Teaching active baby to feed longer at night?

[sam c]

Hello, we have a funny situation with our 6mo and would love some advice (this is Dad speaking).

Currently, she does very quick BF most of the day (5-10 mins, emptying each side). The evening is tricky though. Here's our current routine:

7PM - 45min sleep
10PM-ish - Do sleep routine and PU/PD. The instant we begin the sleep routine she cries and arches (frustration). We do this for about 5 mins to get her worked up, and then quickly BF. This seems to help her settle in for her 1-1.5hr "tank up" feed. At the end she'll stay asleep when we take her off and put her in the cot.
11:30-12pm - Sleep until 7am, waking once or twice occasionally.

Some extra notes

• She's a very low sleep baby - we realised early on that she was never going to be a 7pm-7am sleeper.
• When she was younger, long feeds were easier - but now she's very easily distracted.

We'd really like to stop using PU/PD in the evenings as a tool for getting her worked up to do a long feed. But what can we use in it's place? If we do nothing, she'll only feed for 5-10 mins, then struggles to sleep.

Any suggestions?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

At 6 months of age a 5-10 min feed could very well be a full feed (I think all tree of mine were down to that sort of a feed by 4/5 months). To be honest with that late of a bedtime and such little overnight sleep I actually wonder if it is more to do with being overtired. My DD3 is an extremely low sleep needs baby and her nights while she was still napping were never less than 10.5 hrs and we were doing one longer nap and a short catnap at that age. What does her daytime routine look like?

[Shiv52]

10 mins was a full feed here at that age.  A 6 month old shouldn't need a 60/90 minute tank up feed. I'd allow a 15 mins maximum then do bedtime routine.

The other thing to mention is PU/PD is a tool to teach independent sleep. Am I understanding you are doing PU\PD then feeding after 5 mins?   If so I'd stop that and just feed then use PU/PD to get your LO to sleep as it seems she's using that long feed to get to sleep and will be a big prop at this age that will get harder to break.

[*Ali*]

I think this is more a sleep issue tbh. I think she is so OT by the BT feed that she just cannot relax. I know you say she is low sleep needs but I doubt she is getting enough sleep on a 7.5hr night. I imagine she is sleeping most of that 1.5hr feed too. It's called breast sleeping btw

10 mins would definitely be a full feed here. 1.5hrs is almost certainly just using it as a way to suck to get to sleep rather than her needing tanking up.

[sam c]

Thanks all. Sounds like we need to work on the sleep

If she only does a 10 min feed before bed, you think she'll get enough hind milk etc?

[*Ali*]

By 6mo yes I do think she could have had enough milk after 10 mins as long as it is she who is stopping the feed. I'd never say cut a baby off who is actively feeding but if she is stopping then that should be fine. They are very efficient by this age.