Ferber & Nursing question

ndruley · April 2013

DH and I have read the book but are still confused about nursing and using the Ferber method. If the sleep association we are trying to break is DD nursing to sleep should we A) Nurse her after reading to her like normal but just make sure she is awake when we lay her down? or

Nurse her before we read so that she is completely awake when we put her in her crib? TIA!

JoNi2010 · April 2013

I just read the book and starting day 2 of doing this method (and I think there is already some improvement - amazing!) I think it depends on your baby - I am trying to break the nursing association so I nurse my LO first, then sleep sack and read and put him in the crib awake but drowsy. But I think Ferber did state that you could nurse, wake him, then put in the crib - as long as your LO is able to console herself without nursing when she awakes.

ndruley · April 2013

JoNi2010:
I just read the book and starting day 2 of doing this method (and I think there is already some improvement - amazing!) I think it depends on your baby - I am trying to break the nursing association so I nurse my LO first, then sleep sack and read and put him in the crib awake but drowsy. But I think Ferber did state that you could nurse, wake him, then put in the crib - as long as your LO is able to console herself without nursing when she awakes.

We are also on day 2 and I felt like I was doing it wrong! I nursed her last night and basically passed out, but when I took her off she woke up and we laid her in her crib. She cried for about 30 seconds then passed out which is why I feel like I am doing it wrong. About an hour later she woke up and we did the progressive waiting for about 30 minutes and then she slept through the night! WooHoo! Thanks for your response and good luck!

LyndseylovesHugh · April 2013

Giving Audrey her bottle was the last thing I would do before Ferber, she would always fall asleep and I would put her in her crib asleep or pretty much asleep, which was not working. So now instead of it being the last thing in her bedtime routine, it is the first. We do a bottle, solids, some nights a bath, change her diaper, give her a massage, put on PJs, read Good Night Moon, say our bed time prayers, put on sleep sack, turn on white noise and off the light and then in the crib totally awake. We have been doing this for a month now and most of the time she doesn't even fuss, just rolls over and goes to sleep. Some nights she will fuss if she is really fighting sleep, but it is never a full cry and never lasts more than a few minutes. Because she is totally awake when we put her to bed she has to put herself to sleep, which is the point, so I would recommend doing it that way!

Raserei · April 2013

I typically nurse right after her back (still in towel because she's hungry and wants it NOW) then diaper, dress, book/sing whatever. But, then again my baby never did allow me to put her down asleep anyway.

Kimberskirby · April 2013

I nurse him right before I lay him down. If he starts falling asleep, I sing to him or tell him a story. Sometimes he still kind of falls asleep, so when I am done nursing, I pick him up and carry him on my shoulder, which kind of wakes him up. It's actually best if he is half asleep when I lay him down. He just rolls over and goes right to sleep. And he sleeps through the night most of the time.

Ms. Lisi · April 2013

You want to nurse her so that she is very drowsy, but still awake. That way, she puts herself to sleep, and none of her surroundings change during night wakings. We did this with our DD, and she sleeps like a champ now. And dont be surprised if she still wakes for a night feeding, sometimes BF babies just do. The breastmilk is processed faster by the body than formula is. Although, our DD sleeps all the way through the night now. (she is nearly nine months old). Good luck!