Dream feeding: How to dream feed your baby and when to stop

For many exhausted parents, the idea of getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep sounds like an actual dream. Enter dream feeding, a technique that can help sync your baby’s night feedings with your own sleep schedule. Dream feeding involves gently rousing your baby just enough to feed them while they’re still semi-asleep, typically right before you head to bed. The goal? To top them off and potentially stretch their next wake-up time to several hours after you’ve gone to sleep — instead of 10 minutes after you’ve drifted off to dreamland.

In this article, we’ll explore when to dream feed, how to do it, when it might be helpful, and when it may no longer be a useful tool.

What is a dream feed?

A dream feed is a sleepy nursing or bottle feeding session given to your baby in the late evening (hours after they’ve already gone to sleep at bedtime), usually just before you go to sleep yourself. This practice of waking a baby to eat can help parents sync the longest stretch of their baby’s night sleep with their own. The idea is to shift your baby’s normal feeding time a bit earlier, and it works best for babies who wake at night due to hunger — usually from about 6 weeks to around 10 months. 

How do I dream feed?

Step #1: Rouse the baby 

After your baby has been sleeping for 1 - 3 hours, you will want to gently wake up your baby. Many families ask us, “How awake should my baby be for the dream feeding?” Ideally, you want your baby to remain drowsy and awake just enough to take a full feeding (or close).

Pro dream feed tips: 

• Keep the lights off or very dim.

• Be boring! Try not to talk, move around, or make a lot of noise.

• Be mindful as you pick up your baby from the crib or bassinet. Slow and steady movements help keep you and your baby safe and reduce the chances of waking them fully.

• Unless it's absolutely necessary, avoid changing your baby’s diaper during a dream feed. Sometimes it fully wakes the little one.

Step #2: Feed and burp the baby 

How long or how much to feed your baby at this feed varies. Breastfed babies may need to nurse for just a few minutes (e.g., 5 - 10 minutes) or half an hour. There is no magic twilight feed duration that applies to every breastfeeding mom and baby. Similarly, bottle-fed babies will require differing amounts, depending on their age, size, and how recently they last ate.

Let’s not forget , you’ll want to avoid at night! Not every baby is a “big burper” or needs to burp following every feed. You know your baby best; if your baby tends to need a burp after finishing a feed, be sure to get one before laying your baby back in the crib or bassinet. If your baby has reflux and requires upright time after feedings, factor in this extra time when planning your dream feeding schedule.

Step #3: Put the baby back to sleep

After the feed, the goal is to put your sweet one back in their sleep space without them waking up fully. This can be tricky, but with practice and patience, it can be done! 

Use slow/steady movements to gently lay your baby back down to sleep. Follow safe sleep guidelines by laying your baby down on their back []. If they do wake fully, ideally, they will fall back to sleep in the same way that they fell asleep at the beginning of the night.

Dream feed schedule

Here is an example of a dream nursing or bottle schedule:

• 6:30 PM Bedtime feeding

• 7:30 PM Bedtime

• 9:30 PM Parent rouses baby for dream feeding

• 10:00 PM Baby is back to sleep, parent goes to sleep

• 1:30 AM Baby wakes for night feeding

• 4:30 AM Baby wakes for night feeding

• 7:30 AM Wake up

Keep in mind your baby’s dream feeding schedule will likely look different than this example. They may wake more or less than this and that’s OK too! 

Can I do two dream feeds? 

Some parents may be night owls (or otherwise find themselves awake around midnight to pump etc.) and may want to double down on the infant dream nursing or bottle. If you’re up late, it may work well to offer your baby two feeds (roughly two hours apart) before you go to sleep. This may look like one dream feed at around 9:30 - 10 PM and another closer to midnight. It’s most common to dream feed a baby once before you go to bed, so don’t feel pressured to add on an extra feed unless this suits your sleep schedule.  

At what age can you dream feed?

Parents first introduce this twilight feed at various times. There isn’t a “right” dream feed age, although some prefer to wait until their baby graduates from the newborn phase. Infant dream feeding is most commonly used for babies between 6 weeks and 10 months old.

While many older breastfed babies (who are also consuming solids []) are capable of going 10 - 12 hours overnight without a feeding, some simply are not. The age at which a baby can comfortably go all night without a feeding depends on several factors. While most 10 month olds are ready or will be ready to fully wean at night, some babies may continue to need at least 1 feeding overnight until closer to 12 months.

Dream feed by age

Dream feeds at 6 weeks old

6 weeks is a great time to add a sleepy feed to your baby’s feeding schedule. However, this is also a common time for growth spurts, so dream feedings may not “work” for your baby at this age. However, it can be helpful in establishing a feeding routine even if you’re not able to shift your baby’s sleep much at first. 

Dream feeds at 3 months old

3 months is a very popular age to add a last feed before midnight. By 12 weeks, many babies can go one stretch of about 3 - 4 hours (or longer) without a feeding. Adding a dream nursing or bottle feeding a couple hours before midnight may help your baby sleep until 1 or 2 AM.

Dream feeds at 4 months old

4 months is a popular age to begin dream feeding. Between 4 and 6 months, babies will often experience another growth spurt [] and naturally show signs of needing an extra night feeding (even if they previously dropped an overnight feed). 

Dream feeds at 6 months old

At around 6 months, babies’ bedtimes typically get earlier, leaving more time for nighttime sleep and a dream feed. 

Dream feeds at 10 months old

If your 10 month old is still waking to feed at night, they may benefit from a last feed around 9 or 10 PM. A well-timed dream feeding at this age helps some babies sleep until it is time to wake up for the day. However, do note that a dream feed can interrupt a baby’s natural sleep cycle, and they may continue to wake in the early morning hours. Older babies may sleep better with one feeding between 3:00 and 5:00 AM rather than a dream feed.

Does dream feeding work for every baby?

Keep in mind dream feeding may not be a great solution for every family. And you may not see the benefits of dream feeds the first night you try. We recommend trying dream feeds for at least a week as it may take some time to shift your baby’s night feeds. Also, factors like growth spurts (and accompanying cluster feeding []), illness, developmental milestones [], and sleep associations may impact sleep, whether or not you’ve implemented dream feeds. 

Note that offering breast milk or formula at this time typically won’t help improve sleep if a child is waking due to a rather than hunger. For example, if an infant older than 4 months will only fall asleep while being fed at bedtime, they will more likely need to be fed back to sleep when waking in the night between sleep cycles, even if they aren’t hungry. Offering a twilight feed in a case like this is unlikely to improve your baby’s sleep.

Dream feeding tips

• If baby isn’t waking enough to eat: Try using gentle touch and calming voices to rouse your baby enough to eat []. You can also try unswaddling your newborn (then re-swaddle at the end of the feed)

• If your baby is pooping during a dream feed: Change your baby’s diaper then redo the end of your baby’s typical bedtime routine to prepare them for sleep again (e.g. swaddle/sleep sack, lullaby, place back in sleep space)

• If baby is fully waking during a dream feed: Redo the end of your baby’s typical bedtime routine to prepare them for sleep again (e.g. hold and rock, lullaby, place back in sleep space)

Pros and cons of dream feeds

When is the best time to stop the dream feed?

Babies will not need a dream feed forever. The best time to stop or drop it depends on a few things. Consider factors like:

• Calorie intake during the day

• How ready you are to stop the feeding

• Whether your baby is waking from true

• How helpful this dream feeding is to your baby’s sleep schedule 

Dream feed weaning

Once a family is ready, they can stop waking their baby for the feedings and let them wake naturally when they need to eat. Another option is to offer a little less milk or formula each night. For example, parents can gradually reduce the time spent nursing by a few minutes or lessen the formula in the bottle by 1 - 2 ounces.

Takeaway

• Dream feeding involves a sleepy nursing or bottle feeding session given to your baby in the late evening, just before you go to sleep.

• Dream feeding can be introduced at various times, and there's no set rule. You can start as early as the newborn phase, although many parents prefer to wait until their baby is slightly older.

• The decision to stop or drop the dream feed depends on various factors, including how helpful it is, calorie intake during the day, and whether your baby is waking from hunger or a sleep onset association.

• Pros: Dream feeds encourage longer stretches of synced sleep for baby and parents, help maintain milk supply, provide adequate calories, and promote a more predictable schedule.

• Cons: Some challenges include the possibility of babies being difficult to wake for feed, the development of sleep associations, and potential interference with an organic feeding schedule.