My 7 mth old falls asleep nursing. I've tried sleeping her other ways but cries too much and for too long?

Question

Since I am sooo tired by the time night comes, I just allow her to nurse herself to sleep. I'm scared that I'm doing things wrong but I'm just so worn out but the end of the day and I can handle her crying too long... Is it ok that she's nursing herself to sleep???

Answer 1

i say, why not??
my son usually falls asleep with a bottle or by nursing (when i used to nurse) and then i layed him in bed and he was out for the night.
on rare occasions he'll hang out in his crib until he falls asleep, but it's rare.

i would let her enjoy being a baby and worry about "habits" later on. most likely, it will become a thing of the past.
eventually, she will be eating dinner with you and then get a bath and read a story and then that will be her bedtime routine. now, her routine is just get a full belly and fall asleep!

take care, i'm sure you are doing great!!!

Answer 2

Why not? Whatever works for you and baby is the right thing to do! My daughter is also 7 months old and falls asleep nursing, and sometimes even wakes up shortly after I put her in her crib, just to nurse herself back to sleep again. She sleeps though the night fine, which is great by me because I need that full night's rest too! Don't worry about it, there are many more pressing concerns you will have to worry about when your child gets older!

Answer 3

You are doing what is natural. There is NOTHING wrong with nursing your child to sleep. I imagine it is a calm and relaxing time for both of you. I have nursed all three of my kids to sleep. Eventually she will outgrow it. Right now, if it's working for both of you, then keep it up. The link below may be reassuring to you.

Answer 4

this isn't necessarily a problem now, but in the coming months/years you will need to find a way to help the child fall asleep on their own.
the method i have seen the most success with is often called the 5-10-15 minute way.
make sure your child is clean, safe, not hungry/thirsty, etc. Essentially try to meet every physical need the child may have in the 20-30 minutes before you want them to go to bed/sleep.
Start a bedtime ritual/routine.
For our house, it was read books (no more than 5 short ones or 2-3 longer ones, for infants, 5 short ones still took less than 15 minutes of time, now that my kids are older it takes closer to 45 minutes to read to them all, even those who could read to themselves still like it).
After reading, check for physical needs again (ie; needs changed, etc) just to make sure (parent's peace of mind more than any other reason!)
Take your child to their bed/crib, lay them down, cover them up, sing a song/say prayer, whatever you want to do, then turn down/shut off the lights, start a mobile/music box/play a couple songs on a CD player, again whatever is comfortable and available to you.
Leave the room and, for the first few nights, be prepared to bite your tongue, and follow the next set of instructions.
If your child falls asleep quickly without fussing, GREAT!
However, it is more likely that the child will have some difficulty going to sleep and will fuss.
Wait 5 minutes from the time the fussing begins (for one of mine, it was the moment i turned my back on him and started walking to the door, for another of mine, it was when the mobile stoppedmoving, it will be different for each child). Set a timer so that you know when the 5 minutes are done.
After the timer chimes, go into the room, but DO NOT take the child our of the bed/crib. Check the child for physical needs again (diaper check). Gently lay the child back down and cover them up again. tell them you love them and you will see them in the morining and leave the room (my wife cried the 1st few times as soon as she was out of the room)
Again, if the child falls alseep, GREAT!
if not, however, set the timer for 10 minutes. If the child is still fussing after 10 minutes, go back in and repeat the above.
Keep adding 5 minutes to the timer and repeating until the child is alseep.
As a side note, the longest we EVER had to set the timer for was 35 minutes and that was one of the hardest nights my wife and i ever had! the feelings of guilt and worry over something being wrong, etc were almost overwhelming, but we had just checked all those things a few minutes before and intellectually knew everything was fine, but emotionally it is still difficult.

The important piece of all of this is that you do the same things every night. By following the above routine, you ensure your child's safety every time the timer chimes, you show the child that you are not going to disappear -that you will always return and be there for them-, and that you are in 'control' of bedtime (as much as any parent really can be - my oldest seemed to catch on real quick and would be quietly awake playing in his crib, sometimes for 30+ minutes after bedtime, but he didn't rely on externals to go to sleep anymore (ie: nursing, being held/rocked, etc) Instead he just played until he fell asleep.
I have friends who i told to do this with their children ranging from 6-9 months all the way up to 3-4 years old and except for the older ones leaving their room it worked very well.
Good luck and stick with it.

Answer 5

I nursed my son to sleep all the time. It was what worked. If you can't find something else then that is what she wants. Your baby will let you know what is right for her. If you feel bad about it then try something else. But if you are ok with it and she is fine then go for it

Answer 6

I have a seven month old daughter myself and i have to nurse her until she falls asleep.Even when i nurse her and she is out ,as soon as i get up to put her in her crib,she opens her eyes and i have to nurse her again.If nursing your baby works for you then you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise.You are doing a geat job .Continue to do what you know is best.

Answer 7

I did that with both of my children. I would leave them in bed with me and sleep while they nursed. I got one of those side positioning things that are made of foam, sorry don't remember what it is called. That way I knew I would not roll over on them.

Answer 8

I can't express enough how great information from Le Leche League is!!! I read the book, The womanly art of breastfeeding, and it was great! you can get the book online or just about anywhere you get other baby stuff....

also, contact your local le leche league group! they can be an enourmous support system for you!

Good Luck!!!!

Answer 9

I don't see a problem with it at all. It will just make that bond between you and her that much stronger. It think any and all breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and babywearing is wonderful. I don't think you can spoil a baby.

Hang in there hon - It will get easier, I promise.

Answer 10

regrettably, sure. I even have yet to discover a female which will post with all my strange habit and weirdness, that may not circulate determining the door the 1st day of residing with me. it is not relaxing dozing on my own.