I put together some troubleshooting tips for the dream feed. I hope they are helpful! You may also want to check out the post What is a dreamfeed and how do I give it and How to drop the dreamfeed.
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Troubleshooting when baby is too sleepy to take the dream feed:
If baby is too sleepy to take the dream feed and you are nursing, look at the suggestions under breastfeeding and the df above. If these don't help, then try pumping and giving baby a bottle. If you are giving a bottle and baby is still to sleepy, try waking baby up a bit for the feed. You can try changing baby's diaper at the beginning of the df or half way through (Just like any other night feed, I never suggest changing baby's diaper at the end of the feed since you want them to be relaxed from the feed and ready for sleep, not revved up from a diaper change). Maybe you will need to unswaddle baby, turn on the light, or even talk to baby for a moment. Just make sure you don't go overboard with these things and certainly make sure to stop doing them as you near the end of baby's feed. Another method to try is moving the dreamfeed a few minutes later when baby may no longer be in as deep of a sleep.
Troubleshooting when baby won't eat:
He may be too sleepy (see above) or he may not be hungry. If he isn't hungry, he may be getting too much food right before bed. You can try dropping the cluster feeding if you are doing it, moving bedtime a bit earlier (while keeping the df time the same) or decreasing how much you feed baby right before bed. Many baby's don't do well with going to bed without a full feed so what might work better is decreasing the feed amount right before the bedtime feed and while moving the bedtime feed a bit earlier and keeping the dream feed at the same time. So, if baby normally eats at 4 and 7 with a dream feed at 10, try feeding him less than usual at 4, while moving the bedtime feed to 6 and keeping the dream feed at 10.
Can the dreamfeed turn into a habitual feed?
Yes, it can, just like any other night feeds. This doesn't usually happen, but keep a look out just in case. I'd suspect this if your baby is far past the age of needing the df but still wants it or if he wakes for the df but only eats a tiny bit. If you suspect a habitual feed, then work on trying to wean from it.
The dreamfeed used to work, but now doesn't
Sometimes keeping the df too long ends up causing sleep problems with babies. It starts to mess up with their nightly sleep rhythms. Other times, all you need to do is change the timing of the df to fix the issues. You will have to do some trial and error to figure out what is wrong. Oh, and don't forget that babies, like us, have their off days. And they get sick too and go through a bunch of developmental stages that can cause havoc with sleep for a time (remember those Wonder Weeks?). So if one bad day pops up, wait it out a bit before making changes. It may be a fluke.
Do you have any helpful advice about dream feeds? Please share!
Do you have any advice on what the best time for the dreamfeed is? The Baby Whisperer says it should be between 10 and 11pm, no later than 11. If my son is on a 4 hour routine, I was thinking doing it at 11 was the right time but he wakes up a TON in the EARLY morning. (I think it may be habitual waking and we will be working on that soon) But I guess I'm just not sure if we are actually doing it at the right time. I have the book, "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems", not her original book so I don't know if that would answer my question. Do you have any suggestions/advice/experiences?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Nicole
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteIf he wakes up a ton in the early morning I would check out the post early morning waking to see if there is any helpful advice. You may want to adjust the time the df is given. Trail and error will tell if an earlier time might help.
http://www.mybabysleepguide.com/2009/04/early-morning-awakenings.html
Hey Rachel! I was wondering what you would recommend for my three month old son...he wakes up at some point in the night, usually around 2:30-4. Giving him the df hasn't changed this. Last night was one of the rare nights I didn't do a df and he went to bed at 7, I fed him before bed, and then woke up at 3:30. Should I keep doing the dream feed?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing!!
Hey Rachel! I was wondering what you would recommend for my three month old son...he wakes up at some point in the night, usually around 2:30-4. Giving him the df hasn't changed this. Last night was one of the rare nights I didn't do a df and he went to bed at 7, I fed him before bed, and then woke up at 3:30. Should I keep doing the dream feed?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing!!
jmalc,
DeleteGive it several nights if you haven't already, possibly adjusting the time a bit to see if it helps. If that doesn't help at all, then I'd probably consider it a no go and drop it.
Rachel
Hi Rachel-
ReplyDeleteI recently dropped the DF for my 8 week old as I didn't think it was helping- he would take only 2-3 ounces and still wake up in early morning for feed and also wake early for the day. After 4 days of dropping it, I have had mixed results- 2 days were great, 2 days disasters with early wake ups. I give him his last day feed right before bed at 7 (kinda a cluster feed- a few ounces at 6:30, then bath, then top off right before bed). I used to give the df at 10:30pm. Our wanted wake up time is 6:30am, and he usually wakes earlier. We are BW followers and that works well for us on a 3 hour schedule.
How long would you recommend not doing the dream feed before deciding if it is helpful or not? Is there a big issue with restarting the dream feed and at what time would you suggest with above info? I do not mind doing a df and night feed, I just want him to sleep later:)
Thank you-
Nicole
Nicole and joe,
DeleteI'd keep a sleep log. Watch for patterns. Usually after 5-10 days you'll know if things are improving or worsening.
Restarting the df at this be probably will go well, but it may take a few days to work again. If you restart it I'd try moving it a bit later to see if he'll be hungrier, keep it at he same time but wKe him up more or try moving it earlier to see if it helps with the early morning wake up. Trial and error is going to be your best bet here.
You can also move the last two feeds a little farther apart if you don't introduce the df to see if he'll take more right before he goes down for bed.
If he wakes before 6 can you feed and put him down to slep again, waking at 7 if he goes down semi close to normal wake up.
I hope all that made sense.
Rachel