights so would. no idea why. this is bf though. with a bottle she would scream. didn't make her sleep much more though, tbh, she is a rubbish sleeper and now at 7 months is still waking 3 times a night. she wakes around 11 anyway just when i would be dfing her anyway!

None of my babies went to bed before us until they were about 3m old. Until then they slept on the sofa in the living room with us, or in the carrycot downstairs. I treated the evening just like the daytime, responding with feeding, playing, or sleeping, according to their cues. When we went to bed we put the baby to bed as well.

We only started dreamfeeding once they were being put to bed at around 7 o'clock. They were all very dopey feeders during the early weeks, and waking them to feed during a natural sleep-time wouldn't have worked. But when they were older they were able to feed without fully waking, and the dreamfeed worked very well then.

At 6w some babies will be happy going to bed after a feed, but some need to cluster-feed during the evening to build up a stock for the first part of the night.