Dream feed-is it really worth it?

[Flo23]

DS2 is almost 11 weeks and a very healthy 15lbs+. Now ffeeding, and feeds 3-4 hourly during day, taking 5-6 oz. DH has been doing dream feed at 10.30 but ds now only taking 2oz ish, then wakes to feed any time between 2 and 5am. If hes going to wake anyway, I think it may be best to leave him. I was hoping to establish the 10 30 feed as it worked really well with ds1.

Thoughts gratefully recieved!

I tried to do a dream feed with ds and he never took to it so I gave up as I didn't see the point as like yours he just woke in the night for a feed anyway. I think some babies are receptive to it, others not. I would say that if he's not taken to it by now and you're not desperate for him to do it, I would revert to simply feeding him when he wakes. As he gets bigger, he'll gradually wake later anyway hopefully.

I never dream fed mine - but both were sleeping right through by 7 weeks (trying not so sound smug, knows she's jst lucky)

My thought would be there would be no point waking a sleeping lo to get 2oz in when they are going to wake a bit later on. Why don't you try no dream feed and see when he wakes on his own. He'd have had uninterrupted deep restful sleep - if he wakes himself at 2ish feed him and then he might be satisfied til morning. Hopefully then 2ish will go to 3ish etc - he's only waking once now so what have you got to lose? Plus you won't be off to bed thinking mmm he on;y had 2oz he'll be waking soon - i can never sleep if i'm listening out for something/someone

Good luck xx

I breast fed, but not sure if that makes much of a difference. I dropped the 10.30 feed at about 5 weeks with both my DDs as it was pretty pointless. They hated waking up at that time and when I stopped it I found it made little difference to the time they woke anyway - at that age both had been waking around 2 to 2.30am when I was doing the 10.30 and woke around 1.30am without it. within no time they were back to the previous waking time of 2.30 which soon extended. I've heard that babies naturally fall into a pattern when they have a longer sleep. For some lucky people that falls betwen 11pm ish and 7am so if they dream feed their baby sleeps through from 11 to 7am in no time. For others the natural long sleep falls between 7pm and the early hours and the dream feed therefore doesn't help.

That was certainly the case with my two. THe early hour feed soon extended though and they were both only a couple of months old when they slep through 7pm to 7am. If the dream feed doesn't make much difference I would definitely drop it.

Countto10, thank you.

DH away on Christmas do, so will leave the feed tonight and hope for the best. Fingers crossed...

Lacking in typing skills, v slow, thanks also for other responses.

I think I'm expecting ds2 to behave in a similar way to ds1 who was sleeping really well by 8 wks. Must stop comparing them!

DH said he was starting to feel like the dream feed was a bit of a force feed, and thats just horrible so will go without it and see what happens(and also I can go to bed earlier tonight..)