Son is eleven months old,he has a habbit of sleeping while breast feeding,he dosent sleep otherwise,?

Question

this gets very painful during nights,as he feeds 4-5 times during whole night and for 30 min/feed,how should i change his nabbit.

Answer 1

The situation you describe is very common. Babies are naturally soothed to sleep by sucking, and breastfeeding provides your son both with nourishment and comfort. There is nothing more natural for him than to fall asleep while nursing and then needing to nurse again to soothe himself back to sleep. However, as you mentioned, it can be very draining for your sleep to become so fragmented. There are some wonderful books that can really help you with transitioning your baby to more independent sleep, which are listed below.
If you feel it is the right time for you and your son to make a change at night, try to develop a soothing bedtime routine (bathing, storytime, nursing, cuddling, singing) and then try to put him down while he's sleepy but still awake. Of course, it is easier said than done, as your son might not like the idea one bit! However, after laying him down in his crib or on your bed (wherever he sleeps), stay next to him, patting him, humming softly, to help him fall asleep. Although, he'll still be requiring your presence, he will begin the process of learning to fall asleep without nursing. When he awakens in the middle of the night, (especially if it's in the first few hours of sleep and it is unlikely for him to be hungry), go next to him, and again pat him softly, humming. This process can also be tiring, especially if he's in his own room, so you may even want to sleep in his bedroom for a few days if that makes it easier. Gradually, you can try sitting next to him as he falls asleep, humming, but not patting him, and slowly moving the chair away from his crib. Once he is falling asleep by himself, with you in the room, he will then be ready to learn to fall asleep by himself, with you being outside of his room. The process is similar in that you still comfort him, but you leave for brief periods of time, returning for a quick reassurance, but without picking him up / nursing him (unless, of course, it's time to feed or he has an apparent need, such as illness or a soiled diaper). Although it can be emotionally wrenching to leave your child upset, it's important to remember to give him the chance to soothe himself, because when he awakens at night (which all human beings do as we cycle through our sleep phases), he'll be much better able to fall back asleep unassisted.
You may find the following books helpful. Although they may seem to offer different approaches, I found them both invaluable in helping my children (ages 12, 6, 2) develop good sleep habits.
Good luck with everything - I'm sure you'll find a good solution for you.

Answer 2

While there is nothing wrong with breastfeeding an 11 month old, he should be able to sleep pretty much through the night by now - and in his own bed! You need to gradually lengthen his time between feedings and help him learn HOW to fall asleep on his own. Put him in his own bed before he's asleep, and at first just talk soothingly to him while patting/rubbing his back. Do NOT pick him up. Let him know that you are there for him, for it's time for sleep now.

Gradually move from standing over crib, to sitting in chair beside, then move chair to end of crib out of sight, but within voice range. ..... eventually move chair just outside his door,..... You gotta be strong, and determined not to pick him up. It can take a couple of nights, or it can take a couple of weeks.

You are enabling him to control things by feeding him 4-5 times per night. Firm love means letting him learn how to fall asleep, and that he doesn't need to be attached to mom 24/7

I have 2 kids well past this stage, and have helped several friends go thru these steps too. We haven't lost one yet!

Answer 3

Wow - sounds like you are not getting much sleep! - Duh!! =) I breast fed my daughter until she was 13 months old. She slept with me until she was seven months old. She did eat constantly like your son is doing when she was in bed with me. My doctor suggested moving her out of the bed into her own.

I did so slowly - I breast fed her till she fell asleep then put her in her porta crib in our bedroom. She was then only waking up once. Then I moved her to her own room and still nursed her to sleep until she was 11 months old. I had decided to stop breastfeeding at a year. So my doctor suggested to feed her half hour before bedtime, read her a story, then put her to bed.

It was not easy because the first 3 nights she cried for almost an hour and half. I did go in every 5-10 minutes to comfort her by rubbing her back and telling her everything was going to be ok. She eventually would fall asleep and occasionally woke up in the middle of the night. She would whimper then go back to sleep.

This took about a week and she was sleeping on her own through the night and only breastfeeding twice a day. When I weaned her she did so very well. When putting him down at night it is going to be hard because he is going to cry. Comfort him but don't pick him up! =)

Hearing your baby cry is the most heinous thing but once he is sleeping on his own you too will get some sleep.

Hope this helps!!!

Answer 4

i know it will sound a bit harsh but i have done to my baby too.Let him cry for some days.He's already 11 so you can start feeding in cup if he drinks regular milk. i would prefer pediasure because breast milk is a bit sugary and my son prefeered that. you can even try giving him water.And the most important thing i would suggest is whenever he wakes up try to take him to your front room sit in a rocking chair with if he like tv or music on.That will put him back to sleep and in 3-4 days he'll forget his habbit .best wishes. i know you must be getting tired tooooooooooooo much because brestfeeding consumes lot of energy and agin no sleepppppppp! Keep patience. you hav edone a lot for your kid. you'll have your day just try this out.

Answer 5

It's good that you are breastfeeding him, but at this point he should be physically capable of sleeping several hours without having to nurse. It's more for the comfort now than to fulfill any physical need (unless he has a health problem of course). Do what the one person suggested and start increasing the time between feedings, it's okay to let him fuss for a bit, he'll either comfort himself or fall back to sleep. And remember, it's really bad for his teeth to be nursing and then falling asleep, and even though they are baby teeth and fall out, they are the foundation of how his mouth and teeth will turn out to be so they need to be kept healthy. Good Luck.

Answer 6

They say that it is a bad idea to put your baby to sleep while breast feeding because he will expect that ALL the time. The best thing to do is feed him then change his diaper or something to break that connection then put him to sleep without him attached to your breast. But since he is already 11 months he is use to that routine and it will be hard to break it. Best of luck!!

Answer 7

With my experience, the children are not very fond of breast milk, if they had the taste of milk powder at least once. In order to avoid taking breast milk, they just sleep. We also faced this problem. The child energetically finishes the milk substitute if fed with a bottle! They are clever too! But don't resort to milk powder.

Answer 8

You need to feed him before he goes bed or perhaps you need to whine him off the breast and introduce him to the bottle. Try the bottle during the day to see how it works out. Good Luck

Answer 9

It is normal for a child to stick to her mother for feeds. You should however include bottle-feeding in addition to this. You are a mother and you have to take pains for your child.

Answer 10

he is addicted to it.
u have healthy diet to avoid ur exhaust. Drink water while feeding.
ALlow him to grow slowly reduce the frequency by feeding him somthing else of his like.
u vill find it slightly difficult but u r MOM.