Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

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

Original poster

How on earth will I get DD to sleep without BF?

12 replies

IsabellaTruffle · 07/01/2018 20:07

Please please help as I am already panicking! DD is 17 months and has only been BF since birth, at about 3 months old we tried to introduce a bottle of expressed milk (so I could get a break/do things with DC1 etc.) and after trying every bottle/teat under the sun for atleast 6 months we came to the conclusion whe will only take the breast. This has been fine as she will take water from a sippy cup (refuses milk from anything other than me) and if I am not there she is happy with this.

The main problem is sleep, she will only settle and sleep with a breastfeed. If she is exhausted she would eventually drop off with someone else but with a lot of fighting it and screaming.

I am happy to breastfeed her to sleep and lucky that I am a SAHM so this hasn't been a huge problem, I'm just panicking now that she has dropped all feeds other than the nap and bedtime ones. How did your BF toddlers drop the feeding to sleep? I'm worried she will stop breastfeeding and then have trouble sleeping Sad

OP posts:
0hCrepe · 07/01/2018 20:10

Mine stopped bf - her decision- at 13m and I too was a bit concerned how I’d get her to sleep. Now she just lies on my chest.

Dermymc · 07/01/2018 20:13

At 17 months you are a Saint!

I weaned mine off sleeping from feeding at 7 months. It was gentle.

I fed in their room with dimmed lights, then woke (deliberately) and brushed teeth and did a story. Then did night night, laid in the cot and returned every 5 mins with shhh it's bedtime.

After 3 nights they slept without a grumble. I never left them to wail, more a gentle murmur. I had started to put them down drowsy rather than fully asleep a couple of weeks before.

How do you brush her teeth now?

Remember you are teaching her a life skill, being able to sleep without you is important.

Original poster
IsabellaTruffle · 07/01/2018 20:16

DD seems to be doing the same, up until about 2 weeks ago she was still having milk 3/4 times a day but shes dropped the other two and doesn't seem interested at all other than to go to sleep.

I did ask the HV who said to try feeding her then laying her down but she just doesn't go to sleep and just gets all worked up screaming Sad

OP posts:
Original poster
IsabellaTruffle · 07/01/2018 20:20

I brush her teeth properly before we go to bed, then take a finger toothbrush and run over them when shes asleep!

OP posts:
0hCrepe · 07/01/2018 20:22

If you’re happy to keep bf her to sleep then why not carry on till she’s had enough? I would have if dd has carried on it was just so easy and lovely! When she stopped she just changed to falling asleep on me with a cuddle. I just transfer her when she’s fast asleep.

2tired2bewitty · 07/01/2018 20:32

DS (dc3) will be 2 at the end of this month and we have just this week properly weaned him!

He was a total boob addict, almost to the exclusion of proper food, which was becoming concerning, so we decided we’d have to go pretty much cold turkey and have done it this week as DH has been off. The only way we’ve been able to do it is for DH to put him to bed with lots of stories (which he loves) and then cuddles and singing until he drops off. It’s taken a few nights but tonight I put him down without feeding him, hooray!

Both his sisters were breastfed and were bottle refusers, but I went back to work at 7 and 10 months respectively so they had to change their routines. I’ve not gone back this time so there hasn’t been the impetus to change, but it really needed doing.

Original poster
IsabellaTruffle · 07/01/2018 21:04

Crepe I do intend on carrying on BF until she is ready, and don't have any plans to wean her. She just seems to be naturally dropping feeding and I'm worrying that soon she won't want to feed and then won't go to sleep properly!

OP posts:
Bear2014 · 07/01/2018 21:08

I fed DD til almost 2 years old, she kind of stopped falling asleep on the breast gradually and by the end I would more often than not put her down sleepy but awake. There wasn't a dramatic change. The big issues came later when she went from cot to bed and wouldn't stay in the damn thing Confused

0hCrepe · 07/01/2018 21:10

Well for me it was fine she just rests her head there now!

BertieBotts · 07/01/2018 21:23

You're overthinking :) If she stops of her own accord then she won't need BF to fall asleep any more so she'll probably be happy with a cuddle instead.

IME the bedtime feed was the absolute last one to go.

Appraiser · 07/01/2018 21:31

Agree with Bertie, you are overthinking it a little.

If you intend to feed until she weans she will work it out.

You can introduce things to create a pattern each night and over time it will start to sink in without being traumatic for her, eg. Stories x 2, cuddle / feed, story x1, cuddle feed... then repeat this, occasionally throwing in someone else putting her to bed and doing the stories part and you just go in to feed and leave, back to story and feed again. I found this helped with Dd getting used to DH putting her to bed and her enjoying stories and cuddles with daddy....(I eventually became redundant with the bedtime feed)

Have a little cup of milk too (any kind, dd went with Oat milk in prefer nice of cows) just as alternative drink instead of your milk, if you’re looking to wean or drop that feed. Bedtime feed was the first to be dropped naturally (because of routine above) but I still continued to feed until 2.5 years when she self weaned.

Appraiser · 07/01/2018 21:32

*preference not prefer nice!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread