Dream Feeding = More Sleep For Mama

DID YOU KNOW | What is dream feeding?⠀
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Trying to get baby to sleep longer stretches at night and getting more sleep for yourself is an elusive luxury as a new mom. ⠀
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Parents try any number of things to get their babies to sleep longer stretches - swaddling, white noise machines, baby massage, etc. ⠀
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🌙 While there are a lot of factors that go into baby sleep, longer stretches of sleep essentially come down to child development and calories. ⠀
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The more milk your baby has in its stomach, the less he /she will wake to eat at night. ⠀
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🌙 We recommend nursing your baby on demand, however, some parents choose to give baby an additional feeding in an effort to get baby to not wake for another middle of the night feed, and garnering a little extra sleep for themselves. ⠀
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🌙 Dream feeds should be administered approximately 2-3 hours after you put baby down for the night but before you go to sleep. ⠀
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• Some advise that the ideal time is around 10/11pm⠀
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🌙 Gently rouse your baby so that he/she is still half-asleep and pick them up to nurse or to give a bottle. ⠀
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❗Be aware of baby’s suck and swallow to avoid baby choking or spitting up ⠀
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🌙 Dream feeds are not recommended for infants. It is advised to add them in after 4 weeks (ideally 6-8 weeks) and then stop around 4 months, or after baby no longer wakes every 3 hours to eat at night⠀
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❗ These feeds DON’T work for all babies. First, we are referring to full-term physically healthy babies. Also, if you have a baby who is a light sleeper then you should probably let he/she sleep rather than risk waking them up. Also, some babies will still wake up to nurse/drink milk despite the additional dream feed.

❗Do you burp a baby after a dream feed?  YES.  You always want to burp a baby after a dream feed - or any feed - before putting him/her back down. 

🌙 To get your little one back down after the dream feed, swaddling, swinging, or sucking can really help.  White noise and rhythmic motion make babies sleepy, which you may try.  Other time-tested tricks are rocking in a rocking chair, walking with your baby in your arms or bouncing on an exercise ball.  

Happy mothering, fabulous moms! 

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