Monday, 27 February 2012
-
Nursing Baby To Sleep
A lot of people seem to do this for every sleep, be it nap time or bed time. I'm a bit wary of doing this, as I don't want my child to think that two go hand in hand and not sleep without a feed.
During the day time I will feed my 4 month old before he has a sleep, in the hopes that he sleeps longer, but will not usually nurse him to sleep. He normally wakes up when I move him into bed from my lap anyway. The exception is if he's overtired and there is no other way to get him to sleep - then I will lay down with him on my bed and feed him lying down until he falls asleep.
At night I give him a bottle (unfortunately my milk supply gets really low as the day goes on) then put him into bed awake. When he wakes up in the morning I will sometimes nurse him back to sleep so I can get a couple extra hours sleep!What does everyone else do, or what are your opinions? Do you do what I do in the morning and nurse your child back to sleep so you can get a few extra hours?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to momaroo's Momaroo Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in momaroo's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: andweknowthis@xanga
- About Me: Hey, I'm a 22 year old mum of one. I'm also a student and work part time, so my life is pretty full on. In my spare time I work out, listen to music, sleep and hang out with my friends. I don't smoke and I rarely drink.
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 2 Views: 0 4166 Comments: 0 31 View all posts by andweknowthis@xanga
Comments (17)
i would definitely nurse emma to sleep at night. and for naps too at first. i never minded nursing my baby girl to sleep. it made her comfortable and happy so therefore it made me happy. i did it for 6 months and it hasn't had any detrimental affect on her at all :) she has no problem going to bed on her own now (i weaned her at 6 months). even before i weaned her i started laying her down in her crib to go to sleep and she did fine.
i don't think there's anything wrong with nursing your sweet angel to sleep. :)I don't breastfeed but...I hold my daughter while I give her a bottle before her afternoon nap, and before she goes to sleep at night. I don't see anything wrong with breastfeeding/bottlefeeding your baby to sleep. That's one of the most peaceful times of the day for me.
I say let your 4 month old breastfeed himself to sleep. He's still so little. Don't worry about starting bad habits, or whatever it is you're worried about. It'll sort itself out later.
he is just a baby... its important bonding time, and vital to a strong attachment.. i still snuggle my 16 month babygirl to sleep with her bottle (nursing was not an option for me). Sometimes she falls asleep with me, but lately she cuddles for a bit and then goes to sleep on her own in her crib.
They are only babies for such a short time.. before you know it they are toddlers and the last thing on their minds is cuddling and naps.Everyone is different. I didn't nurse/feed/rock/cuddle my children to sleep and never had any sleep issues with them. I also didn't have an issue bonding with them because of it.
I currently watch a 5 month old that is constantly held/nursed/fed/rocked/cuddled to sleep. As a result, she is incredibly difficult when it comes to napping. Her parents are understanding, now, that what they've done over the past few months has resulted in a baby that won't always nap (the dad especially has issues).
Some bad habits sort themselves out, but some of them are exacerbated by continuing the behavior and the next thing you know you have a 2 year old who still "needs" it because you feel too bad to break the habit.
Not a bad notion.... My lady and I did the same, as it is a way to comfort the wee one.... But we also agree that you shouldn't do it every single time.... It can set a bad precident, and maybe set the stage for overeating later.... But still, congrats on the choice to breastfeed.... I/we don't think you'll regret it..... Peace
Oh! I have a question for you ladies you nurse your babies to sleep... (I wish I'd put this in!)
What do you do about winding your baby? When I nurse mine to sleep he wakes up in about half an hour with wind then wont go back to sleep, but if I wind him after feeding him he wont sleep either. It's not a big deal as that short nap normally makes it easier to get him down for a proper nap a little later, but I'd like to know what other people have to say :) @grizzlybearr@xanga, @neonsurveyss@xanga,
@Pcygniime@xanga - I know that when I nurse my boy to sleep he is overeating. Especially in the morning when I'm doing it for purely selfish reasons as it's normally only a couple of hours after his 'morning' feed. I never thought about that as a negative point for nursing your baby to sleep until now. And thanks... It was hard going at first but I wanted to give my boy the best start so I kept at it and I'm so glad I did!
I always nursed my boys to sleep. I nursed for four years. I haven't nurse anybody in over six years. Time flies by! The thing to worry about with nursing them to sleep is tooth decay. Good luck!
@TiPrometto@xanga - that's not with every child though. i coddled the hell out of my daughter from birth to around 6 months and she's fine now. i started laying her down in her crib while she was awake at 6 months and she would put herself to sleep with no problem. it really just depends on the parents/baby. there's nothing wrong with coddling them and there's nothing wrong with not coddling them. :)
i nursed BOTH my kids to sleep (well i m still nursing my daughter to sleep lol)... i don't always do it, but if they are tired but fighting it, well it works... and my son goes to sleep fine in his own room by himself at 8pm sharp when i say it is time to go to sleep. he climbs in his little bed and i tuck him in and walk away and for the record, he doesn't have any food after 7pm as that is when we start to go into "quiet" mood and change into jammies, brush teeth, then snuggle w/ a book on the couch. i don't think you can hurt a child by nursing a child to sleep but that is just my opinion. the issue w/ tooth decay for nursing at sleep (b/c this was mentioned by another) is if your child tends to let the milk STAY in their mouth w/o swallowing (which about 5-10 babies out of a 100 do which is what my pediatrician told me). if you notice your child has milk dripping out of their mouth after they are asleep, that is what they are doing, and nursing should be stopped before they are asleep... otherwise, i say nurse when it feels right for YOUR family!
I nurse my baby boy to sleep, and I love it. I love the connection :) He's only four months and were about to start more solid foods, but for those middle of the night feedings, it means that I don't have to do as much when I'm only kinda awake anyway(lol). plus I think that its a bit less awakening/disturbing for my son too. he sleeps fine without me as well, he will sleep on his dad when I'm in class or out to work (and its not like hes nursing...lol)
I still nurse my 7 month old to sleep and I don't think there's anything wrong with it :) I love the bonding I get with him and I know it comforts and relaxes him enough to fall into a deep sleep.
I've pretty much always nursed my LO to sleep for naps and bedtime. She's 21 months now and has no problem sleeping without nursing, but it sure is a god-send when she's having a rough time (teething, colds, etc. . .) and I can just nurse her and she passes right out. :)
Oh do please breast feed your baby to sleep! There is no danger in it at all... and it creates such a wonderful bonding experience with your child. Years later when parents and children start to have horrible fights about school, staying late, relationships, etc.... you can look back on the moments when you nursed your little baby to sleep and remember that you love your child.
Don't worry about your minimal breast milk. I basically have none left but I still breastfeed my baby to sleep. It's not the milk that relaxes him (I feed him formula beforehand) but the sensation of the nipple in his mouth and the warmth and scent of me beside him. Puts him out like a light
Seriously, do breastfeed your baby to sleep.
@DanielleinParadise@xanga - mine does that sometimes (doesn't swallow). i think its so cute, but i didn't realise it was bad for him, thanks for posting that!
much ado about nuthin. I breast fed both mine, 35 years ago, to sleep, and neither child has any cavities or other weird problems. Keep in mind this is one of the key times working mothers have to spend with their infants if they go back to work within weeks of birth.
I nursed my daughter to sleep until 19 months when she self weaned. I never had any problems getting her to sleep after that. To me the slight chance that I would have to "re-train" her to sleep with out it was worth the bonding time I had with her during the 19 months she nursed.