How do you "dream feed" your baby?

Question

So I read you feed your baby when they're sleeping? How do you do this? If they're sleeping in their crib or whatever, you take them out and hold baby to feed?

Answer

It's easier to do if you're bedsharing. It's more about feeding baby before they are completely awake, so noticing their hunger cues before they wake up aka sticking tongue out, lip smacking, putting hand to mouth, etc. As this makes it easier for them to fall right back to sleep.

Answer

How you choose to dreamfeed really depends on your preferences and routines. Do you breastfed or bottle? Are you cosleeping or is the baby in its own bed?

Our situation is as follows; baby goes down at about 7:30 in the bassinet and then will sleep till about 11. At 11 I will change diaper and go to bed with baby, he feeds while laying next to me in bed and we fall asleep together. He usually starts to stir around 4:30 and before he fully wakes up I give him the boob. Then he sleeps until 7:30 when we wake up for the day.

If you bottle feed you would probably set some sort of alarm so that you want around the time of the next feeding before baby wakes all the way up and feed them.

Answer

I bet women who bed share do this more.

Answer

I have been doing dream feeds for a few nights now. I've been going to bed at around midnight  and typically my baby is already asleep by then. I'll check his diaper and that'll usually wake him then I feed him. Sometimes I won't change his diaper if I already changed it within the last 2 hours and that's when he won't even open his eyes during feeding, which is more of a dreamfeed than the previous scenario. He slept in his Lulyboo in his Pack n Play at my mom's while we were there during the holidays. We bedshare but I will be placing his Lulyboo in his Pack n Play at my house as well. With the dreamfeed he has woken up between 5-7AM for his next feeding with mild fussing and stirring (I generally just place his pacifier back in his mouth) in between those times. My LO goes back to sleep easily after a dream feed thankfully!

How do you "dream feed" your baby?

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