nursing to sleep

ilysarahd · December 2013

Anyone else's LO need to be nursed to sleep? How can we break the habit? At 9 months old it's getting extremely exhausting nursing her to sleep. It's definitely the cause of sleep issues.

jdilorenzo · December 2013

Some nights I have to nurse her to sleep. Like tonight. But other nights she falls asleep on her own. I don't mind it though. Some nights I think she just needs the extra comfort. Sorry it's causing you issues.

SidraJedi · December 2013

DD also nurses to sleep. It is rare that she falls asleep on her own. I do not mind it. I do mind that she nurses every 1-2 hours and often more for comfort in between day or night. but I can't come up with any solutions so I just try to relax and catch a break when I can.

What kind of sleep issues are you having because of the nurse to sleep association?

eriannc22 · December 2013

Yep, DS still nurses to sleep and wakes every two to three hours at night. He can also be rocked to sleep, but has no ability to fall asleep on his own. He also struggles with staying asleep through a sleep cycle and likes to sleep latched and comfort nursing all night. Just this week I have finally started to see some improvement, when I feel he's done actively nursing I can delatch him and he usually stays asleep. It's definitely been tough.

wifeofadam · December 2013

IME the only way to break the association is to quit cold turkey and do some CIO. Since I know that's the case with my kids, I usually try to wait until after their first birthday to do it, when they are eating more solids. Right now I feel like my baby still needs to nurse through the night, so I feel like trying to break the association and force her to sleep through her desire to nurse wouldn't be healthy for her.

I feel for you! It's a tough association to break. But I'm also thankful that nursing is such an easy tool for getting a baby to sleep too.

ericalee27 · December 2013

+adamwife+ said:

IME the only way to break the association is to quit cold turkey and do some CIO. Since I know that's the case with my kids, I usually try to wait until after their first birthday to do it, when they are eating more solids. Right now I feel like my baby still needs to nurse through the night, so I feel like trying to break the association and force her to sleep through her desire to nurse wouldn't be healthy for her.

I feel for you! It's a tough association to break. But I'm also thankful that nursing is such an easy tool for getting a baby to sleep too.

Yep, ditto all of this. I waited until DS1 was about 14 months before we made the break, and will probably do close to the same with DS2.

penguingrrl · December 2013

My son still nurses to sleep, as did my younger daughter at this age. My daughter eventually outgrew it on her own around 14-15 months. I'm figuring DS will do the same. At some point I'll push the issue if I have to, but for now I'll do it. I'm definitely more relaxed about it knowing he's my last and I feel like when he outgrows nursing to sleep my "baby" won't be a baby anymore.

babywisher · December 2013

Dd still nurses to sleep at night. There are some nights where I would love to be able to let dh put her to bed or spend the night out. Honestly though I love that time with her as she is growing too fast for me!

Puck1182 · December 2013

DD has been nursing to sleep more lately. Also taking longer to settle after her early morning feed. But she's also working on four teeth at once and is clearly uncomfortable, so I feel bad denying her the extra comfort and snuggles. I'm going to wait it out until these teeth make their appearance and hope she will get back to sleeping well at that point. Silly girl teased me with nearly 9 1/2 hours straight of sleep this past Wednesday, too! I was really hoping that woul be the new normal. And maybe once she gets these teeth, it will be? I hope? At least until the next round of teething??

ilysarahd · December 2013

She can't fall asleep at all unless she's nursing. Napping is out the window most days unless i leave her on the boppy and don't move for 45 mins. Occasionally I can put her in her car seat to nap(DH thinks she likes that snuggled feeling in the seat). It takes 3 hours of nursing/comfort nursing to get her asleep the first time then she'll wake up every 20 mins for the first couple hours. Solids have zero effect on her STTN(all those ppl who said solids help-LIARS). I've tried music, sleep sheep, bouncing/rocking/walking but nothing works for long.

SidraJedi · December 2013

DD falls asleep right away nursing if she is tired. I put her in our bed on the floor for naps so I can just roll away. Sometimes I have to slip her a paci in order to get away clean. The only time she took forever to nurse to sleep was when my OALD/OS was giving her gas. If I try some other method it does take forever so I just don't try it anymore. I guess the bed being on the floor has been our solution.

Before we moved the bed to the floor I used to make a up a pallet on the floor with yoga blankets for naps. We cosleep so I don't have to worry about transferring her to a crib and waking her up.

Once she is asleep she might need to be nursed back down two or three times but then she is out for 1-2 hours before she needs to nurse again.

Anyway, that's what is happening in our neck of the woods. I wish I had a some advice for you.

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