Dream feeds
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Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5840
Printed Date: 19 December 2025 at 7:40pm
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Topic: Dream feeds
Posted By: thunderwolves
Subject: Dream feeds
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 5:54pm
| just wondering, if you are going to offer a bottle for a dream feed, how much should i offer, His usual amount, or less since its just a top up, thought i might give it a try tonite, also a bit worried it might wake him up too much and we will end up playing for a few hours... |
Replies:
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 7:13pm
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I give the girls a dream feed and they usually take a full normal(140ml) bottle. I don't wake them, I just get them out of the cot still wrapped and feed them in their sleep, then put them straight back down. They usually only half wake and settle quickly. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 7:33pm
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What is a dream feed?? Ive never heard of it, sounds interesting thou. I think its bottle feeding your baby while they are asleep???? Just a guess from what Ems said but still not getting the concept ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 7:38pm
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kels its instead of waiting for your baby to wake in the wee small hours of the night you get them up and give them a feed normally 10/11pm and put them straight back to bed. some poeple say it helps bubs sleep thru the night. i did it with both my boys and it worked really well with gabriel. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: fattartsrock
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 8:25pm
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Dream feeds ROCK ------------- The Honest Un PC Parent of 2, usually stuck in the naughty corner! :P |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 8:47pm
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i sooo loved dream feeds - did it with both my girls - didn't change their bums or anything - so made sure they had good nappies on, but yeah, was nice, just out, not talking drink and back to bed.. if BF do same as you usually would feed, not too much talking, and with bottle offer same - ie as much as usual and see what they take, but dont' stress if they won't drink more... just wind and back to bed. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 February 2007 at 8:57pm
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Yep, doesn't have to be a bottle, Maya's dream feed was always a breastfeed and she slept thru from the dream feed till 7am from about 7 weeks.
The gremlins always had a bottle of formula instead of breastmilk partly to get them used to the taste but mostly because they were waking frequently during the night and the formula is heavier than breastmilk. It didn't make much difference tho, they still woke as often. Now I add an extra scoop of powder to their dream feed bottle - naughty I know, and against all the rules, but I am trying to keep them off solids as long as possible and it just helps tide them over a bit. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 23 February 2007 at 7:37am
ooo Im going to try a dream feed tonight with Alize. Thanks ladies for the info ------------- http://lilypie.com">
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 23 February 2007 at 1:24pm
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Good luck Kels! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 23 February 2007 at 2:09pm
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I already to this with Joshua and didn't even realise it had a name. I get Joshua up between 10 and 11 for a feed (so just before I go to bed) and he only wake up once at 4am (i'm happy with the one wake and he needs to anyway). And at that feed we change the nappy and have a good 1 hour feed (sometimes longer if I fall asleep in the chair). ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: S Brochocka
Date Posted: 23 February 2007 at 6:07pm
| When do you drop the dream feed and does it take a while for baby to adjust once its dropped? |
Posted By: fairsk8
Date Posted: 23 February 2007 at 8:40pm
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Good luck for tonight Kels, hope it works for ya. ------------- http://www.bump-and-beyond.com/"> 
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Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 9:06am
| Did u try a dream feed last night Kels? How did it go? |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 10:01am
With Maya I droppped the dream feed when she started sleeping till after 8am and I figured if I dropped it she would just wake a little earlier. She was well established on solids by then, so probably around 6-7 mths and without the dream feed she slept till 7am (from 7pm) ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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S Brochocka wrote:Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 10:15am
We tried the dream feed . This is how the night went. Alize went down at 5pm for what I thought was a nap, WRONG!!!! He just didnt wake at the usual 40mins later so I left him until about 11.30pm just before I went to bed and got him up for a feed. OMG he didnt even wake up, just latched onto the breast and had a good 15min feed before he just stopped sucking. I put him over my shoulder to wind he (im lucky he burps straight away) then changed his bum and snuggled him down to bed and Im still reeling from the fact he just didnt wake up . I woke up to all this loud chatting coming from the cot at 4.30am but just left him as he wasnt crying and he must have gone back to sleep because he didnt wake up till 8am and here I was up cleaning and doing washing 6.30am. Hmmm maybe if he hadnt gone down at 5pm and stayed up till his usual 8.30pm he may have just slept right thru . I will see how tonight goes... ------------- http://lilypie.com">
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: fairsk8
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 11:33am
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Thats awesome Kels, I'm glad it worked for u. ------------- http://www.bump-and-beyond.com/">
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Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 3:14pm
I do it too - how cool that it does have a name. And yes, they rock - don't always work for us but still...------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 4:31pm
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Yay Kels! Sounds like the dream feed could be just the trick! I don't even change the gremlins nappies at dreamfeed time - I put a HH stuffed with a cloth flat on them with some good quality barrier cream when they go down at 7pm and that lasts until they get up around 7am. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 8:33pm
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good idea Ems might try peapog with booster and see how it goes ------------- http://lilypie.com">
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 8:34pm
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peapog = peapod lol ------------- http://lilypie.com">
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 24 February 2007 at 9:14pm
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Yeah I dont change Isla all night (7pm til 7am) either, even tho Im up to her half the night! Yay for Fuzzi's!
When we go to the Mothercraft Unit next week we have to use disposables (grrrr),..will one last the night or will I have to change her? I havent used them at all since she was 5 weeks old! |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 25 February 2007 at 1:49am
We had to use sposies in hospital when Sienna had her op (icky) and then again the other night before we flew over here coz I didn't want to leave wet naps at home and they didn't leak. They did smell chemically and yucky tho  Can't believe I used to prefer them to cloth with Maya.
Kels - If the PP leaks with a booster (I find even with a booster mine only last a couple of hours) try stuffing it with a cloth flat or a prefold, and maybe a microfibre insert as well. It looks really bulky but works a treat. ETA: The reason why I'm still awake is coz the stupid babysitter fed the girls at 10pm which is too early and they didn't take a full bottle, so am going to top them up again so hopefully they sleep longer in the morning! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Myamy
Date Posted: 27 February 2007 at 6:07pm
Wow ive never heard of dream feeds either! Always go to bed very late so will be trying dreams feeds before i go to bed, mite help Mya sleep abit longer as she is still waking 2-4 times a nite  Am really missing the nites where she only woke once.
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 27 February 2007 at 7:25pm
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Is Mya growth spurting or just comfort feeding? ------------- |
Posted By: Millie1976
Date Posted: 27 February 2007 at 8:10pm
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I have also introduced dream feeds in the last couple of weeks and it has been helping Olivier sleep through the night but occassionally he does wake at an odd time in the night but I put that down to perhaps a growth spurt or not drinking enough earlier in the evening. ------------- Sebastien 2 years old Olivier 3 3/4 years old |
Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 17 March 2007 at 7:23pm
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What age can one start introducing a dream feed? ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: katie1
Date Posted: 17 March 2007 at 7:45pm
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I did it right from the beginning with Ollie. Would put him down to bed for the night at seven and then wake at ten for a dream feed before going to bed. When he was little he would wake again at 3 ish but this gradually stretched out more and more until he was sleeping until seven.
I have just dropped the dream feed this week and have found he is sleeping through even without it. - I probably have carried on doing it for too long. He is a pretty big baby and probably didn't need any extra topping up!!! |
Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 17 March 2007 at 8:43pm
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I wish I had known about dream feeds sooners and I would have started from newborn with Alize. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 17 March 2007 at 9:18pm
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Thanks. I think I will start trying it out with Noah. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 18 March 2007 at 8:27am
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I'm considering dropping the gremlins dream feed soonish as they sleep thru pretty well now, but at the moment I'm usually still up so it's not a hassle to just give them a quick top up. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 19 March 2007 at 11:16am
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How long should he be asleep before the dream feed? He wakes pretty much every three hours for a feed so I wasn't sure last night what time to get him up for it. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: daikini
Date Posted: 19 March 2007 at 11:34am
 I wish Xavier would dream feed. He's either awake (but will go back down after a night feed) or asleep... so asleep he won't latch on! Both the other two would dream feed, but Xavier is just too deep a sleeper.------------- Becca, mum of 2 girls & 3 boys |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 19 March 2007 at 2:32pm
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Leish, I just leave them until I'm ready to go to bed so sometimes the dream feed is 10pmish and other times not until closer to midnight.
I won't be cutting it out anytime soon it seems - last night they drank 180ml each at their dream feed which is way more than they even take during the day! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Faraway
Date Posted: 06 June 2007 at 9:30pm
| Can I have some further clarification please - is a dream feed when you wake the baby to feed late at night or you just get them up to feed in the hope they'll stay asleep? |
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 7:44am
| You just get them out of bed and feed them with as little disturbance as possible, so they dont fully wake. |
Posted By: Faraway
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 8:48am
| Thanks that's what I thought! |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 07 June 2007 at 10:45am
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Dreamfeed can be introduced at any time. Ideally, if they work for you, you do them until your little one is sleeping through well and then you can try dropping it. Some people drop it cold turkey and the baby sleeps through, others inch it backwards until the last feed is at the desired time e.g. 7pm. Alternatively, you can give less each night (less in the bottle or less minutes at the brest) until you are down to nothing. When you reduce / stop it you may need to increase milk / food during the day. If they take a huge feed at night, they will get used to it and so you may need to lead the way in decreasing the night bottle and increasing the daytime ones...they may not do it themselves.
Some sources say that the dreamfeed can disrupt sleep cycles after 7mths but that is not necessarily the case. The dreamfeed can be introduced at any stage, particularly if your little one was sleeping through and then stops. It works well for most babies but not all. If you try it and your little one is too asleep to drink, try again 15mins later as then they may be in a slightly lighter sleep. The best time is around 10pm but some babies will take one anytime without waking. For us, it needed to be before 10.30 as at that time she would enter into light sleep and wake (and hence be hard to resettle). :) It worked for us :) ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |