What is Dream Feeding & How to Do It? 

If you’ve been chatting with other parents about sleepless nights and increasing your chances of catching a full 40 winks, dream feeding may well have come up in conversation.

So, what is dream feeding, and how do you do it? From when to start and when to stop, to the benefits of dream feeding and tips to help your baby sleep, we’ve got your questions answered.

Dream feeding is a technique some parents use to help their baby sleep for longer periods during the night, whether they’re breastfed or bottle-fed. It involves putting your baby to bed at night and then semi-waking them for a feed before they’d naturally wake up themselves¹.

Your baby will likely want to feed little and often in the early days and weeks. Healthcare professionals recommend that you follow your baby’s cues, and feed them when they’re hungry - this is known as feeding on demand². As your baby grows, you might be starting to consider settling them into a more predictable feeding routine.

Many parents choose to start dream feeding anywhere between 6 and 10 weeks, like Emily’s mum: “when she was tiny, I was just feeding on demand. There was zero routine to it - if you’ve got a newborn, you’ll know what I mean! I introduced a dream feed at around 10 weeks, just to get a bit more of a schedule.”

The fact is that there’s no evidence to suggest that dream feeding will make your baby sleep longer. However, many parents report that it works for them. So, what benefits might you see if you choose to dream feed your baby?

• Less night waking. Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a dream feed is that it could reduce the number of times your baby wakes up at night to be fed - which might be especially helpful if your baby’s sleeping patterns are unpredictable This, in turn, means that you and everyone else in your household might get more sleep. Eve’s mum says, “I breastfed both of my daughters, and dreamfeeding worked for us as a family. Everybody got more sleep!”

• Help your baby to separate sleeping and feeding. It can be pretty tricky to stop your baby from falling asleep during their bedtime feed, but it’s worth trying. This will help your baby to separate sleeping from feeding and avoid them needing to suck on your breast or a bottle to soothe them into sleep³.

• A more settled feed. Dreamfeeding your baby when they’re not quite fully awake and in a calm and quiet environment may help them feel less distracted and reduce the chance of their feed being interrupted.

Ready to get started? Take a look at our step-by-step guide to dream feeding.

1. Gently rouse your baby until they’re semi-awake - ideally, your baby will still be sleepy whilst they’re having their feed. Use slow, gentle movements and minimal lights, noise, and movement.
2. Place your breast or bottle teat onto your baby’s lips, hopefully encouraging them to feed. Hold your baby semi-upright as you feed them (read more about breastfeeding and how to bottle-feed), and make sure their head is supported³. There’s no way to know how long your dream feeding your baby will take, just follow your baby’s lead - they’ll let you know when they’re done. Never force your baby to feed if they’re reluctant.
3. Put your baby back to bed. When they’ve finished, gently wind your baby before laying them back down, always doing so on their back.

When it comes to what time to start a dream feed, it all depends on what works for you and your baby. “I always did a dream feed at around 11pm, just before I went to bed”, says Eve’s mum.

Between 9pm and midnight is a popular time for many parents, because the main aim of dream feeding your baby is for everyone to get longer stretches of sleep during the night. Remember though, that all babies are different. While dream feeding may work for some, there’s no guarantee that your baby will sleep through the night.

With any luck, your baby will be calm, sleepy and ready for bed after their dream feed. Just in case, take a look at some of our top tips for helping your baby drift back to the land of nod:

• Keep noise to a minimum when you’re dreamfeeding. This will help your baby to stay just the right amount of sleepy - the less distracted they are, the easier it will be to get them back to sleep.
• Keep the lights low, or keep them off entirely if you can.
• Reduce any distractions. Get everything you need to dream feed your baby before you wake them. Use gentle movements and only change their nappy if you need to.

Your dream feed schedule will depend entirely on your baby’s bedtime routine. To help you put your dream feed schedule together, we’ve put some suggestions that you can adapt to family life below:

• 6-7 pm: give your baby their bedtime feed and enjoy those before bed cuddles.
• 7-8pm: put your baby to bed.
• 10pm - midnight: gently rouse your baby for a dream feed and then return them to bed.
• 2-3am: give your baby a second dream feed if they’re still regularly waking through the night. 
• 6-7am: wake up to start the day!

Although there’s no set rule about when to stop dream feeding your baby, the fact is that it won't be a part of your baby’s routine for very long.

If dream feeding hasn't made a difference after a few weeks, it probably isn’t likely to. Look at our top tips for establishing a baby sleep routine for some ideas about other things you can try. If you need more advice about your baby’s sleep, have a chat with your healthcare provider.

If you’ve had some success, however, you might want to drop the dream feed a few weeks after your baby has started sleeping for longer periods. Some parents choose to gradually reduce the amount of milk they give at a dream feed, phasing it out, and stopping altogether once their baby has started to sleep through the night.

If you’re thinking about when to stop dream feeding your baby, there are a few other things to consider. For example:

• How much is your baby feeding during the day, and how many ounces are they taking?
• Are they hungry for their morning feed when they wake up? If not, this could be a sign that they’re still full from their dream feed. 
• Have they started weaning? 
• Is the dream feed affecting your baby’s sleeping routine? Have they come to expect it when they don’t need it? 

Want to know more? We’ve got you covered with some frequently asked dream feeding questions. 

This all depends on your baby. If they’re still waking up at around 3-4am, you might want to set your alarm for a second dream feed. Try doing this for a few nights between 2 and 3am to see if it makes a difference. 

There’s nothing to suggest that dream feeding your baby is unsafe, but there are some things you can do to make sure your baby is feeding properly. Keep your baby in a semi-upright position and ensure their head is supported so they can swallow their milk - never feed them lying down³.

No, they’re not the same thing. A dream feed is scheduled, whereas a night feed refers to any feed your baby wakes up for, as and when they get hungry after bedtime.  

As we’ve said above, dream feeding doesn’t work for every baby - there are simply no guarantees that anyone (you included) will sleep for longer. Other potential downsides to dream feeding your baby include:

• Overfeeding. Your baby may not be hungry and may wake up for other reasons. If you’re giving your baby milk they don’t need, this could lead to overfeeding.
• Getting your baby back to sleep might be difficult if your baby wakes fully during their dream feed. If this happens, it can lead to more awake time and defeat the object.
• Dream feeding doesn’t fit everyone’s bedtime routine - particularly if you like an early night.
• You may end up interrupting your baby’s natural sleep cycle.