Hellobee Boards

I've always done a dream feed around 11:30 when we go to bed. LO is a very good night sleeper these days. I have no idea if it helps since we've always done it so I don't have a reference point though. At this point I'm mostly continuing to do it because I love feeding her when she's so cute and sleepy, and she always goes right back to sleep afterward.

I tried a dream feed several times during the depths of my sleep despair. I felt like a secret ninja seal team descending on its target in the night. I think I lost a year of my life holding my breath to not wake her Unfortunatley I don't recall it helping at all
(I'm dramatic I know)

Dream feeds worked for us when I was weaning LO from his MOTN feed around 6 or 7 months.

We did a dream feed for a week or two around 3 months. I was trying to eliminate his 3am waking (he was going 7pm until 3am). I remember him starting to wake at 11pm when he had previously been sleeping.

At our 3 month well visit my pediatrician advised against it when I mentioned it. She said all it does is train them to wake up at the time of the dream feed, so sort of counter productive. (Which is what I was starting to witness). She said it wouldn't change how much he woke during the night, and sometimes a dream feed can make them uncomfortable (since they are half asleep and suckling out of habit/instinct) so they may feel over full and uncomfortable and wake up. Which I guess makes sense? She said to always let them sleep as long as they possibly can during the night, don't wake them to feed (of course this doesn't include newborns who need it in the beginning!)
FWIW my pediatrician does speaking engagements around our city on sleep (that is her area of expertise). So I tend to listen when she gives me sleep advice! But I know infant sleep is a delicate subject, and all babies are different, so do what you think will work for your family.

We did, mostly for weight and reflux issues. Bedtime was 730pm and we would wake him around 1030pm, change him, and he would take a bottle while sleepy. Once he started sleeping from dreamfeed to morning, we adjusted the dreamfeed earlier and earlier. Once he was going from 9pm to morning, we dropped the feed and he was STTN. We only did the DF for about 2 months or less.

Never worked for my LO- she would wake up and be too awake! However she's slept well through the night from early on so it never seemed necessary. Couldn't hurt to try but most babies they are eating enough during the day don't need to eat overnight. And if your baby has any trouble *falling* asleep at night I wouldn't do it since you're reinforcing the need to feed to fall asleep.

We did - we sleep trained our son at 5 months and the sleep doula suggested that a dream feed between 10 and 11pm would help him make it through. It worked for us, he didn't wake up, and once he got bigger and we thought he didn't need the extra food anymore we were able to drop it without distressing him.

I don't. DD wakes up when she's picked up so I don't think it would work for her. She wakes up once a night and has STTN a few times.

@edelweiss: I don't do them for the same reason. I'm not sure it really helps. But I know parents who swear by them so to each their own, I guess!