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Eliminating Nursing to Sleep

bullybuttbullybutt member
in Attachment Parenting
Is it possible to get my DS to go to sleep without nursing when we bedshare?  He is 12 months old and he has 95% of the time gone to bed by nursing.  If he does fall asleep without nursing, the SECOND that I try to lay him down, he is awake and freaking out until he gets boob to fall back asleep.  SO is pretty much useless in trying to help get him to go to sleep...if anything, he hinders the process by being the loudest person on earth. No CIO advice please.

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Re: Eliminating Nursing to Sleep

  • Pookers7Pookers7
    My older DD was that way. The No Cry Sleep Solution way worked perfect for us. Essentially you let him nurse until he's almost there and gently pop the latch. He'll fuss. Give it back. Wait until a count of 10 or so. Pop. Fuss. Pop. Fuss. If he gets genuinely upset, the game is over and he's too young. If he's not, he will eventually fall asleep instead of fussing. Repeat ad nauseum for weeks and he will need it less and less. Beware - this also lead to complete night weaning for us, so don't do it unless you're ready for that. 
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  • MommyPhoenixMommyPhoenix member
    We have the exact same issue, but it carries over to naps as well. For the most part during the day, I just lay with DD when she needs to nurse and she will fall asleep and most of the time I can use the nap too! But I need to transition her to nap in her crib soon because she's starting to scoot and roll all over the place.

     

        

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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    edited August 2013
    DS nursed to sleep until about 18 months. He still does occasionally, but more often than not I nurse him for a bit and then he rolls over and falls asleep on his own. No tears. It's been sort of like a developmental milestone for him.

    It's totally normal for toddlers to have the nurse to sleep association, and they do naturally outgrow it, so unless it bothers you to help him fall asleep this way, I wouldn't worry about it too much. He'll outgrow it very soon, and you'll pine for the days of snuggling to sleep. ;)

    ETA: If it does bother you for him to nurse to sleep, you could work to help him gradually associate other things, like rocking, singing, and back rubbing, with sleep and less and less will he associate nursing with falling asleep.
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  • ForeverEverAfterForeverEverAfter member
    I used the Pantley Pull Off from No Cry Sleep Solution. Now she nurses til drowsy, comes off and snuggles to sleep. My next step is putting her down drowsy-but she's not ready yet.
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  • bullybuttbullybutt member
    There is no way that he would let me rock or snuggle/cuddle him over nursing.  He digs and fights for my chest until he gets them.  I don't mind it so much...I guess I was just worried that it might not be "normal" for him to still want them in order to fall asleep.  Like you said, it's a milestone that he will eventually hit.  I'll bide and enjoy my time with him until so.  Thanks for the 2 cents ladies!

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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    bullybutt said:

    There is no way that he would let me rock or snuggle/cuddle him over nursing.  He digs and fights for my chest until he gets them.  I don't mind it so much...I guess I was just worried that it might not be "normal" for him to still want them in order to fall asleep.  Like you said, it's a milestone that he will eventually hit.  I'll bide and enjoy my time with him until so.  Thanks for the 2 cents ladies!

    It sounds like nursing to sleep is just very important to him still. He will definitely outgrow it, and sooner than you think! And it is absolutely developmentally normal at his age. Good job, mama! ;)
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  • jcsumm0jcsumm0 member

    My daughter could never do the "down drowsy but awake" thing...the pantley pull of just made her angry.  If she got all sleepy while nursing, she needed to keep nursing until she was reeeally asleep.  What worked for us was changing around the order of things and going to bed completely awake.  Around 15 months, we started doing nurse and then books and bed, instead of books, nurse to sleep, bed.  I had to try to keep her awake while nursing sometimes, then we read books, then she went in her crib with a few books to look at and fell asleep on her own.

    I know it is somewhat different because you bedshare, but I thought I would share what worked for us.  I didn't think it would be so easy and gentle, but it was.

    Good luck finding a plan that works for you (even if that means continuing to nurse to sleep!)

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  • skibunny59skibunny59 member
    jcsumm0 said:

    My daughter could never do the "down drowsy but awake" thing...the pantley pull of just made her angry.  If she got all sleepy while nursing, she needed to keep nursing until she was reeeally asleep.  What worked for us was changing around the order of things and going to bed completely awake.  Around 15 months, we started doing nurse and then books and bed, instead of books, nurse to sleep, bed.  I had to try to keep her awake while nursing sometimes, then we read books, then she went in her crib with a few books to look at and fell asleep on her own.

    I know it is somewhat different because you bedshare, but I thought I would share what worked for us.  I didn't think it would be so easy and gentle, but it was.

    Good luck finding a plan that works for you (even if that means continuing to nurse to sleep!)

    This is exactly what we did.  We bedshare too but only for part of the night.  DD starts the night in her crib and we changed the bedtime routine when she turned one.  We still rock her to sleep though.  She freaks out if you try to put her in her crib completely awake.  Her bedtime routine takes a little longer now because it takes her longer to fall asleep without the nursing but we have found that she sleeps for a longer stretch now than before.
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  • sucredeesucredee member
    DD still nurses to sleep for naps (if not she will not nap). She stopped nursing to sleep for night time on her own around 15 months. She still wants to nurse before bed but will stay awake unless she skipped her nap that day. I put her in her crib. Lie down next to her for about 2 minutes (holding her hand) and then I leave. Then she tells me every night without fail: I'm not gonna cry, I will tell you when I have to go potty :) I wouldn't worry about it at 12 months. If it works for you and everyone is happy let it be.
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