Breastfeeding Sleep Association

5 replies

Shanob · 03/04/2019 10:38

Just after some tips if anyone has any??!

My 5 month old won’t sleep for longer than 2hrs in a row (can be 40mins). It’s like she gets to the end of her sleep cycle and I have to nurse her back to sleep every time.

It’s getting very tiring for me and my partner can’t help even though he wants to. She won’t take a dummy either. We’ve tried white noise, rocking, bottle feeding. Only boob will put her to sleep!

Any tips of how to break the association would be great. I understand she just doesn’t know how to sleep without it. I just want to give her the tools to go to sleep without me.

Thanks!!

OP posts:

birdybirdbird · 04/04/2019 11:39

I have no advice but I’m hoping someone else does! My 6 month old is the same. On a good night he’s up every two hours, on a bad one we get less than hour. He will sometimes go back to sleep if DH rocks him but he’s getting too big for this. He started on solids and taking really well to it but this has made no difference (in case that’s been suggested to you!)

Original poster

Shanob · 04/04/2019 21:18

O no! I was jogging once she’s on solids it might hep :-(
I have found this online that I have started trying last night....it’s a bit painful as I had hardly any sleep last night, but she did start to self settle a little...
www.easybabylife.com/how-to-stop-nursing-baby-to-sleep.html
Might help you!!

OP posts:

Cyw2018 · 04/04/2019 21:22

Bedshare so you just have to change position, then go back to sleep.

Maybe read the gentle sleep book (Sarah ockwell-smith) to see that your DD is totally normal, and then you can just go with the flow.

TheRhythmlessMan · 04/04/2019 22:59

I am finding (I think!) with my 9mo that when the sucking slows down and she's really drowsy- almost asleep- I gently withdraw her with my finger. If she winges/cries I put her back on boob and try again. Or try again on the next feed. Gradually, it seems, she is learning and over time she has started relying on boob less. But I'm still working on it.

birdybirdbird · 05/04/2019 08:47

Thanks for the link @Shanob We were already thinking of trying a version of their ‘half gentle’ method (reducing number of feeds rather than stopping) so good to read that our plan might work! Solids may well work for you but so far it’s just made my LO more farty than usual, giving him another reason to wake up

Flip