Sleep advice 6.5 month old
Am I doing something wrong with my 6.5-month-old’s sleep, or is this still normal?
I’m mainly looking for advice on night wakings and night feeds. I would love to reduce them gradually, but I’m not sure whether she is genuinely hungry, whether it’s habit, or whether I’m expecting too much for her age.
Current situation:
She goes to bed around 7:00-7:30 PM. She usually falls asleep independently, without feeding to sleep or rocking. Her first stretch is often the best, usually around 3.5-4.5 hours, but after that she often wakes every 2.5-3 hours and wants to feed. Most nights we end up with 2-3 night feeds. Early mornings are also hard, especially around 5:00-5:30 AM, when she may wake and struggle to resettle.
Daytime sleep is actually improving. She usually does 3 naps, sometimes 3 naps plus a tiny catnap if the day is awkward. Wake windows are roughly 2-2.5 hours. Total daytime sleep is often around 3-3.5 hours. Her naps used to be very short, but recently she has been doing more 45 min to 1.5+ hour naps.
She is breastfed, but recently started accepting a bottle again. We now give one formula bottle in the evening. Solids have started, but she is not eating huge amounts yet.
We have tried soothing before feeding, but often she gets more upset instead of calming down. If I feed her, she drinks actively and settles quickly, which makes it hard to know whether she is truly hungry or just used to feeding back to sleep.
My questions:
- Is 2-3 night feeds still normal at 6.5 months?
- How do you know whether night feeds are hunger or habit?
- How would you gradually reduce night feeds without lots of crying?
- Should I focus more on daytime intake, solids, bedtime timing, or just give it more time?
- When did nights become more consistent for your baby?
I’m exhausted and would really appreciate honest experiences or practical advice.