Nursing LO to sleep

skibunny59 · December 2012

DD has a very strong nurse to sleep association and lately her sleep (and mine) have gone to total crap because of it. We've tried a little bit of CIO with her since she's 9 months but realized it is just not for us and it really wasn't helping anyway. For those of you who experience this with your LO, when did it get better and did you do anything different or did it just get better on its own.

Just a little background. I've nursed her to sleep since she was a newborn. She slept in our bed from the time she was born until she was 3 months. At 3 months we had success putting her in the pack and play in our bedroom. One day I nursed her to sleep like usual and just laid her in the pack and play. To my surprise she started STTN. Around 4 and a half months or so she started waking at 4:00AM so I would bring her back to bed to nurse her and then just leave her in bed. At 6 months we moved her to the crib in her bedroom. She would usually sleep until like 1 or 2AM and then at that time I would go get her and nurse her in bed.

Lately what has been happening is I will nurse her to sleep and then she will be up exactly one hour later from when I put her down (usually put her down around 7). And then she wakes up an hour after that. And then around 10:30 or so when I'm ready to go to bed she wakes up crying and will not go back down unless I nurse her in our bed. I don't mind cosleeping but she wants to sleep with my boob in her mouth the entire time. And I also don't mind nursing to sleep but she just won't stay asleep for longer than an hour. I've tried sending DH in with a bottle but she won't take it and sometimes she will only take like an ounce or two so I know she isn't truly hungry.

Emerald27 · December 2012

First, an ounce or two for a night feeding is pretty good. That's about right for a breastfed baby. Could she be teething? And sleep became much harder for us while DS was learning how to walk. He woke much more often...

Also, my DS has a very strong nurse to sleep association, and I do lay with him and nurse him to sleep for naps and bedtime. Lately, he nurses almost to sleep and then rolls over and cuddles up with his back against my belly, arms and legs stretched out, and goes to sleep.

I consider falling asleep without nursing to be a milestone like any other. That said, DS is pretty good about letting me slip away once he's asleep, and he does unlatch once he's really asleep.

Have you tried gently putting a finger in her mouth to break the seal? Or sometimes if you just create a bit of tension by pulling away very gently, after a few seconds LO may open her mouth.

Good luck!

BransonsBecca · December 2012

We are working on getting DD to fall asleep without nursing as well but it's been tough. She is 5 months and I have nursed her to sleep for everything since day 1. However, I'm realizing that this is making it tough for anyone to put her down to bed, other than myself. DH wants to be more involved in our nighttime routine as well. The only thing that has worked for us so far is 1) laying a hot water bottle down wherever I want her to sleep 2) nursing till drowsy/flutter sucking and setting her down in her warm spot 3) holding a paci in her mouth- which I did not want to start but she likes it 4) putting light pressure on her upper chest while holding the paci in.

I think that doing the paci and pressure makes her feel like we are still nursing, along with the hot water bottle making her spot nice and cozy. It's hard sometimes, because she is a big head thrasher right before she falls asleep, so keeping the paci in is a challenge! HTH! Good luck!

blu-eyedwife · December 2012

Emerald27:
First, an ounce or two for a night feeding is pretty good. That's about right for a breastfed baby. Could she be teething? And sleep became much harder for us while DS was learning how to walk. He woke much more often...

We never had quite the struggle that you're having, but I second this. Our sleep goes to crap whenever he's teething or sick. But other than that,

I just posted the other day about how around 11/12 months he stopped "nursing" to sleep. We've always nursed before bed, which is inadvertently nursing to sleep. And on his own, he just stopped falling asleep on the breast, but going to sleep either right before eating, or shortly after - on his own.

ladybug122 · December 2012

I have a 18 month old DD who nurses to sleep and we bedshare. I'm not going to lie, it has been quite challenging at times. Since I am the only one who can put her to sleep, it is impossible for me to leave her for more than half a day or to not be home at bedtime. At night if she wakes up at all (normal night wakings or if me or SO move and make a sound) she says "Mama! Milk!" or just sits up and tries to latch on by herself. Some periods of time it has been only 2-3 times a night, but lately it has been more like 6-8 times per night. I honestly thought things would have improved by this age, but they haven't. I wish I would have tried to change her habits sooner, because she is quite stubborn and used to our routine at this age, I'm afraid it will be hard to change.

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