The thing is that breast fed babies and formula fed babies have exactly the same sleep potential. The reason why it can often seem that formula fed babies sleep for longer periods is that their feeds are often quite structured and there is usually quite a large volume of milk being offered in one sitting. It can take a while for that volume of milk to be digested therefore baby feels full and content enough to sleep for longer periods.

Breastfed babies can also experience longer stretches of sleep when their tummies are nice and full. Quite often we are topping baby up with small snack feeds but when you start to focus on 'completing' feeds it can often make a big difference to their sleep.

It's common for mums to use the breastfeed as a foolproof way to get their little ones down for a nap or to return back to sleep overnight. There is nothing wrong with that, however, as the feed is timed so closely to a nap it means baby is generally pretty tired and therefore conks out after a few sips or half-hearted attempt. Mission accomplished, bub is asleep, but the tank isn't full so to speak...cue the short nap.

If you work on offering the feed earlier then you will have more opportunity to keep baby awake and focussed on their feed. Offer the first breast then rev them up a little by changing their nappy if they start look a little sleepy. Usually this works a treat and you can pop baby on the second side with enough energy to complete the feed. Your little one will be more receptive to settling with a little less help and you'll increase their chances of sleeping a little longer if they have a full tummy and correct wakeful period.

By fuelling baby up through the day with great breastfeeds or great formula feeds you’ll find that your little one will need to wake less overnight to top up their calorie intake and those longer stretches will begin to appear. This is how you start shaping a baby’s day to optimise their sleep potential.

It’s worthwhile noting that there is no real link between adding/switching to formula and having your baby sleep better, simply because hunger isn’t the only reason a baby wakes at night.