wont go to sleep without the breast!!

Emily - posted on 05/21/2010

They really do outgrow this when they're ready. Though my 3-year-old is still nursing, he hasn't needed to nurse to sleep since he was around 18 months.

Amanda - posted on 05/21/2010

Relax I have yet to hear about a college student who needs to breastfeed to sleep. Marissa's advice is great, that is what I did with my youngest child around 12 months, and by 14 months she was sleeping through the night.

Marissa - posted on 05/20/2010

My son is 10 months and he would always nurse himself to sleep. When I had to start supplementing him with formula over a month ago ( I wasn't producing enough for him ) I was worried that he wouldn't be able to get to sleep without the breast if he self weaned. He eventually did and it took a little bit of work in the beginning but he is now able to soothe himself to sleep the majority of the time (unless a tooth is cutting through). I would just do our bedtime routine (bath, jammies, bottle, story, cuddle) then put him in his crib drowsy but still awake. In the beginning he would either fuss or roll over and try to stand up. I would just consistently lay him down if he tried to get up and say "shh time to go to sleep". If he started really crying I would pick him up and comfort him until he was calm then lay him back down. I would repeat as many times as needed until he was asleep. It used to take over and hour but now he's always asleep in 20 mins or less. It's getting to the point where I can lay him down, say goodnight and kiss and walk away and he rolls over and goes to sleep. Sometimes though I have to stay and rub his back and say shhh until he's almost asleep then I can leave. You just have to be consistent and stick with it if you want to be able to get him to go to sleep by himself. I find too that if I wait until he's getting really tired it's easier. It takes longer if it doesn't seem like he's ready for sleep. It's totally up to you though. If you're comfortable still doing it and he sleeps fine doing it, it'll happen when both of you are ready. Good luck!

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 05/20/2010

They outgrow the need for nursing to sleep. That's what self weaning is. I wouldn't worry too much about it. My 12 month old nurses to sleep and sleeps well. I'm not going to change it because it's working for us.

April - posted on 05/20/2010

my 17 month old wakes up about 5 times a night. yes, it's hard but i know it's not forever. it's worth it because night feedings are really good for the milk supply. once they are about 8 months and they are looking around and crawling...they don't nurse as much due to distraction during the day. your babe is keeping up your supply!

Hannah - posted on 05/20/2010

Personally, I wouldn't get yourself stressed over it. I drove myself bonkers worrying about how I could help my baby sleep better or not rely on nursing to get to sleep, as I work away one evening/late shift every week. But I found all I had to do was wait and all of a sudden she would finish nursing and still be awake, and just lie down and be asleep in a couple of minutes.

She still wakes for a feed once or twice a night, and I have to nurse her back to sleep, but I think she will outgrow this when she's ready.

You are doing great job and it sounds like it works fine, I say don't worry about how things may be when she's older, you'll probably find she outgrows it when she's ready which will be much easier for you and her rather than trying to force the issue x