Nursing to sleep?

[Bella~*]

Anyone do this?
Is it a bad habbit?

My daughter always falls assleep nap and bedtime, and it seems these last few days have been pure hell.. she fights bedtime and I nurse her and she squirms and crys..

and wont fall assleep until shes utterly OVER tired. I do it because its what has worked for me. any other way is just too much, I can't stand her crying. I dont think I can do CIO with her until she's much older.. :lol

Anyhoo.. Just wonderin!

[Smidget]

i did nurse them to sleep until maybe a week or two ago. i realized that unless i wanted to do it forever, i'd better get them used to going to sleep themselves now. what i do is their normal routine at bed-time (bath, nurse, go down) but instead of nursing them to sleep and putting them down i'll stop when they're full, but before they stop sucking KWIM? if they do fall asleep i just burp them when they're done and they wake back up. they're always wide awake when i put them down and they suck their thumbs/fingers to sleep. they will whine a bit at first, but they know its bedtime and they go to sleep within 5 minutes.

i think if nursing her to sleep works for you and you're fine with it, than that's wonderful and you should keep up with it. i just didn't want them to rely on my boobs to fall asleep for the next year or so. i'd rather teach them early to fall asleep on their own and it won't be a problem later when it could become a big issue...but i also have two, so its a bit more demanding than your one when it comes to bedtime :lol

[SnowBirdie]

there is much debate on whether it is a bad habit or not, but i have found that nursing to sleep doesn't cause sleep problems itself. i think you do what works best for you, and frankly, i have seen lots of babies who nursed to sleep and were great sleepers as they got a little older (as our girls have and fall asleep right away on their own now...have for months) as well as some who never nursed to sleep and were horrible sleepers! boards are full of babies that never nursed a day who are horrible sleepers, so bf a baby to sleep isn't the cause of sleep issues alone.

there are many things involved in having a baby who becomes a good sleeper. i say becomes because when they are little they just know the tummy is empty and they was food, and they are so comforted by a warm breast that of course nursing to sleep is the natural thing to do, so expecting them to be able to put themselves to sleep easily just isn't realistic in many cases until they are older anyway.

for a healthy baby who isn't teething or having tummy discomfort nursing to sleep works well and is fine along with a bedtime routine. our bodies and minds learn to sleep when they are conditioned by cues from the enviroment such as low lighting, soothing music, a favorite book after brushing teeth, etc., and bella is a good age to condition her by setting what type of routine you want her to follow later. if you play a certain cd at bedtime she will grow to associate that with sleep, for instance.

now, if baby is fussy from something going on such as teething, illness, growth spurt, tummy upset, etc., all bets are off and you do what works best for you. these are the times that bf families are very lucky to have the perfect solution to the fussies, and there is no reason not to nurse her to sleep if that helps. she is still very young, and it isn't going to instill in her bad sleeping habits.

by the way, if she has grown much recently and she is really fussy she may need her reflux meds upped if you don't think she is just in a growth spurt or teething. the girls had to have their dose adjusted several time, and we knew each time because they would be miserable and very fussy, but better when the dose was adjusted for weight.

you have good instincts with her, and if nursing her works then go for it! she can absorb your bedtime routine along the way and will end up sleeping on her own she she is able.:hugs

[Bella~*]

Thanks ladies!

[Trolldeelocks]

I think whatever works is a good thing. You can always break a bad habit later if it doesn't self correct, which it very well could. Everyone tells me that I shouldn't let my dd suck her thumb to sleep because she'll need braces later. I say F it, if it puts her to sleep now, I'll put a little money aside for braces later. Plus, I find it's easy for people who don't have a screaming baby to give advice:)

[Bonkey]

I tried not to nurse my girls to sleep. In the beginning (first 3 months) I don't think anyone can really help it though.
I would throw a boob in their mouths when they were inconsolable. I just tried not to make a habit of it.
Do what works for you chick! Every baby is different. :hugs

[SnowBirdie]

I think whatever works is a good thing. You can always break a bad habit later if it doesn't self correct, which it very well could. Everyone tells me that I shouldn't let my dd suck her thumb to sleep because she'll need braces later. I say F it, if it puts her to sleep now, I'll put a little money aside for braces later. Plus, I find it's easy for people who don't have a screaming baby to give advice:)

i sucked my thumb until i was 8 (only at night when i started school) and my teeth are fine, and i agree. the people who make up these "rules" must not have kids. :hehe

[gypsymom]

I never nursed my boys to sleep, but have had a whole crapload of sleep issues with L and tried just about everything. So I started nursing him to sleep (just the last few nights) and I haven't had to deal with the crying/screaming/battling/sitting up/insisting to be held and I am a much happier mama. You gotta do what works for you.