What Is A Dreamfeed & When Should I Do It?
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Dreamfeeding is a great way to get your baby to stay asleep and fuller longer, but I get asked very often, what is this and how do you do it? Dreamfeeding is in fact feeding your baby while they are fully asleep. It sounds like a weird concept, but it works! Babies become in such a relaxed state while they are sleeping they just open and feed, it is amazing!
How and when should you dreamfeed? You can dreamfeed with your newborn baby right from start. A dreamfeed usually takes place between 10pm-11:30pm. You take them swaddled in the environment they are sleeping in; pick them up and bottle or breast-feed them. Burp them after well and lay them back down.
What will this do? This will help your baby stay asleep longer and help them increase their ability to sleep longer. It is basically a top-up before you go to bed for the night. If you are already asleep try setting an alarm to wake and do the dreamfeed. Helping them elongate their sleep will be very beneficial. Additionally, Mommy gets more uninterrupted shuteye!
Should you do it at the same time every night? I usually recommend doing the dreamfeed within the same time range (10pm-11:30pm) but not at the same time every night. Now why is this? Because this way your baby is not regulated to an exact time and therefore when you choose to drop the feeding, they will not be in shock making it much easier for both of you.
Remember not every baby is the same. Some babies love the dreamfeed and some babies don’t. Some baby’s sleep longer and better, others actually wake and get disturbed with dreamfeeds. Just try it and take note of how your baby sleeps with the dreamfeed, is it the same? Or is it better? This way you can see if your baby does well with it and whether you should continue it. Most babies love it and sleep longer and better. Around 3 months you can wean off the dreamfeed and just let your little one sleep. Enjoy the extra shuteye!
Happy Dreamfeeding Mommies!
