Feeding to sleep - when did this stop?

[terryandthechocolateorange]

And more importantly - how? Did it just happen or did you need to go cold turkey?

Would love to know other people's experiences. My 18 month old daughter still feeds to sleep (mostly because I haven't tried anything else yet, she has only just started to sleep 8-10 hour stretches and I've been too exhausted until now to do anything else). She goes to sleep with a cuddle when put down by anyone else but I'm aware I don't want to hold her back from sleeping independently.

No judgement and please be kind! Just curious about others experiences.

Thanks!

[Rumplestrumpet]

I think we changed it around 6.months - switched the bedtime routine so it was feed and then bath, then cuddle to sleep. She was so tired and uses to sleeping after the bath she just accepted it without realising the change. However I would say your daughter won't fall for this as she is much older and wiser. I would say it will be much harder for you to implement such a change.

I suppose the question is how much so you want to change it? If she is willing to be put to bed by other people does it matter? And how much longer are you planning to breastfeed for? If you're going to wean completely in the next few months I wouldn't bother picking a battle with bedtime just now - but maybe others have more practical advice!

[terryandthechocolateorange]

Bump?

[Poppinjay]

For both of mine, it stopped when they weaned naturally around their third birthdays.

[Rubyroost]

12 months when he didn't want a night time bottle any more.

[Whitney101]

Commenting to watch. Only 10 months but worried I’m feeding to sleep too much!

[Rubyroost]

We gave a bottle of b fed milk and then b fed to sleep until 8 months. He then decided to take bottle only and rejected my breast. Then later on he decided he didn't want bottle, which was formula by then. So he almost self weaned of my breast. Being realistic the longer you b feed for the longer you'll feed to sleep.

[MichelleOR84]

From pretty early on (around 3 months) I only fed to sleep at night . This wasn’t something I consciously decided to do but more of a routine my little one fell into - wake, nurse , play, repeat . At night I nursed to sleep though and continued to do so until my DS was 14 months and went on a nursing strike , which he still hasn’t come out of ( it’s been a month 🥺).

I also nursed him to sleep during the night as well , pretty much from newborn until 9 months . At 9 months my health visitor told me he actually didn’t need to nurse in the night anymore. I was a bit taken back to be honest as boob is comfort to my little one and how could I take that away ? But I decided to try it and when he woke at night I just rocked him to sleep instead . It was my husband settling him most of the time as he has no boobs so it’s easier 😂. My DS didn’t protest in the slightest and within 2 weeks he was sleeping through the night and has been consistently since .

[MrsEK1991]

We switched from BF to formula around month 8 and that stopped it completely. However he still got verrrrry sleepy with his last bottle that we were doing upstairs in his pjs and sleeping bag. We gradually moved it earlier, so we would do it after his pjs but before sleeping bag, then before pjs, then before we went upstairs. I guess you could do the same with your milk whether that’s BF or bottle.

I think as well it was good that he could go down for a nap during the day without being fed to sleep. At first we had to leave him to cry for up to 10 mins at a time some naps, and again there were some nights where it took him a while to get to sleep, but we only ever did it the way we felt comfortable with in order to break the pattern.