To think that feeding your baby to sleep is okay?

[StinkySaurus]

I’m a FTM and have been feeding my 5 month old to sleep at night and during the day for naps. My LO will sleep if carried, in the pram or car as well, but they do not ‘self settle’ and need a lot of support in going to sleep. This situation is working for us at the moment... however I worry about what will happen when I go back to work, how will they nap? Will I have to be feeding LO to sleep forever?!?!

I am hoping that one day LO will just decided it’s not for her any more and just go to sleep by herself. So AIBU ( or naive) to think this? AIBU to ask about your experience with feeding to sleep?

It’s fine. Breastfeeding releases hormones for you and baby that make you sleepy. We are supposed to feed to sleep!

I fed my eldest to sleep until she self weaned at 2.5. I still feed my youngest to sleep now at 1.5. It’s great; she usually wakes for a feed around 11pm...I go up when she wakes and feed her, takes 10 mins and no matter how awake I am when I go in or how much work stuff is buzzing round my brain, I feed her in the dark and quiet and after those 10 mins we are both flat out. I’ll be sad when she self weans, I might have to have another baby to help me get to sleep. 😂😂

I did it until I finished bfing at 16 months.
He would have a bottle of expressed milk at the childminders just before going down for a nap

Fed both of mine to sleep...wouldnt go to sleep without it...(but also slept totally fine for my mum when i went to work) weaned themselves off to just a night time feed and then gave up that themselves later on. Slept fine from there with just a cuddle before bed. Know a few friends who have fed to sleep too!

Thanks all for being so supportive! Was wonderful to read all of your positive experiences. I’m now just going to enjoy the sleepy feeding cuddles guilt free

@StinkySaurus just saw your question.

My daughter was about 16mths old when she self initiated self settling. Maybe I could have tried earlier but she only have had quick feeds by then, sometimes I’d be back downstairs in 10mins.

Ability to sleep is hormone based and breastfeeding to sleep at night helps trigger that signal in your baby.
There are very few young baby's that just did it straight off the bat, the rest you get told about would have been left to cry I can almost guarantee it

Formula fed baby’s learn a different trigger. They aren’t receiving the ‘sleep hormone’ so those babies are fed, rocked and cuddled until they drop off, no harm and something they too will learn they don’t need but just because they’re not literally falling asleep with the teet in their mouth (although some do) doesn’t mean they’re not being lulled to sleep, it’s just not anything that anyone sees fit to comment on

Frankly I think you need to do whatever works for you. If it ain’t broke, don’t overthink fixing it!

I fed DC1 to sleep until about 14 months, at which point it wasn’t necessary - it happened naturally. Enjoy the sleepy cuddles; you’ll really miss them when you stop!

If you’re happy and baby is happy then enjoy it

I did it with all 4 of mine. Still do with the youngest and think it’s lovely x

Of course, do what you need to do to get through. ❤️

Another mum still bf'ing her baby to sleep. He is 9mo and I'd be mad to stop using this wonderful parenting tool! DH can get him to sleep with rocking etc and sometimes I take his for walks in his pram to get him to sleep. I too read loads of advice saying I would be spoiling him etc- I just think meh now. He sleeps with me and I'll feed him off to sleep every night and as many times in the night as he wakes (sometimes loads if teething etc- sometimes maybe only once)
I know I will miss it when he outgrows it.

@StinkySaurus I could've written your post this week - my DS is just coming up to 6 months old, and will feed to sleep, or go to sleep in the car or pram. If he's not hungry, he'll be rocked to sleep, but during the night (oh so many times, at the moment...) I'll feed him back to sleep. I happened across your post, as I was trying to work out if it was something I was meant to stop. I really don't want to do sleep training, as I don’t want to leave him to cry, so I'm so pleased you asked this, and so pleased that there are lots of wonderfully reassuring answers. Thanks all!

My little boy os now almost 15m old. He wakes for a feed at least 2 times a night. Like clockwork.

I FUCKING HATE IT. I haven't had a full nights sleep since I was 3m pregnant.

STOP NOW op. Seriously. You'll regret it.

I feed my 9 month old to sleep but he also sleeps/naps in a variety of situations for numerous close family members without any milk (bottle refuser!). So I don't feel bad when I randomly have a few days of feeding him to sleep during daytime nap, when I can turn lie next to him on our bed and let him really cuddle in

I did it with both if mine till around a year. No regrets at doing it, seems very natural to me .

When DS2 was 23 months, he was just having a quick suck at bedtime, not really feeding, so one night I just said we were reading a story on DD's bed instead, he just said "Okay!" I was sad, he was fine!

OP I feed to sleep at 20 months and feel like I have a magic trick up myself. WIN. WIN.
Don't listen to judgey people!

@ Alphabravo I thinks it's you that needs to stop now rather than the op from what you've said in your post!!

@ Mimi sunshine, my DS1 needed to be sleep trained at 3 and a half months old but wasn't left to cry - using the pick up put down method he only needed to fuss just a little bit but not cry, and was sleep trained in 5 days. I do believe those mythical babies who can be put down 'drowsy but awake' and just learn to settle themselves without a fuss do exist too, although neither of mine have!

Sorry Alphabravo but night weaning is no guarantee of sleeping through. Formula fed babies wake up too. Interrupted sleep is just a fact of life for parents of young children.

Do what you need to do, they all get there eventually.