breast as pacifier

Camille - posted on 03/17/2010

thanks so much guys!! now i know its normal and im not the only one =]

April - posted on 03/17/2010

i agree with lisa. it doesn't matter why she wants to nurse because any kind of suckling will keep your supply up...even when milk isn't being removed!

Minnie - posted on 03/17/2010

Pacifiers are an invention to replace the breast. The breast is meant for comfort. Non-nutritive sucking is very important to maintaining an adequate milk supply.

Personally, I chose not to worry about whether or not she was actually hungry- considering that nursing is not just for food. So whenever my daughter wants to nurse, I nurse her.

Jocelyn - posted on 03/16/2010

Hi! Unless it truly bothers you, I would say to let it happen! Curl up and read a book or watch TV-just rest. You need it too! It such a magical time that you will later miss. She is so young that this is a normal need for her. My daughter is 15 months old and still nursing, though infrequently. I definitely miss that bond! If it does bother you, that is OK! Don't settle into habits that make you uncomfortable, this will lead to stress later! No thank you! I have been there before! Try having someone else hold her. Or try swaddling, music, or rocking her in her car seat! Hope this helps! Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 03/16/2010

Just try to ride it thru she will stop in time. My son did. And let me tell you he was a boob man! lol Just as Alison said, you will miss it when it is over...my son weened himself at 10 mo and went to milk. You are establishing a comfort with her, a trust. She will stop and go to her fingers in time...my son did at 5 mo, he sucks his middle and ring finger at the same time lol...

Geralyn - posted on 03/16/2010

When my son was that age, and for months after that, he nursed on demand about every two hours around the clock. He would also nurse for comfort. Both parts of nursing were very important to us. After he would drift off to sleep, I would pop him off the breast.

At 3 months, there were times that I felt overwhelmed by the frequency, it felt like I would just finish a nursing session and then it would happen all over again. But honestly, as we continued, I loved our sessions together. I nursed til 19 months and then I weaned him. I miss it so much, and so does my son....

Allison - posted on 03/16/2010

"You are not a pacifier; you are a Mom. You are the sun, the moon, the earth, you are liquid love, you are warmth, you are security, you are comfort in the very deepest aspect of the meaning of comfort.... but you are not a pacifier!" -- Paula Yount



I love the above quote. I think it's so important to understand that babies need to suck, need the comfort they get from you, and that, especially at 3 months, are still very much babies. It's also good for your supply that she nurse a lot, even the non-nutritive sucking is good. Finally, nursing to sleep is so much easier, in my opinion, than anything else. In the evenings, I clusterfeed and watch TV while baby nurses, sleeps, nurses more until he's finally out. I've always nursed down for naps, too.



It really is such a short period of time they are this little. Even though my kids nurse until past toddlerhood (my son is 3 and still nursing), its just not the same. The long nursing sessions for him are over, and even my 10 month old is at a point where he's nursing then crawling away to go play. Holding a little babe in my arms for hours is, though nice, something I sadly miss as well.