Why Dream Feeds Just Don’t Work

It’s easy to see why a dream feed is popular. Offer a feeding before you go to bed, in hopes that the baby sleeps a longer stretch?! Sign us up! However, while the concept of the dream feed is appealing, the results often don’t live up to the hype. It’s the idea of the dream feed that’s popular—not necessarily its effectiveness.

What is a dream feed?

During the bedtime routine, you’ll offer your baby a full feed as usual. Then, hours later—when parents are ready to go to bed (typically around 9-11 PM)—you’ll prepare a bottle or get ready to nurse. The goal is to keep your baby asleep (hence the "dream" in dream feed) while offering a feed to “fill their belly.”

The hope is that this will allow your baby to sleep longer, avoid a midnight feeding, and possibly wake for just an early morning feed.

The appeal of the dream feed is clear: it promises parents a few extra hours of sleep between when their head hits the pillow and the baby’s next feeding.

However, while the dream feed sounds reasonable, it’s actually the opposite of what we should be teaching your baby!

What’s wrong with a dream feed?

The primary purpose of food is nourishment, not a tool for sleep. Offering a feed while your baby is asleep, such as during a dream feed, reinforces the idea that it’s okay to snooze through eating. This approach disrupts the essential brain-to-tummy connection.

The Problem with Dream Feeds

Similar to how adults who sleepwalk and sleep-eat have little to no awareness of the action (SOURCE), babies receiving dream feeds are not registering the process of eating because they are completely asleep. While the calories are entering their body, their brain is not processing or registering the act of eating—essentially making it empty calories.

The issue isn’t whether your baby’s tummy is empty or full—it’s the missed connection between eating and alertness.

Why Awareness Matters

When we are aware of what we eat, we not only feel satisfied but also enjoy the process. Think about times when you’ve eaten while distracted, like watching a show, only to look down and wonder, “Where did my food go? Did I even eat that?”

The same principle applies to the dream feed. Your baby isn’t learning to appreciate or register their food intake.

Let’s Build Positive Food Connections

From a young age, let’s encourage our children to:

• Be fully aware of their food intake.
• Appreciate the connection between brain and tummy.
• Enjoy their food, even as infants.

Teaching this awareness early on helps nurture a lifelong healthy relationship with food and nourishment.

How to stop the dream feed

The answer is simple: you just stop offering it!

Of course, while it’s easy to say “just stop,” actually doing it can feel like a bigger challenge. To help, let’s break it down by age expectations and create a clear plan:

Newborns (0-3 Months)

• At this stage, there’s no expectation of sleep training—your baby will still require multiple night feeds.
• Even with night feeds, focus on offering them while your baby is awake rather than asleep.

4-5 Months

• By 4 months old (16 weeks from their due date), your baby is ready for sleep training!
• At this age, your baby can learn to sleep 11-12 hours each night, with 1 possible night feed—again, offered while your baby is awake.

6 Months and Beyond

• Once your baby reaches 6 months, they are typically ready (and often eager!) to sleep a solid 11-12 hours through the night.
• Unless medically advised by your pediatrician, night feeds are no longer necessary for most children at this stage.

By understanding these age-based milestones and gradually phasing out the dream feed, you’ll help your baby develop healthy, independent sleep habits while reinforcing a positive relationship with nourishment.

We understand—change can be scary, especially when you’ve been doing things one way for so long. But here’s the good news: change can lead to something better!

Our greatest hope is to empower parents with the tools and confidence to believe that you don’t have to be tired.

You can be a well-rested family who teaches their baby to sleep soundly and eat well—both now and for years to come.