How to make 6 month old BF more during the day?

[Natazha]

Help! I am so confused. I have a couple of issues with DD2 related to getting her to eat more at daytime feeds, reducing/stopping NWs and working out an EASY schedule that works (she's on a 3 hour E schedule but down to 2 naps and 1 catnap a day with a 2 hour A time).

I didn't EBF until DD2, so I'm a little new to nursing. With DD2, who is now 6 months old, I'm breastfeeding except for a top up formula bottle (4oz) at BT which I introduced because I felt like she wasn't getting enough. I did a yield and my supply is fine. DD2 wakes up 2-3 times a night (down from 6x a night!), and feeds a full feed at least 2 of those times (I can usually get her to go back to sleep one of those times). She was waking up around 1am and 5am and then only taking a partial feed at 7am (her WU time), but now the NWs are becoming a little more erratic and have been for about 2 weeks. She has never STTN.

We just started solids (this is our 4th try and it's finally working) - and she has one solid meal a day consistently, and sometimes two.

We've just transitioned her to a different nap schedule, because she was able to do longer A times, and her naps got shorter (30-45mins each). Now she's (FINALLY!) consolidating her naps again and sleeping longer, which is really messing up the E part of our schedule. She is still on 3 hours E during the day because I read somewhere (Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Sleep Problems?) that if baby is not sleeping through the night, you shouldn't move to a 4/4 routine. She naps at 9ish and 1ish and catnaps at 5ish. So we're doing this messed up EASY that looks like below.

I feel like the problem is that she is not taking full feeds during the day and so is obviously hungry and waking up at night. She puts herself to sleep (taught her that at 3 months with shush pat - worked a charm) at BT and nap time, so it's not a sleep association/ prop issue. But I'm not sure how to make her feed longer during the day? Getting her to take the feeds below are hard enough - she is SO distractible! Help! Any advice on how to make her feeds more substantial during the day and get her to stop waking up at night, as well as advice on my EASY would be appreciated!

700 WU E (full feed)
725 A
900 S
1000 E (full feed?)
1015 A
1115 Solids (fruit/veg - 2 tsp)
1245 E (full feed? - I nurse her here to get her to nap longer, otherwise she wakes up 30mins into the nap and is starving, but I'm worrying about the nursing to sleep association? Also, I find if I nurse her here, she takes a good feed. Any other time, she's distracted)
100 S
230/300 A
400 E (partial feed)
410 A
500 S (catnap)
530 A
600 E (partial feed, but screams for it)
610 A (bath, PJs, bedtime routine)
640 E (full feed plus 4oz formula top up)
700 BT (no cry, she puts herself to sleep)
100 NW - she takes a full feed
400 NW - sometimes she wakes up but will not take a full feed
500 NW - she takes a full feed
630 NW - fusses, I try not to feed her
700 WU and E (partial feed)

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Hmm I don't have my BW books right now so not sure about not going to a 4/4 routine if not sttn...but I do know a lot of bf info has changed since the books were written. Personally I would try spacing the feeds out if she is not interested at the 3 hr mark. I also found feeding in a dark room helpful when they were in the distractable phase! Something like a nursing necklace could be useful too. Also worth noting that 2 nf's at this age is totally normal and changing up the daytime feeds may not stop her waking for feeds, bm is so easily digested.

[Natazha]

Thanks for that info. I have a nursing necklace and I'm trying to nurse right when she wakes up from naps (quiet dark room) but when she wakes up early, that doesn't happen. She used to only nurse once a night and she never takes a full feed first thing in the am, even if her last nw is as early as 4am so I'm feeling that it's time to drop that nw. I just don't know how. I tried pu/pd yesterday but omg I have never heard her cry so hysterically and she was definitely not hungry!

[weaver]

Have to agree with Heidi - at her age she should definitely be feeding more like every 4 hours.  i would try spacing things out a bit more.  It's also quite normal for BF babies to still have a NF at this age, in addition to a DF.  There are also LOs out there, just like adults, who don't really like to eat much first thing in the morning.