Swaddle
A dream feed is a feed you give your baby while they are drowsy or asleep, usually late in the evening, right before you go to bed. The idea: top them up at a time that suits you, so the next wake-up comes later and you get a longer first stretch of sleep.
How to do a dream feed
- Pick a time 2 to 4 hours after bedtime, just before you go to sleep. Between 10 pm and midnight is common.
- Keep it dark and quiet. Lift your baby gently without fully waking them. A dim light is fine.
- Offer the breast or bottle. Most babies root and start feeding on their own when the nipple touches their lips. Hold them upright enough to feed safely, not lying flat.
- Burp gently if your baby usually needs it.
- Lay them back on their back in their crib or bassinet, with nothing else in the sleep space.
Do not prop a bottle and leave a baby to feed on their own, and do not let your baby fall asleep feeding in your bed or on a sofa with you.
Does it work?
There is not much research. In one small 1993 study, parents of breastfed babies used a late evening “focal feed” along with other changes (like gradually stretching night feeds) and their babies slept longer stretches at 8 weeks than babies in the comparison group. Because several changes were made at once, it is hard to know how much the late feed itself helped.
In real life, families report mixed results: some babies sleep a longer stretch after a dream feed, some wake at the same time anyway, and some wake more because they were disturbed. Give it about a week. If it does not help, there is no reason to keep doing it.
When to stop
Many families stop the dream feed somewhere between 4 and 7 months, especially if:
- your baby wakes at the dream feed and is hard to settle again,
- they take very little milk at it, or
- it seems to cause a new wake-up later in the night.
To stop, you can move it 15 minutes earlier every few nights, or reduce the amount little by little. If your baby is younger, has had slow weight gain, or was born early, check with your pediatrician before dropping any night feeds.