nursing/BFing to sleep?

bv27 · April 2009

Hi, all.

I'm cross-posting this from the 0-6 month board to get some insights from mothers with older babies.... The consensus on that board seems to be that if nursing to sleep is what needs to be done then do it and deal with the consequences later. I was wondering if anyone had nursed their baby to sleep and then had problems later? One mom posted and said it was fine but since each child is different, I wanted to see if there were any other experiences anyone wanted to share.

***

I've been struggling with getting DD on a nap and sleep routine and the routine is very fragile.... The only semi-reliable way to get her to sleep is to nurse her to sleep at night. Otherwise, she's up until midnight. We've tried baths, massage, the swing, cuddling, but it is the nursing that does the trick. Is nursing her to sleep forming a really bad habit and one which we'll pay for later? Is it especially bad to nurse her for naps?

At least once we finally get her to sleep, she'll sleep well overall, sometimes getting up at 3am and 6/7 am or skipping the 3am feed altogether.

Thanks!

1MusicMaker · April 2009

I still nurse DS to sleep at night. Works every time:o) We will be weaning soon, though, and I am a little afraid of what will happen. I can let you know in a few weeks!!

Jessibell · April 2009

I still nurse DD to sleep. I am very worried about what will happen when I wean.

Temp700366562504480 · April 2009

I'm guilty...we've done it (still do when he lets me) and I even feed him every time he wakes in the middle of the night. He's low on the growth curve so I will deal with any repercussions later. For now, it's what he needs. We'll see what happens when we begin the weaning process in the next couple of months...the evening and morning sessions will be the last to go...

Jessibell · April 2009

1MusicMaker:
I still nurse DS to sleep at night. Works every time:o) We will be weaning soon, though, and I am a little afraid of what will happen. I can let you know in a few weeks!!

Jinx!

cbwm · April 2009

I'm still nursing to sleep at night.

My opinion is - If it works, why change it?

1MusicMaker · April 2009

Jessibell:
1MusicMaker:
I still nurse DS to sleep at night. Works every time:o) We will be weaning soon, though, and I am a little afraid of what will happen. I can let you know in a few weeks!!

Jinx!

Hahaha!

jlb7640 · April 2009

Jessibell:
I still nurse DD to sleep. I am very worried about what will happen when I wean.

Ditto. She is napping on my lap right now.

melissab07 · April 2009

The only way I used to be able to get DS to sleep was to nurse him. But I quit BFing 3 weeks ago, and he has been fine! I was very worried like all of you about how he would be when I weaned. He was unhappy about the first 2 nights, but after that, he has been fine. He usually has a bottle close to bedtime now, and he has started to take a pacifier since I quit. He gets his paci after he is done eating and I still rock him, but he goes to sleep no problem.

So maybe I traded one bad habit for another, but like some of you said, whatever works.

Libramom2b · April 2009

I still nurse to sleep at night or until sleepy, but he can also go down without it (ilke if I am out of town) so i am not worried. I just love the feeling of him meltin in my arms (cheecy I know) and he obviously enjoys it, so we'll continue until I wean.

helovesducatis · April 2009

I nursed to sleep for nighttime, both naps, and sometimes early morning (for a little extra sleep) for the first 9 months. ?At that point DD seemed less able to settle for naps and rarely fell asleep while nursing. ?I started using Ferber's method (only after reading his book!!) for naps, but still nursed her to sleep at night. ?After a few weeks of using Ferber for naps, I found I could nurse her, put her down groggy, and then she would fuss and talk herself to sleep. ?

At about 10 months, she started doing this at nighttime too. ?I started to notice that she was only falling asleep nursing about 1/2 of the time, and the other half she would be groggy and sometimes fuss when I put her down awake, but would talk herself to sleep. ?For the past month and a half, she has gradually moved to no longer falling asleep nursing, so that now every night I nurse her for an extended period of time, rock her, then put her down groggy and she will talk herself to sleep. ?There are still a couple nights a week that she will cry when I put her down, but it only goes on for a min or two, then it becomes talking with a little fussing in between and she can get herself to sleep on her own.

I would encourage you to follow your heart and your LO's lead. ?Many, ?many people told me that nursing to sleep was trouble and that she was manipulating me. ?I chose to see it as our time to bond, and DD let me know how important that time was to her by showing frustration when she didn't get it. ?IMHO you aren't creating an unhealthy dependence with your baby (as most will say), instead you are creating a dependable, loving, comforting routine in which there is a strong bond between you and baby. ?Once your LO feels comfortable with that bond and learn they can depend on other things for comfort (like the fact that you will be there when they wake up), they start to move away from needing to nurse to sleep every time they fall asleep. ?

chrisnj0614 · April 2009

I used to nurse Colin to sleep.

Then he decided that he would fall asleep, then wake up the minute I put him down.

We are now doing Ferber. I hope this will help me once he is weaned at a year.

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