is there anything wrong with my baby wanting to be on the breast just for comfort not eating?

Question

he does not eat or suck he just latches on till he falls asleep

Answer 1

It's absolutely fine to comfort your baby in this way. Your baby also latches on sometimes to eat too, right?

Answer 2

Is there anything wrong with comforting your baby? Nope, no, not at all...

"It is fine if a baby can also fall asleep without nursing, but one of the advantages of breastfeeding is that you have a handy way of putting your tired baby to sleep. Mothers around the world since the beginning of mammalian time have done just that. One of the great pleasures of parenthood is having a child fall asleep in your arms, feeling the warmth he gives off as sleep overcomes him. It is one of the pleasures of breastfeeding, both for the mother and probably also for the baby, when the baby falls asleep at the breast."

http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=76

Answer 3

From experience, and helping many mothers - I would suggest you try to get him to fall asleep another way. By allowing him to fall asleep that way, you are teaching him to do it. It would be better to try to give him a dummy, or just put him in his crib. I have the principle that all people go into bed awake, so why would a baby be any different. When I've put all my kids down in bed they have been awake - they sleep better (sleeping through the night within a few weeks of birth) - which means you sleep better - and are less likely to suffer PND! With my first I tried putting him to sleep on the breast, put him in the crib - and then let him sleep. The problem was, all people - including babies, have some light sleep, and some heavy sleep - during the light sleep cycle he would realise I wasn't there, and he would wake up and cry. And then I would need to feed him back to sleep again.

After I changed technique - I found he may wake - gurgle for half a minute then go straight back to sleep. becuase of using this method - all my babies have slept 12 hours at nght from 12 weeks of age (and contnued to do so untl preschool years!)

Comfort on the breast is different to going to sleep on it. Comfort your baby anyway you can - but i would suggest that startng good habits starts from birth - sleeping included!

Answer 4

No, if babies were meant to have pacifiers then they would be born with them. Pacifiers are mommy replacements, and no replacement is ever as good as the real thing. Also human contact has been shown to help brains develop... hunks of plastic and rubber/silicone... well.... umm.

Also babies are meant to fall asleep at the breast, mom too. That's why breastfeeding makes mom and baby sleepy.

Nursing to Sleep and Other Comfort Nursing
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/comfortnursing.html

Non-Nutritive Sucking
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsuck.html

Children Need Touching and Attention, Harvard Researchers Say
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/04.09/ChildrenNeedTou.html

Answer 5

Not at all. Breastfeeding is not just nursing, it's comfort as well. Some babies are like this and others are not. Most are. It's a very safe feeling I would imagine, and not bad at all.

Edit to add: Our 14 month old has taught herself to go to sleep without nursing and when I am at work, she does this. No problems whatsoever. I didn't teach her this and neither did my husband. They adapt and when I am home, she wants to nurse down. This is fine too because I miss her so much.

Answer 6

Its perfectly normal. Both my girls did it. What better way to fall asleep, then safe and comforted in Mummies arms.
Its not a bad habit either, its just what they need. When they are ready they will be able to fall asleep without nursing or comfort sucking.

Answer 7

don't they all? If I met a baby that didn't do this I would think something was wrong. The worst is when they want to sleep at the breast, and you try to put them down and they wake up enough just to complain and demand to stay where they were.

Answer 8

seems normal for a baby to me. my baby does that too. maybe its because they find comfort and security when we have them in our arms. so don't be bother.

Answer 9

If you want to be the pasifier go ahead. If you want baby to always only sleep when he has his boob, sure.

Personally, I dont like it. My son nurses to fall asleep, but I made sure he also could do other things, like be rocked or talk to himself.

Just like any other comfort device its hard to get rid of them, and eventually baby having them becomes impossible.

Answer 10

Nothing wrong with it, as long as you're ok with it.
Assuming your "baby" isn't 5 years old...lol