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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Help im being used as a dummy!!

9 replies

crazyh · 21/10/2010 05:14

hi, im ebf'ing my 5 week old daughter, which has been going really well, until the past few days where she is refusing to sleep unless she is next to my breast, for the past couple of days this hasnt been that much of a problem as I have been able to put her down after shes been asleep for 10 mins or so...... but tonight I have had to keep her next to me for the past 5 hours, I cant even lie next to her as she wants to be held right against me, and she wakes and cries when I put her down. I just need to know could this be something I have done wrong to cause this and please tell me there is something I can do to get her to sleep without me holding her, she wont take a dummy either :( any advice or even a little bit of reassurance will be greatly appreciated :) x x

OP posts:
ayjayjay · 21/10/2010 05:57

There is nothing you are doing wrong. Unfortunately babies just go through stages like this sometimes, usually when they are going through growth spurts or are feeling a bit poorly. You are due a big growth spurt at 6 weeks and it is possible that you are hitting this a bit early. Growth spurts usually last 2/3 days so this should soon pass. You have my sympathies in the meantime, it is so relentless when they need constant attention like this.

Also my DD didn't like to take a dummy until about 6 weeks and even then she would only take the cherry type instead of the thin flat type. I also found that I had to hold it in for a bit until she worked out what to do with it.

PeasPlease · 21/10/2010 06:34

Have you tried a latex cherry dummy?

Original poster
crazyh · 21/10/2010 06:42

Thankyou ayjayjay, I was starting to feel like I had being doing something wrong, am I ok to let her fall asleep on me then? At 5 weeks old I would feel really mean putting her down when she was awake and letting her cry.

I have only tried the avent newborn dummies, I have been told giving a dummy can have an adverse affect on bfing so I haven't pushed her to take one, shes my first child so its all new to me lol, am I ok to try a bit harder to get her to take a one?

OP posts:
ayjayjay · 21/10/2010 06:50

If you're happy to let her fall asleep on you then it's fine. In these early days you don't have to worry about sleep routines, just do what ever gets you through the night!

I gave DD a dummy at 6 weeks and we're still EBF at nearly 15 weeks. If you're sure she's not hungry then you can push her to take a dummy. if shes anything like my DD she'll only take it when she really wants it anyway so you won't be in danger of missing any feeeding cues.

TruthSweet · 21/10/2010 08:25

She's not using you as a dummy she's using you as her mummy! She is trusting you to help her sleep and to comfort her when she needs it. BFing releases hormones that induce sleep (in both you and her) and that promotes bonding and attachment, your daughter is just using millenia of evolution to her advantage.

It does suck a bit though doesn't it (if you can excuse the punWink). It won't last for long and you may find you miss these days when she runs off to playgroup with out even a backwards glance Smile

Soemtimes babies need to be held for longer than you might expect after they have fallen asleep. Perhaps you could try waiting until she starts making faces in her sleep as that usually means that a deeper stage of sleep has been reached.

Also, you could try holding/feeding her with a flannelette sheet under her. That way when you put her down she wont get 'cold sheet shock' and wake up.

Original poster
crazyh · 21/10/2010 11:17

cheers Truthsweet thats a really ace way of putting it :) I will try holding her with the blanket, as I do usually wait till I think shes fast asleep till I put her down, but the cold sheet thing might be the problem, I had never thought of it before though lol. Gees I love mumsnet, I dont where I would be without all you helpful mumsnetters :o x x

OP posts:
japhrimel · 21/10/2010 11:22

Someone on here posted this recently and I thought it was brilliant! Smile Good article too.

"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

www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/comfortnursing.html

TruthSweet · 21/10/2010 16:33

It is difficult though in the early days. Before you had baby no one touched you with out your permission, you weren't constantly in contact with someone, you weren't totally responsible for their life. Along comes baby and you are holding/feeding/cuddling/rocking them all the time and you can get 'touched out'. Trouble is babies often want to be in contact 26/9 (24/7 isn't enough sometimesGrin).

LeggyBlondeNE · 22/10/2010 12:54

crazyh - I've found using a Grobag (or equivalent good as she's always warm when I put her down. Also we've got a weighted blanket recently which really helps keep her from waking up in the first ten minutes after going down. The other trick I use is to bend right over when putting her down so she goes straight from my body to the cot without feeling 'unheld' on the way.

During the day almost mothing works for us though! She's just a cat-napper in daylight hours.

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