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.

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

Baby Whisperer Index

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Baby Whisperer (TBW)

• A few words of advice from The Baby Whisperer
• Accidental Parenting
• "But Why Doesn't It Work?"
• Cluster Feeding
• Dream Feed 
• Dropping the dream feed
• Troubleshooting tips       
• What is a dream feed and how do I give it?
• Eat/Wake/Sleep Routine (EWS) or EASY
• "Four S" Wind Down Ritual
• P.U./P.D.
• Shush-Pat
• Tanking Up
• The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (TBW) - Book Review
• Wake to Sleep

Eat/Wake/Sleep Routine (EWS or EASY)

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Yeah. I'm finally doing this post. I think it will clear up a lot of the question I've gotten from some people since Eat/Wake/Sleep (EWS) is a common routine that

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

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.

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

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

Shush-Pat

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When To 'Shush-Pat':

• To help break baby of an unwanted sleep prop/association or fix a form of accidental parenting.

• Done in babies under 6 months of age and before P.U./P.D. in babies over 3 months of age. *** Traci Hogg suggested you do it in babies under 6 months because she felt it was disruptive and stimulating for many babies over

"But Why Doesn't It Work?"

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Though some babies are certainly more challenging than others and certain developmental periods (teething, separation anxiety etc.) are tougher than others, The Baby Whisperer says that if you follow her techniques things will eventually work out. I implemented most, but not all of her techniques and had a lot of success, but I have to admit that it is hard for me to believe that her techniques will

Accidental Parenting

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One of The Baby Whisperer's favorite phrases is "Start as you mean to go on." You've probably been in a rough situation with your child where you were willing to do anything to fix the problem. Well, often this "anything" turns into a not so good habit down the road. Sure you may not care too much about this habit at first, but 4 months down the road you may find yourself

A few words of advice from the Baby Whisperer

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 Parents who in the heat of the moment take what seems like an easier road, only to find out later that it leads them to a dangerous dead end... Start as you mean to go on.

Parenting is the ultimate test of patience. Our child doesn't want to take a nap. Do we give in because we just don't feel like fighting a battle right now or do we

The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (TBW)

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So far The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau is one of my favorite books on sleep as well as everything else "baby". This book talks about implementing a routine(see EWS cycle), but it is still extremely helpful for those people that do not want to use routines or schedules as well. It covers the basics from