It is important to acknowledge that a dream feed may* not always be effective, especially if your baby wakes and becomes challenging to settle afterward 😰. Another drawback is if they don’t rouse enough for the dream feed, resulting in a partial feed and waking up an hour later instead of sleeping for another 4-5-hour stretch 🫠. If this happens, we recommend discontinuing the dream feed and returning to feeding on demand, or every 4 hours, depending on their age 👶🏻.
For example, if you provide your baby with a dream feed at 10:30pm and they only have a partial* breastfeed or refuse to have a full bottle, this may* predispose them to snacking for the remainder of the night 😫. In this instance, we recommend skipping the dream feed and allowing them to wake later when they are hungrier and more inclined to have a full feed 🤞🏻.
If you are incorporating the dream feed and your baby is continuing to wake between 1:00am and 2:00am, we recommend discontinuing the dream feed and letting them have their longest stretch of sleep from bedtime to midnight or 1:00am, when they are likely to wake for a feed naturally.
By the age of 3 months, the dream feed should ideally lead to another 4-5 hour stretch of sleep. If this is not happening, it may* suggest that the dream feed isn’t effective 🩷🌸