What’s a top up feed? Simply put, a “top up” feed is a second breastfeed or bottle feed in a baby’s wake window.
When might it be right for your baby? Usually around 5-7 months.
Let me explain:
For a 14 week old, one breastfeed or bottle-feed per wake window is generally sufficient, because their wake window is not much more than about an hour in length!
Meanwhile, for a 10 month old, one breastfeed or bottle-feed per wake window is also generally sufficient, because they also now have a meal of solids/purees in each wake window.
But what about when baby is 5, 6 or even 7 months, and is now having 2+ hours of awake time, not yet having many (or maybe even any) solids, and might be hungry by naptime if we’ve only offered one feed. This is when the top up feed can become very helpful.
As part of independent sleep habits, and promoting big, efficient, awake daytime feeds, I always encourage parents to focus on a routine of Wake, Eat, Play, Sleep. This means baby feeds when they wake up for the day, and when they wake up from each nap, but they do not feed at naptime, so we a) don’t end up with short, insufficient daytime feeds due to baby always falling asleep during the feed and b) we promote independent sleep habits (which can lead to great, long naps, and big, long stretches of healthy sleep at night!) because baby isn’t relying on feeding in order to sleep. However, we also of course need to ensure baby isn’t hungry at naptime, as this could cause a tough or short nap. Cue the top up feed!:
When a baby is around 5-7 months, and is now having bigger wake windows than they did as a newborn or younger infant, but isn’t yet having many (or any) solids, a top up feed can really help ensure smoother naps. But, here’s are the two big keys to the top up:
- It needs to be finished at least 30 minutes prior to the next nap
- We need to ensure baby doesn’t get at all drowsy or fall asleep on the feed.
This ensures we get the calories, but we don’t get a sleep crutch! So, we can ensure baby is full at naptime, but we don’t hinder independent sleep skills.
Of course, we do always offer a bedtime feed to infants in the evening, as part of the bedtime routine, to ensure their tummy is topped up for the night. In this case, it’s best to offer the feed fairly early in the bedtime routine (e.g. before bath, followed then by PJs, and a couple of books), so even if it’s not a full 30 minutes prior to bedtime, we do still get separation between feeding and going into the crib; again, to top up the tummy but avoid a sleep crutch.
I am particularly inclined to suggest a top up feed if the family of a 5-7 month old tells me their baby is an independent sleeper (goes into their crib awake, no sleep props, sleeps through the night), but still has very short naps, every day. This could be an indication that babe is getting a bit hungry partway through their nap, and when they are in a light stage of sleep during the nap and wake slightly, they can’t easily resettle. This is an excample of where a top up feed can really help! I very often see naps extend in these situations once we’ve introduced a top up feed in each wake window.
So, when do we cut out the top up feed? Usually we can do this as baby gets better and better with solids. Once you feel confident baby is having a good, age-appropriate, solid meal in a wake window, you could replace the top up feed with this. Under the age of one, when breastmilk or formula is still meant to be baby’s primary source of nutrition, you would still start each wake window with a breastfeed or bottle-feed, but then once solids are established in that wake window you could avoid the top up feed if no longer feeling necessary.
Every baby is different – some won’t love a top up feed for example if they have a history of reflux and big spit ups, and can’t have feeds so close together. But, for many babies, a top up feed can definitely be a parent’s helper in extending those pesky short naps!
