To Dreamfeed or Not to Dreamfeed

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I've talked a lot about the dreamfeed over the years. It's a hot topic-- because who doesn't want to get an extra couple hours of sleep with a new baby early on? That's at the top of many people's to-do list with a newborn. It's certainly at the top of my list!

With all this chit chat about the dreamfeed, many people are surprised to find out that I didn't dreamfeed all my children. Honestly, I was surprised to find myself not dream feeding all my children. I sat around talking about how amazing it was all the time and then I decided I was going to ditch it with my second child. And my third and my fourth.

Putting an End to Bedtime Battles

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Bedtime can be a very stressful time.

There's lots to do, everyone is tired, and did I mention that everyone is tired? Fatigue can put everyone at their worst. Add in a little baby fussiness, toddler tantrums, and of course whining and resisting, and you've got a scene right out of a horror film.

But it doesn't have to be like this. Really, it doesn't.

P.U./P.D.

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What is PU/PD?
P.U./P.D. (pick up/put down) is a strategy used by The Baby Whisperer that she states is the "cornerstone of her middle-of-the-road philosophy" because "your child is neither dependent on you or some kind of prop for going to sleep, nor is he abandoned." This strategy is used after implementing a good routine, "Four S" ritual, shush-pat and possibly wake to sleep. It is only to be used in children 3-4 months or

How long do I let baby go without a feed at night?

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If you ask people how long to let a newborn go without a feed at night you are bound to get lots of different answers, especially if you are breastfeeding. You'll generally hear anything between 1.5 hours to 'as long as she'll give you!' Even pediatricians will give

Sleeping Through The Night - When Will It Start?

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Before we can talk about when a child will sleep through the night, we need to know what I mean when I say sleeping through the night.

Should I sleep train for NAPS or at NIGHT first?

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Joshua, a few weeks old

The all too familiar question. Maybe you have been wondering this exact thing. It's about time I addressed it in a post instead of in multiple comments where you have to wait days to find out my answer. Not very fun when you are trying t

Dropping the Dream Feed

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You may also want to check out the posts What is a dreamfeed and how do I give it and Dreamfeed Troubleshooting Tips.


When do I stop the dream feed?

How long you do the df depends a lot on the baby as well as the routine you are following. Some babies can sleep longer stretches at night at an earlier age than others, especially if they are getting adequate food and naps during the day. Some babies take longer to drop the df and are not as consistent of sleepers. Age of solid introduction and solid intake may or not contribute to the situation. I've tried, but I'm not able to come to any conclusion with this yet.

Dream Feed Troubleshooting Tips

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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.

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

Dream Pee

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Ha ha, don't you love the title of this? I bet you're wondering what this post is about!

Do you remember the dream feed? You know, the feed that you give baby before you go to bed at night, usually between 10-11? Well, instead of feeding baby before you go to bed, with the dream pee

Tanking Up - A trick to help your child sleep longer at night

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Want your baby to sleep longer at night (um, who doesn't)? Have I got the trick for you! Let's just cross our fingers and hope your little one follows along!

What is tanking up?
Tanking up consists of the dream feed and cluster feeding. I go over dreamfeeds here. I go over cluster feeds here. Pretty much, tanking up is

Cluster Feeding

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What is Cluster Feeding?
Cluster feeding, or bunch feeding, is when feedings are spaced closer together than usual. This usually occurs in the evening with younger babies and is often followed by a longer than usual stretch of sleep. Many babies will cluster feed on their own during the early months while other times moms may introduce a cluster feed to help extend

What is a dreamfeed and how do I give it?

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What is a Dreamfeed?
The dreamfeed is the feed that you give baby before you go to bed. It is the feed right after baby's bedtime feed when he is already asleep and in bed for the night. He's asleep 'dreaming' during this feed.

The Fear of the Early Bedtime

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Jacob, 16 months old

The hard to believe scenario: waking early in the morning because of a too late bedtime or a missed nap.

The last few days for my family have been a bit busy. We haven't been home much and sleep has been a bit neglected.  My 1 year old Jacob has had some short naps and gone to bed a bit late some evenings. The first two days he did ok. The third day he started to get a bit

A Common Mistake--Putting all the kids to bed at the same time

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Just because a child belongs to the same family doesn't mean she needs the same bedtime or nap time.

A lot of parents end up doing this, especially with twins. The problem is that every child has different sleep requirements, different nap

Why Won't My Toddler or Preschooler Fall Asleep?!

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Many toddlers and preschoolers go through a phase where they won't fall asleep for naps or before bed. Often it is a short phase that passes by itself or with a few changes in the daily routine, but sometimes, it is

Wake to Sleep

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What is 'Wake to Sleep'?
Wake to sleep is a strategy used by The Baby Whisperer (and others, but she was the first I learned this from so she gets to be mentioned here) to help reset a child's pattern of habitual sleep awakenings. Just like any other sleeping method, it requires

Night Sleep Index (General Information and Problem Solving)

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Night Sleep - General Info and Problem Solving

• Bedtime
• A Common Mistake - Putting all the kids to bed at the same time
• Bedtime Battles
• The Fear of the Early Bedtime
• Why Won't My Toddler or Preschooler Fall Asleep?!
• Won't Fall Asleep At Sleep Times - Cries, Plays Or Does Both
• "But Why Doesn't It Work?"
• Cluster Feeding
• Day/Night Confusion
• Developmental Milestones - Rolling, Crawling, Standing, Talking etc.
• DreamFeed 
• Dropping the dream feed
• Troubleshooting tips       
• What is a dream feed and how do I give it?
• Dream Pee
• Early Morning Wakings - And What To Do About It
• Early Sleep Phase - Goes to bed too early AND wakes too early
• "Four S" Wind Down Ritual
• Habitual Wakings
• How long do I let baby go without a feed at night?
• Keeping a Sleep Log
• Late Sleep Phase - Goes to bed too late AND wakes too late
• Morning Wake Time - The importance of consistency
• Timing Morning Wake Time with Night Time Feedings
• Night Wakings
• Dream Pee
• Night Wakings - Causes and Solutions
• Nightly Sleep Phase
• Night Time Sleep - What's Average?
• Pre-Sleep Routine
• P.U./P.D.
• Should I sleep train for naps or nights first?
• Shush-Pat
• Sleep Cues
• Sleep Props/Associations
• Sleep props and newborns
• What is a sleep prop?
• Sleep Training Index
• Sleeping Through The Night - When Will It Start?
• Tanking Up
• The "Too Long in Bed Problem"
• Wake to Sleep
• Waking up crying or cranky in the mornings
• Why Won't My Toddler or Preschooler Fall Asleep?!
• Won't Fall Asleep At Sleep Times - Cries, Plays Or Does Both

Related Indexes:

Naps
Sleep by Age

Sleep Environment

Sleep - General Information

Sleep Safety
Sleep Training

Understanding Sleep

Keeping a Sleep Log

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Keeping a sleep log is a great way to make sleep problem solving much easier and faster. It allows you to look over the patterns of the last several days to determine what needs to be changed and what should be kept the same. Why the last several days and not just a day or two? Short term success may be a fluke and not an actual

Day/Night Confusion

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Day/night confusion is a pretty common problem with newborns. Baby wants to sleep all day and stay up all night. So now not only are you having to wake up to feed baby throughout the night, but he won't go back to sleep! He just wants to play or possibly even fuss. Not cool!

So what do you do?

Some experts out there suggest to just wait--baby will eventually figure things out. Sure he will, but how long will that take? If your lucky, only a week or so, if you're unlucky, possibly a few months. Maybe some people are OK with this, but if you're not (and I know I'm not!) you can try out

Four S Wind Down Ritual

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Once baby is ready for bed (see sleep cues) the Baby Whisperer suggests her Four S wind down ritual. This consists of setting the stage, swaddling, sitting and if necessary the shush-pat.

Setting the stage:
Remove baby to a calm setting which will most likely be his or your room. Get the room ready for sleep by closing the blinds, turning on music or doing