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Attachment Parenting
Breaking the nurse-sleep association
I've been bedsharing with my baby starting when he was 4 months old. Before that, he was in a bassinett in our room and had worked up to 5 hours stretches of sleep. Then I went back to work, and he was reverse cycling a bit so I was fine with nursing him frequently through the night to make up for the calories and to comfort him after being away all day. Bedsharing was just the easiest way to do this.
Now he is eating plenty from the bottle during the day but still nursing every 2 to 3 hours at night (from about 8 pm to 6:30 am). I'm fine with nursing in the middle of the night if he is hungry, but I suspect I've created the association that he needs to nurse to get back to sleep when he has an awakening. This is because every awakening equals nursing back to sleep right now. This goes on until I'm so exhausted that my husband puts him to sleep in the swing (about 2 to 3 a.m.), in which he'll easily sleep 4 more hours.
I just read the No Cry Sleep Solution and just started the logging phase. However, I'm a little confused about how exactly to figure out how to break the nurse to sleep association because he unlatches himself after nursing and goes to sleep (there is no "pull off" needed from me). I'll start putting my plan together from the book but wanted to know if anyone had the same situation and had any tips. I'm not opposed to starting the transition to his own room if that might be what is needed.
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Re: Breaking the nurse-sleep association
Many babies will unlatch themselves and roll over and go to sleep - what you want to do is start the unlatch process earlier - so that he is really awake when nursing ends vs. being half asleep.
Some night nursing is still very very normal at this age - and you may not see those 5 hour stretches again for a bit (although you might!). After the 4 month wakeful, many babies remain more wakeful than they were as newborns.
Certainly fine to try moving him to his own sleeping space if you want to give it a go. I personally found it easiest to continue bed sharing so I didn't have to really wake up or get up but others have had success giving baby a separate sleep space - go with what works!
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
Babywearing Guide ** Newborn Carriers
Cloth Diaper Guide
Safe Bed Sharing Info
I'm at home for a year (Canada) but also started bedsharing during the 4 month wakeful. What I've been doing is keeping a soother on my bedside table and trying that first, along with patting her back/belly. So if she wakes up I try to give her the soother and pat her back. Sometimes this puts her back to sleep. If she won't take the soother and actually fusses or cries, I know she's hungry and let her nurse.
It's kind of working for us... good luck!