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Excessive nursing while cosleeping?

EchowyspEchowysp member
in Attachment Parenting

I've posted here before about my dd's love for nursing, even at almost 2.  She has gotten into a terrible sleep pattern where she wakes 2-3 times a night, every night and doesn't sleep longer than 4 hours at a time. 

My ds was a horrible sleeper (is a great sleeper now at almost 4, thankfully!) and cosleeping tended to help a lot.  So, I often times resort to sleeping with dd in her bed at 2nd waking.  I don't mind that so much, but she tends to need be latched onto my breast even when she's dozing.   My ds used to nurse and pop off to sleep. 

Dd seems to have replaced her thumb with my breast and it makes it very difficult to sleep.  Plus, I worry that it's going to make the situation worse by making her need the nursing or suckling more and more. 

Is this common for nursing and cosleeping?  I spend a lot of time either worrying about it and not sleeping.

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Re: Excessive nursing while cosleeping?

  • ncbellencbelle member

    Hey Echo...long time no talk!  Can't believe she's almost 2!

    Do you know the Pantley Pull Off from the No Cry Sleep Solution?  I'd do that to try to encourage her to fall asleep without being "hooked up."  I've been lucky that both of mine have done the pop off and roll over back to sleep for the most part but I've had friends with the all-night-hooked up babies.  I think if it's not working for you (sounds like it's not and I don't think it would for me!), it's ok to work on changes.  

    Another option would be to night wean or at least partially night wean...if you feel like y'all are ready for that. 



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  • EchowyspEchowysp member
    imagencbelle:

    Hey Echo...long time no talk!  Can't believe she's almost 2!

    Do you know the Pantley Pull Off from the No Cry Sleep Solution?  I'd do that to try to encourage her to fall asleep without being "hooked up."  I've been lucky that both of mine have done the pop off and roll over back to sleep for the most part but I've had friends with the all-night-hooked up babies.  I think if it's not working for you (sounds like it's not and I don't think it would for me!), it's ok to work on changes.  

    Another option would be to night wean or at least partially night wean...if you feel like y'all are ready for that. 

    Hi Nc!  I know, can you believe how big our kids have gotten?  Last I remember, you were just about to give birth!  Elenore looks just like her brother.  Such cuties!

    Yeah, I'm familiar with that method and just need to start doing it.  I'm too tired to deal with night weaning right now, if that makes any sense.  I'm hoping maybe with the pull off method, she can start self-soothing with her thumb like she did all through her first 10 months, when she was a great sleeper.

     

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  • tokenhosertokenhoser member

    My son is a bit younger, but we've had our ups and downs with night nursing. He'd be happier latched on all night, but I can no longer sleep that way.

    I'm at the point where I have to restrict it to what I can live with. For us, that's one good feed (and he chugs back both breasts) at 3 or 4 am. He often wakes between 12 and 2, and I let DH deal with that one (there are a few tears). Then he wakes between 3 and 4 and I feed him. Sometimes he also wakes at 5... I've started giving him 5 minutes to settle, and today he actually did. Then we're up sometime after 6.

    I guess I'm saying try delegating the first wake up to DH. DS doesn't really like it, but I don't really like being a zombie all day.

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  • ncbellencbelle member

    I know - nuts!  I swear they were all just born!

    I totally hear ya on being too tired to night wean.  I sort of intended to night wean Eleanor at least some this summer because once the semester starts I know I will totally lack the motivation to do it!  And given that that is next week...oops!

    I would second the get daddy involved suggestion.  We are trying right now to let DH handle her first waking.  Right now she starts out the night in her bed and ends up sleeping with me about hallway through.  The problem is that she and Callum are sharing a room so I'm afraid of having DH go in too much - she is so LOUD.  Luckily, Callum seems to sleep right through it most of the time. 



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  • EchowyspEchowysp member

    We've tried dh going in to shush her back down, but she is such a boob addict and a mama's girl, she screams and become frantic.  It's more than just a cry, she becomes almost hysterical.  It's like that during the day too.  She's sort of sensitive that way.  We've done CIO with her before where she would cry and then go to sleep, but if someone's in the room that's not me, she freaks out. 

    CIO won't work now because she can get out of her bed.  Friends have told me to let her fall asleep at the door, but that doesn't feel right to me.

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  • DeniseRNDeniseRN member
    DS1 was 20 months when I weaned him. He was only nursing at night and I was beginning to have a lot of nipple pain. We coslept too. I would turn my back to him and pretend to sleep. Once he got down to one feeding I would get up w him and we would go to our rocking chair and I would rock him back to sleep while singing Yellow Submarine lol. He really liked that song IDK :. It took 3 days and he was totally weaned. Those 3 days were rough and I treated myself to Starbucks on those 3 mornings, it was worth it. Also, we were still able to cosleep but without nursing.
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