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Nap time

LizzyG11LizzyG11 member
in Attachment Parenting
C doesn't have the conventional napping routine. She takes two short morning catnaps during/after her two morning nursing sessions (about 9 and 11). She typically eats and then falls asleep at the breast, and uses me as a pacifier for the rest of her nap (total time spent latched is usually 30-45 mins).

Then around 12:30 she takes a 2-3 hour nap, but will only sleep this long if she nurses down, side-lying in bed with me. After she is good and asleep I can usually slip away for 20, maybe 30 mins before she starts rooting again, then I lie back down with her and nurse her again. This is the only way she'll nap well. She wakes up almost instantly if I transfer her to her crib...If I'm lucky I can get 40 mins in her crib. She just needs me as a pacifier.

Is this normal for a 4 month old? Everyone I tell this to keeps telling me what a bad habit it is and I'm fostering the "suck to sleep" association and I'm spoiling her etc etc. Does anyone else have a similar situation? Did your child eventually learn to sleep without nursing? I actually quite like nursing her to sleep, but eventually it'd be nice if she would stay asleep without the boob pacifier :) At night she does great on her own (6-8 hour stretches) but napping is not her thing.

I guess it'd just be nice to hear that I'm not doing everything wrong here, and hear from those with similar experiences.
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Re: Nap time

  • musicalmama5musicalmama5 member
    I wouldn't worry about spoiling her or giving her a bad sleep association, but if you find that you need her naptimes in order to get stuff done then you might need to make a change. Otherwise, if you're happy, don't worry about it!
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  • Emerald27Emerald27 member
    This is absolutely natural and normal! :)

    Everyone has sleep associations, even adults, and those associations expand and change throughout our lives. Some people need the fan on to sleep, blankets just right, a game on their phone or a chapter of a good book...there will always be conditions necessary for a person to fall asleep easily. That's why it can be so hard to go to sleep when our schedules change or we're away from home!

    All that is to say that the nurse-to-sleep association is natural and developmentally normal (and super common), especially for a 4 month old! And in time she will start to sleep longer stretches without waking or wanting to pacify on the breast.

    I still nurse DS (22mo) to sleep for naps and bedtime, but I'm able to slip away and he'll sleep for 2.5 hours on his own. When he was 4 months, I would preemptively return to the bedroom 20/25 mins into his nap, and I'd try to "catch" him before he'd stir, so to speak, and then once he had nursed some and fallen deeply asleep again, I'd slip away for another stretch of nap. ;)

    I am grateful for the nurse-to-sleep association because it's still so easy for me to get DS down for naps. We just snuggle for a bit and he nurses and is happily asleep in no time. Family/friends with 2 year olds who've either weaned or who don't nurse to sleep have a much harder time getting their kids down for a nap. Sleep has always been so positive a thing for DS, and I do think it's because he associates it with nursing, snuggling, and comfort.

    Don't listen to the nay-sayers. Do what works best for and feels right to you!
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  • ReeceFamilyReeceFamily member
    My LO is 7 mos and if I'm around she always nurses to sleep. Since she will be my only child, I'm just using it as an excuse to slow down and relax for once! I've read all the books telling me I'll regret it, but LO is happy, I get enough sleep, and soon enough she'll be starting kindergarten and I can look back on all the snuggles, even if its occasionally inconvenient. So screw what the books say :). If you are happy with the arrangement no change is necessary.
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  • jackersCUjackersCU member
    Oh my gosh I thought I was reading something I posted!!! Your experience (even the times) is exactly the same as mine!!! That being said, I am glad you posted this because I have the same questions!!!
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  • LizzyG11LizzyG11 member
    edited September 2013
    Thanks ladies, I just needed to hear that I'm not alone, and that others in similar situations came out with happy, well-adjusted babies/toddlers :) I've always leaned towards AP, and I just need to learn to trust my mommy instincts!
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  • MommyPhoenixMommyPhoenix member
    Emerald27 said:

    This is absolutely natural and normal! :)

    Everyone has sleep associations, even adults, and those associations expand and change throughout our lives. Some people need the fan on to sleep, blankets just right, a game on their phone or a chapter of a good book...there will always be conditions necessary for a person to fall asleep easily. That's why it can be so hard to go to sleep when our schedules change or we're away from home!

    All that is to say that the nurse-to-sleep association is natural and developmentally normal (and super common), especially for a 4 month old! And in time she will start to sleep longer stretches without waking or wanting to pacify on the breast.

    I still nurse DS (22mo) to sleep for naps and bedtime, but I'm able to slip away and he'll sleep for 2.5 hours on his own. When he was 4 months, I would preemptively return to the bedroom 20/25 mins into his nap, and I'd try to "catch" him before he'd stir, so to speak, and then once he had nursed some and fallen deeply asleep again, I'd slip away for another stretch of nap. ;)

    I am grateful for the nurse-to-sleep association because it's still so easy for me to get DS down for naps. We just snuggle for a bit and he nurses and is happily asleep in no time. Family/friends with 2 year olds who've either weaned or who don't nurse to sleep have a much harder time getting their kids down for a nap. Sleep has always been so positive a thing for DS, and I do think it's because he associates it with nursing, snuggling, and comfort.

    Don't listen to the nay-sayers. Do what works best for and feels right to you!

    Emerald27 I just have to say, I love reading your comments! So wise ;) your responses always have such reassurance in them and are so helpful - I know they've helped me! Thanks Mama :)

     

        

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  • withabandonwithabandon member
    My four-month-old does EXACTLY the same thing. I don't mind too much and am letting go of what all the books tell me to do, etc. It's our normal and it works for me. Now she has unfortunately started waking up a lot at night to nurse to sleep, and that sucks for sure, but I'm hoping it's a phase and she'll go back to long night stretches. :-)
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