Nursing to sleep

[Blueclass]

Hi ladies my baby is 16 weeks and still nurses to sleep. Iv only just started a routine, bath at at 6 then story then nursed to sleep. She will not self sooth and will not take a dummy. I dont want to nurse her to sleep as im worried this will be a problem later on. Also id like for my hubby to be able to het her to sleep. Does anyone else have this problem and how do you tackle it?

Thanks

 

[JD.Deedee]

At that age I wouldn't worry too much perhaps see if she'd take a bottle of expressed milk then at least that way your oh would be able to do it too!

If something doesn't work right now, don't beat yourself up about it and just try again in a couple of weeks or after a leap x

 

[El1en]

I'm honesty I nursed my little girl to sleep until I stopped breast feeding at 1 year. Actually after that she'd have cows milk and fall asleep with her bottle until about 14 months when she'd have her bottle a bit more play time/ read a story and then cuddle and she'd fall asleep in my arms. These days at 18m she goes now no bother so it's never been a problem for us

 

[Sprout]

My lg is nearly 2 and has just started occasionally falling asleep without boob. Honestly, it seems so much easier and quicker than other methods, and they all start falling asleep without it in their own time anyway.

 

[Blueclass]

Ok thanks ladies. She wont take breast milk from a bottle but will with formula and up till a week ago she was having the one bottle but even after the bottle i still had to nurse or she would cry. She also really really struggles with wind and if i nurse her to sleep she dont wind. Which then makes her thrash around in the night and wake up then nurse to sleep again. Maybe i should bring.back the bottle and increase the amount of formula and hope she dont want boob.

 

[kumber]

I personally wouldn't bring back the bottle, she's using the boob as a comfort. I fed DS2 to sleep right up to 13 months old and he went into self settling with very little work on our part. Try not to worry, 16 weeks is still very little and giving your baby what he needs at this age won't be making a rod for your back

 

[Maud]

My first fed to sleep. It meant only I could do bedtime, but it wasn't a problem. Over time she started waking up after the feed and being cuddled to sleep again and then gradually moved to settling in bed. This took a while to learn, but she got there in the end and now she goes to bed fine.

Our second seems less reliant on boob to settle but still feeds to sleep most of the time. It doesn't worry me as I know she will learn to self settle in her own time. As 'they' say, "it's only a problem if it's a problem".

 

[Blueclass]

Ok ladies thanks il keep going then.

 

[BunnyN]

I think its a personal thing but I nursed mine to sleep. It was just so easy, lol. I think it gives them a lot of comfort and closness with you too which is nice. I stopped nursing DD to sleep when she was a bit over a year and I got pregnant again and was too sensitive to let her comfort suck. I missed how easy it was though. DS had latch problems and was never big on feeding to sleep but I would have been happy to do it if he had wanted.

 

[Mel32]

I'm sort of in a similar situation. I have a 6+month old boy.

I am only really settling into a bedtime routine now. Books didn't work for us, he's to tired & grumpy but HV suggested introducing a bit of music to make sure there were 3 memorable trigger points (Bath, feed, music).

Bath
Feed
Rock him to 1 song full volume on his mobile (no longer attached to the mobile, just sits on the drawers). 1 x song half volume both with stars projecting
continue Rock to sleep & transfer to cot

When he wakes which he does ALL the time as he is used to co sleeping..we try to comfort him by shhing and shuggling him etc but if it doesn't work I always pick him up and either rock or nurse him to sleep. I feel like he needs the comfort as co sleeping to his own room is a huge step. So my method is leaving me waaay more sleepless than cosleeping was but its early days. On the other hand, when I am in bed its better quality sleep, I'm not tensed up or being kicked by him.

You'll probably find a way your most comfortable with but the 3 trigger thing usually stops him nursing to sleep at bed time but I always feed him back to sleep multiple times during the night.

 

[babybee]

I think that's the million dollar question 'how to get them to self soothe?' One that noone has the answer too, especially if nursing to sleep. At 16 weeks I wouldn't worry at all, they are still so teeny tiny.

 

[Blueclass]

i thought my baby was 17 weeks today turns out she is 18 lol im losing my mind! I dont really mind feeding her to sleep iys nice to have a cuddle before ahe sleeps. However it would be njce if she vould settle her self and go to sleep. I think im just worried i will get to a point where i dont feed her anymore snd she wont sleep.

 

[Phoenix85]

LOL, I did that when she ticked over to 13 weeks, I still kept thinking/saying she was 12 weeks old.

She mostly feeds to sleep but sometimes if she's fed recently she'll stick her thumb in her mouth and go to sleep sucking her thumb instead lol.

 

[Blueclass]

Summer wont do that i have to feed her. Sorry about my spelling mistakes im trying to type with one hand whilst holding her. Plus using my phone its easy to make mistakes x

 

[kumber]

She will self settle, don't worry. Most babies don't self settle so young, especially ones that are bf. As she gets older she will start to want or be able to self settle so please don't worry

 

[YorksLass]

Our lass will sometimes fall asleep to a story if I use a dull enough voice lol or even a softly sung lullaby, repeated a few times. Sometimes she just needs the boob though! I wouldn't stress about it - go with your motherly instincts. If the boob works, then it works...
Incidentally, she finds my partner playing boring jazz on the guitar sleep inducing in the daytime too haha