7 months, feed + sleep too strong an association to break!

[Muddingtons1]

My son is 7 months now and slept 11 hours straight for pretty much a month at 6 months, then he got a virus and regressed to being a newborn, only sleeping in my arms, needing boob for comfort all night etc. etc. He got better three weeks ago but his sleep is still awful and getting worse! I always used to feed him before naps and bedtime but would put him down drowsy but awake. Now, the sleep + feed association seems so strong I literally can't keep him awake when I feed him after his bath. And then he wakes and demands milk with desperate cries anytime from 10pm onwards. Any advice!? Is this a "sleep training" applicable situation? Or should I somehow be waking him up after he feeds (I already tickle him, talk to him, blow in his face, etc. to try to keep him awake), or a phase that I just need to ride out, do you think? Thank you in advance!

Do you do a split feed before bath? So feed, bath, pjs then feed again? That way even if baby is dozy for the second half of the feed they’ve had the main proportion of the milk before the bath?

Bear in mind there's a big sleep regression at 8-10 mo

And there is NOTHING wrong with feeding to sleep. But he might wake anyway even if you don't feed him to sleep

I usually feed him around 5pm then bath at 6.30pm and again before bed at 7pm but will try feeding him just before the bath too. Thanks.

And I didn't know about another sleep regression - good to know! I assume that means anything we might 'teach' him in the next month may well need to be relearned anyhow. Thanks again!

sarahockwell-smith.com/tag/8-9-month-sleep-regression/