HI! Welcome!! This was a worrisome issue for me too! (and I have a funny story at the end, that you can read or not!)
A dream feed is the last feed of the day for your LO. It's usually 3-4 hours after his/her previous feed. It's a bit of insurance that your child won't wake in the night (at least, not right away) wanting to be fed. So, you get more sleep! Here's how to do it:
You get everything ready while your child is still asleep. You creep quietly into his/her room (or your room, depending on where your LO is sleeping). You very gently pick your child up in your arms and sit down. It't okay if your child wakes. Your main goal is to make sure that your LO goes back to sleep once the df is over. (I do this in a very low lighted or dark room.)
Now that you're sitting, you can either feed your LO a bottle that you've prepared or you can breastfeed. Just lightly put the nipple of the bottle/breast in your LO's mouth. (I found that it took a few tries to get DS to latch on properly while he was half sleepy. And then it took some time for him to know to drink in his sleep.)
Your LO should eat once the nipple is in his/her mouth. (I think it's a reflex.) Once your LO has finished feeding, just lay him/her back down again. He/she should go back to sleep even if they woke during the feed. Make sure that you don't do anything to stimulate your LO during this time. I usually don't talk during the df. DS usually doesn't have to burp after his df because he takes his time and doesn't swallow too much air. If you do have to change your LO's diaper (if it's soiled or soaked through), do it quietly without much fuss and then put him/her back down again.
If you have any other questions, please PM me! I'd be happy to help any way I can.
So, here's my funny story (skip this if the post is getting too long for you!):
My parents were watching DS one night for dh and me. They try to follow DS routine to the letter (bless 'em). Everything went really well for them "except the dream feed." I was confused because DS usually takes the df like a champ and goes right back down. My mom said, "Oh he didn't wake up at all, but your dad and I had a devil of a time getting any milk into him at all!" Again, I was confused since DS hasn't met a bottle that he couldn't drain - even in his sleep! So, I asked my mom how she did the df. "What happened when you picked him up? Did he wake up and fuss?" I asked. "Oh," my mom said, "We didn't know to pick him up!" So she explains how she and my dad are BOTH trying their darnedest to feed a sleeping baby a bottle WHO IS STILL LAYING IN HIS CRIB without waking him up and without drowning him in milk or getting the cot soaked in the process! (He was sleeping on his side.) My mom and I just laughed and laughed about this. We still do!
HTH!
Hugs to you, and again, welcome!
