How to get baby to sleep when you stop breastfeeding

[mumtobeinsept]

Hi All,

I am thinking of stopping breastfeeding in the new year and need some advice on how to get baby to sleep once I do.

She is bottle and breast fed at the moment but I find I can never get her to sleep without giving her a few minutes of boob.

I know a lot people say you shouldn't feed to sleep but I didnt know this at the beginning and then I didn't know how to change it.

For reference DD is 12 weeks old

I was the same as you, started doing it because it was quick and then realised he couldn't sleep without it. I was fine with it until I couldn't go to a party,gym, out with friends etc. and it got me down. So I decided to change it. My baby was about 5 months when I did it.

I did 'feed to soothe' which I read somewhere and kinda adapted it. So I fed his downstairs on both sides (or bottle whatever you want to do) then took him up for a bath and put his sleepsuit and sleeping bag on and sung lullabies in his room in the dark. I then put him in his cot and left the room. I revisited every 5 minutes and depending if he was crying or just groaning or just moving around would either feed to soothe (only to calm, don't let baby fall asleep) or pick up or just pat him. Then repeat and put him down again and wait another 5 minutes. The first 2/3 nights it took about an hour. A few weeks on he just needed 1 or 2 revisits and now he either goes asleep when I'm singing or within a few minutes. On a bad day I have to go in once and pat him.

I thought this would improve night wakings but no Haha! I still feed to sleep when he wakes in the night, that is the next thing to tackle.

Are you planning on giving up night feeds altogether? I didn't do this until 14 months.

Maybe ask your HV for advice?

Also never let anyone make you feel bad for feeding to sleep, it's natural. Mine is fed to sleep in the evening even now (16 months) and always sleeps through - it's a myth that feeding to sleep is guaranteed to cause problems.

Good luck op, you're doing great.

DS1 I fed to sleep till stopping breastfeeding at 7 months. He then had a dummy to soothe him to sleep. We took the dummy away fairly painlessly at 2.5 years and he's self settled happily ever since.

DS2 I fed to sleep till he was 8 months. He showed no interest in the dummy so we rocked him in a covered pram to get him to sleep then transferred him to a cot after 20 mins. He's now 13 months and sometimes we use white noise and stroking to soothe him to sleep in his cot, and sometimes have to use the pram.

Personally I wouldn't get too hung up on the idea of 'bad habits'. After all I haven't heard of any teenagers who are fed to sleep! Just do what works and what's easiest for you at the time.

The last feed is always a bottle and she sleeps through the night (I know we are very lucky!)

She has reflux and one of the things the specialist has told me to do is to regulate her feeds to every 3-4 hours as the constant feeding was making it worse.
Unfortunately I can't keep her full for more than an hour at most with breastfeeding and it's just not helping things.
I am also ready to stop breastfeeding tbh.

It's not so much that I'm worried about the bad habit it's that I want to stop and I want to find a way I know works to get to her sleep before I do.

A dummy would be the best replacement but unfortunately she refuses to take it!