YES!!!! Benny Baby is finally, finally sleeping through the night!!! Incredible... I had almost begun to think that it wouldn't ever happen. I hoped for it, prayed for it, dreamt (not kidding) about it. Let's just say I love my sleep.
However, until recently, every time I thought I had Benny's sleep patterns down to a semi-predictable routine, he would go through a growth spurt and turn everything I imagined I could rely on upside down. This is true especially because of the cluster feeds that inevitably accompany growth spurts. "Cluster feeding" is the term used for when babies need to feed much more often for longer periods of time when they are growing and need extra nutrition to support that growth.
Up until he was three months old, Benny was waking up at 4:30am... which I thought was pretty good, as he would have last fed at around 11pm. That meant he was beginning to last around 5 - 5.5 hours without needing a feed. I'd heard horror stories about babies his age waking up twice in the night, and he was only really doing it once. I suppose what gets those mothers through that horrific sleep-deprived time is the fact that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You just can't see it always because there's usually a bend in the way.
So, I took sleeping through to 4:30am as a sort of primitive "sleeping through the night". That was until he was three and a half months. Then...
the "dream feed" happened.
I came across this term in one of those mum forums that are so interesting to read and very informative, too. You can ask questions, answer questions, and join in discussions with other mums who are going through the same sorts of things that you are. One that I go to regularly is www.circleofmums.com.
So what is a dream feed? After researching about it, I came to the understanding that the dream feed is a feed that you give your baby without (as far as possible) waking them up, a few hours after they go to bed, and just before you go to bed. The idea is that they won't wake up hungry a few hours later. It tricks them into thinking they're still full at the time that they might usually wake during the night. I personally manage to whip in a quick nappy change too (I'm pretty deft, so Benny Baby doesn't fully wake up, although he might grizzle a bit at me for disturbing him. He usually falls right back asleep). We are using cloth nappies, which are not as absorbent as disposables, so heavily wet nappies in a short time is a bit of an issue for us. At nights now I put a prefold nappy in his normal flat nappy - that seems to do the trick splendidly.
I must say, all credit goes to the dream feed for Benny's new sleep-through-the-night regime at four months. It doesn't affect growth spurts, though. If he's going through a spurt, like he did a week ago, he will still wake once during the night, and feed like a mad thing over a day or two. But when he's in "normal" growth mode, dream feeds get him from 11pm through to 8am. I know, right? I feel like a new person with the uninterrupted sleep!!
Now, I schedule in the dream feed this way: I put him down for the night between 7 - 8pm, and the dream feed occurs about three to four hours later. That's usually about 11pm. It's the last thing I do before going to bed.
One very interesting reason for the dream feed's ability to work so well at helping baby sleep longer is due to the sleep hormone melatonin's peak in breastmilk at night, which helps to regulate baby's circadian sleep cycle. Also, feeding baby four hours after his bedtime feed rather than at 4:30am ensures he gets lots more fatty hindmilk to last him through the night than if I left it for too long and allowed more foremilk to be produced. The higher fatty content helps him feel fuller for longer and therefore he sleeps more comfortably!
Behold, the soporific effect of the dream feed:
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