Thursday, April 26, 2012

Dreamland.


 Alice in Dreamland.

Last week in my class one of the moms asked our instructor about dream feeding and when it can be implemented to help baby sleep a bit longer at night.  Our instructor said there isn't a specified age to introduce the dream feed but that your baby will let you know if she's ready based on if it works or not.  Wanting to know more about this magic baby sleep increaser, I went home and did some Google research.  And I loved what I read about it!  More sleep for mom?  Sign me up.  Since I am no expert, you can read more about the dream feeding concept here.  And here is how it worked for us this past week.

Night One: Bedtime around 8:30PM (it can be hard to get this chick to sleep).  Dream feed at 10:05PM.  Results?  She slept a total of 6 hours, 4 hours from the dream feed, giving me 4 solid hours of sleep.  Success!

Nights Two & Three:  Bedtime around 8:30PM.  Tried to do the dream feed around 10:15PM (it's not recommended to do it past 11PM) but she was already stirring and sort of awake.  Woke up at 12:30AM = dream feed FAIL!

Nights Four & Five: Bedtime 8:15PM. To beat her to the waking up too early punch, I did the dream feed at 9:30PM to assure she was still in a deep sleep.  And guess what?  She slept till 2AM = 4 hours of solid sleep for mom AGAIN!  I felt like I could conquer the world.

So what does this all mean?  Is it a fluke or does the dream feed really work?  I say it does.  But who knows.  All I know is that I function much better on 4 solid hours rather than a measly 1.5 hours of sleep.  So we'll keep the dream feed around for a little while.

I guess the dream feed concept is a bit controversial.  What do you think?  I figure if Alice isn't hungry for the dream feed, she won't eat and I won't force her.  Also if Alice is hungry before or after the dream feed, I'll feed her!  Rocket science, I know.  This isn't a way to cut out a meal for your baby but rather to lengthen the amount of time they sleep at night without starving them.  And finally... what I love about parenting is that there are so many ways to do it.  Your way may not work for me and my way may not work for you.  But we can still be friends, right?  Right.

2 comments:

  1. This is interesting! I've never heard of it, though it does make sense. My guys all got into the habit of waking up every 2 hours at night to nurse and I always just gave in, though I think in the long run it created a habit that was hard to break. But you are right... there are so many good ways to parent!

    Also, I just sent a friend request to you on FB, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you didn't want to accept. Just so you know some random lady didn't send it!

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  2. Wow, never heard of Dream Feed? Sounds like it works. I know I was so happy when I could get around 3 to 4 hrs of sleep at night. I love to sleep. I would try to nap every day with one of your naps around 10:00am and late afternoon. I think as long as you are consistant, it may work. Who knows? You weren't very consistant.... until you were about 3 months old. Then like a miracle, you slept from 9 pm til 6 am. I startled awake around 5:30 am, looked at the clock, went into your room to see if you were ok. You started sleeping a bit more and more each night. It's fun to remember some of the events in your life and compare them with little Alice. xoxo Mom

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