Dream feed

Rachnan · August 2014

We just started EASY today and are following a schedule from the Baby Whisperer to start a schedule as well. DS has take 4 6oz bottles today and the book recommends a dream feed before 11. I've never done this before. For those with experience, would you recommend the dream feed? Any suggestion on how to do it without waking LO up?

MamaFantastic · August 2014

What is his current waking/eating schedule? What are you trying to accomplish... weaning off a later night feeding? Something else?

Rachnan · August 2014

Eat at 7, 11, 3 and 7. We are really just trying to establish a schedule/routine. Typically his last feed of the day was around 9 or 10pm and we are attempting to move bedtime up.

Cecilbear · August 2014

I dream feed all the time. LO is EBF though, so I hand express a tiny bit so that she smells milk and then move her mouth and nose around my nip a bit until she latches. Sometimes she's too sleepy and I don't force it.

Boston*bride · August 2014

We did Babywise starting at eight weeks, which I think is very similar to EASY. I also know it's incredibly controversial...but whatever, it worked for us. Like anything, I think you have to exercise good judgement. We always fed LO if he was hungry, but trying to establish the cycles of activity-- feeding right after a nap, waketime, putting down for a nap while awake-- worked for us.

LO is now 14 weeks. Previously, we put him down at 8:30, did a dreamfeed around 11:30, and then he would sleep through until 7 am. In the past week or so he has shortened his naps and lengthened his nighttime sleep. So now we go down at 7 am and do the dreamfeed at 10:30. I was nervous but he is still making it through until morning!

My advice: make sure all the lights are turned off or down low and minimize noise. We pick LO up gently (he starts making sucking noises as soon as we pick him up, it's so cute), cuddle him but don't talk to him, give him a bottle on the couch, and then just put him right back down. He usually doesn't wake up, but the nice thing about the method is they learn to put themselves to sleep. Last night he woke up as I was laying him down. He smiled at me, and then turned his head and fell back asleep.

We're big fans of the method! I will say that while we do have a routine, we don't have a set schedule. He naps *around* the same time every day but it's not exact. It is the routine-- feed, wake, sleep, repeat-- that seem to be effective.

Good luck!

LindsayB0505 · August 2014

The dream feed is supposed to extend the first stretch of sleep. But it never worked for us. I also could never get him to nurse and wasn't willing to wake him up. So I would pump a bottle and DH would feed him before he came to bed. He would be asleep and just shove the bottle in and he'd start drinking. Don't even take them out of their crib.

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