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How to cut back on night feeds once your baby is 6 months plus.

Now your baby is six months old, he may well sleep for 10 to 12 hours at night, and 2 to 3 hours during the day in morning and afternoon naps. Babies often drop their night feeds around 6 months, but many are still waking for a feed at this age.

You can keep feeding at night if it keeps you and your baby happy, but you may now feel that you want your baby to sleep through the night without waking you.

Stopping night feeds

If you want to stop giving feeds at night, there are a number of ways to encourage your baby to do this:

• When you are breastfeeding, try gradually giving your baby less milk until it is cut down to almost none; then he may feel that there is no point waking up in the night.
• Try giving a drink of water instead of a feed, but not if this upsets your baby.
• Asking your partner to go in when your baby wakes; your baby may associate you with a feed and be harder to settle if you go in.
• Ask your health visitor’s advice about making these changes.