Welcome to the world of dream feeding, a technique designed to help both you and your baby enjoy more restful nights during the early months of motherhood.
Dream feeding is a valuable technique for moms seeking to maximize both their baby's sleep and their own. It involves offering your baby a feed while they are still asleep or drowsy. Here's a closer look at dream feeding and how you can make it work for you:
Dream feeding is when you don’t fully wake your baby to feed them, often at night before you go to bed. The goal is to help your schedule sync with your baby’s, and then hopefully you’ll both be able to get better sleep. While dream feeding is popular and can be useful, it’s not necessary–some babies don’t like to dream feed, and that’s okay too!
Dream feeding is usually introduced when your baby reaches the age of 2-4 months, but the right time can vary. Always consult your pediatrician for tailored advice.
You do not have to fully wake your baby to feed them. In fact, the goal of dream feeding is to avoid fully waking your baby so that they can get plenty of sleep. However, if your baby wakes up for the feeding, it’s not necessarily cause for concern–you can try to be gentler so as not to wake them.
Some families get more sleep with dream feeding, and others don’t find it useful. If a baby is waking up in the middle of the night, and the reason has nothing to do with hunger, dream feeding might not help. However, dream feeding can become part of a sleep training routine and the practice of feeding babies when they’re not fully awake is what makes so many parents eager to embrace dream feeding.
In theory, your baby gets the same amount of sleep regardless of when you feed them, but if you can avoid waking them during the feeding, and if you shift the longest stretch of sleep between feedings to begin later in the night, YOU can have more time to sleep in.
Every baby is different, and while there isn’t a universal recommendation for when to stop dream feeding–it really comes down to what works for your family. Generally speaking, as babies grow, they are able to sleep on their own for longer stretches of time without feeding, and many babies will be able to sleep through the night on their own around the age of 9 months old.
Not all babies take to dream feeding, and that's perfectly normal. You can try different techniques, sticking to a more rigid routine, or give your baby time to grow into more mature sleeping habits on their own. After all, it could be that your little eater is just someone who doesn’t like to miss out on a chance to fully enjoy a meal!
As with most things, practice makes perfect—and rest assured, you’ll get plenty of diaper-changing practice those first couple of years. In no time you’ll be a pro and be able to tackle your baby’s diaper with confidence. For more tips and resources on all things baby, including nutrition and feeding, be sure to join Enfamil Family Beginnings®. Enjoy up to $400 in savings, plus exclusive rewards, support, and surprises.
Join NowAll information on Enfamil, including but not limited to information about health, medical conditions, and nutrition, is intended for your general knowledge and is not a substitute for a healthcare professional's medical identification, advice, or management for specific medical conditions. You should seek medical care and consult your doctor or pediatrician for any specific health or nutrition issues. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment, care, or help because of information you have read on Enfamil.
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