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BFing for comfort
(9 Posts)I admit I do this for my 3 month old, and bf to sleep....I say 'admit' because I get the impression this is a Very Bad Thing. It's just such an easy and lovely way to calm him/get him to sleep etc and feels so natural. He wakes 2-3 times in the night which feels normal for his age and in the day feeds every 2 hours and maybe a quick snack now and then once in between. Everyone talks about not being a dummy for him etc etc but is this such an issue?
Am I setting myself up for a bad time in the future or is this just another weird western obsession with not 'spoiling' your baby?
It's not a bad thing to do. It's biologically normal behaviour for a baby
I think it's another Western obsession with spiking your baby, definitely. I BF DD1 til she was 18 months including for comfort, I am currently doing the same for DD2. I did a few things which people told me would "make a rod for your own back" (bedsharing, babywearing, etc) but none of them have. Follow your instincts and trust your baby- you both know what's best for you.
And by spiking, I mean spoiling obviously!
You can never spoil a baby with love or affection and it's not a bad thing to comfort and help them feel secure and safe.
There will come a time when you want to implement a routine and how and when you do that is completely up to you.
I don’t see the problem. You’ll have a happy reassured baby. I bf my ds to 18 months as well, then he lost interest.
It feels natural because it is natural.
Your baby is displaying biologically normal baby behaviour.
Western society just has this deeply ingrained, weird idea that you can “spoil” a baby by providing its basic needs: ie feeding on demand whether it be because the baby is actually hungry or just comfort sucking!
Ask yourself this: what is a dummy?
It’s an artificial nipple. A dummy was invented to mimic a breast. So instead of giving babies a boob when they want one for comfort, they were given a dummy - and for some weird reason that’s more socially acceptable even though the baby is still displaying the exact same, perfectly normal behaviour!!
100% normal and natural. I'm still BF my one year old. I fed to sleep for months, in fact I still do to a degree for naps.
She now sleeps through with no issues but I was feeding at least once in the night (back to sleep) until about 2 months ago... go with what feels right, don't listen to the while 'you'll make a rod for your own back' thing x
This is so reassurong thanks for your replies! I figure he will just lose interest when he is ready.
Wombat - totally agree re the dummy! He doesn't like dummies or bottles so boobs all the way haha.
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