dream feed...

So, I'm assuming a dream feed is just as it sounds..you feed them while they're still sleeping...I think I've done this without trying to (maybe?)..my little ones will wake, fuss for a bottle, then take it with their eyes closed the entire time, does that count as a dream feed?
How in the world do you burp them and keep them asleep at the same time? Is this possible? I have to burp mine, they're gassy little things.
When the twins are burped in the presence of my older son (who's 4) he says, "They sound just like Daddy!" HA!
Also...do you change the diaper during/before/after a dream feed? So far, they don't allow this to happen in their sleep either. If I skipped the change but fed them just to get them to sleep longer, I'd wake in another hour to change their sopping wet diapers & clothes....which kind of defeats the purpose, right?
So, is the dream feed thing for older babies??? Mine are a little over 3 months...

 

Jennifer,

We dream feed our five month old girls (but are about to stop to see if they really still need it) and have been doing so since about 3.5 months, when they got on a routine of going to bed at 6pm and sleeping until about 7am. They still wake up once a night to eat, but the dream feed seems to get us a few more hours of sleep before they wake up.

As for when to feed them, we do the dream feed whenever we're going to bed. This is almost always before the girls get fussy or seem hungry so they're deep asleep. My girls sleep on reflux wedges, so we just feed them there, no need to pick them up or anything. We also don't burp them after the dream feed - they need to burp at all other times but don't seem to need to when they're asleep. Perhaps they're so relaxed? You might want to try not burping just to see if it works. Also, we use a size bigger diaper at night to contain the leaks and don't change them after the dream feed. So, it's a ten minute operation - insert bottle of EBM into baby's mouth, wait til she's done, then that's it.

 

I don't think we dream-feed the way others do, but here is what we've been doing since they were about 4 months old. I should add that my kids are pretty good sleepers. I hope everyone doesn't hate me for saying this, but they go to bed without much of a fuss (and have been since about 4 months old). Of course they usually wake up around 5am and play, laugh, talk but that is why there is a volume control on the monitor

We feed them before we go to bed around 10 or 11pm. I pick up DD1, change diaper, sit in glider, feed bottle, rub back to burp, and put her back in the crib. Repeat for DD2. The whole process takes less than 20 minutes if I do it by myself, 10 if DH take a baby. My girls really don't wake up during the whole thing. I've considered getting the diaper doublers that they sell at the grocery store to eliminate changing their diapers, but for now this works for us.

-Leighann

 

Probably a dumb question, but why dream feed? Ours have started going down between 7 and 7:30. Sometimes Lucy will wake up at 1, but other than that they usually sleep until 5 when DH gets up (and then go back down until 8 or 9).

If they were hungry earlier, wouldn't they wake up crying? Is this process just to get more calories in them? I've tried feeding them when they're really sleepy and they just don't take the bottle!

 

QUOTE(skittles @ Oct 15 2007, 12:31 PM) [snapback]451137[/snapback]
Probably a dumb question, but why dream feed? Ours have started going down between 7 and 7:30. Sometimes Lucy will wake up at 1, but other than that they usually sleep until 5 when DH gets up.

If they were hungry earlier, wouldn't they wake up crying? Is this process just to get more calories in them? I've tried feeding them when they're sleep and they just don't take the bottle!


For us its to make sure they get 5 bottles a day. -Leighann

 

QUOTE(skittles @ Oct 15 2007, 04:31 PM) [snapback]451137[/snapback]
Probably a dumb question, but why dream feed? Ours have started going down between 7 and 7:30. Sometimes Lucy will wake up at 1, but other than that they usually sleep until 5 when DH gets up (and then go back down until 8 or 9).

If they were hungry earlier, wouldn't they wake up crying? Is this process just to get more calories in them? I've tried feeding them when they're really sleepy and they just don't take the bottle!



Mine never slept through...it worked every night like a charm for us and did not effect them sleeping through when we stopped dream feeding. I am SO happy we dream fed them.

To answer the OP: I did not burp them during that time. I would hold them upright for a minute or two and that is it. It never effected them negativity not burping them. So, you can try not burping and see what happens. Good luck.

 

Thanks ya'll...I don't see my guys taking to it; but I'm willing to try anything! ha!