Breastfeeding baby to sleep

[Warney]

Can anyone offer any advice?

I have a beautiful baby daughter who is now 5 months old. I breastfeed (on demand) although my daughter will take expressed milk from a bottle and I have just recently started to introduce some solids (2 small meals a day). Currently my partner is pulling his hair out (understandably) as to settle Roxy I put her to my breast, this is basically our bedtime routine, obviously he is unable to do this so he has to resort to walking her to sleep or leaving her to cry in her cot (only for short periods). Can I introduce a routine at this stage and how, I am also worried as I breastfeed that she's getting enough food and what is a good bedtime for a baby of Roxanne?s age? When she goes down she sleeps right through which is a bonus.

Has anybody else had a similar problem and how did you get through it? I am due to return to work after Christmas so need to have it cracked by then.

With dd1 (now 2 and 3/4 I breastfed her to sleep until she was about 6 mo and then we simply went cold turkey and left her to cry herself to sleep (with cuddles to settle the worst of the screaming bouts). Am currently doing same thing with dd2. It is hard. I think if you bf on demand she will be getting enough food. I think that 7.30 pm is a reasonable bedtime. All my own opinions though. Interested in thoughts of others!

My 7 mo ds is and always has been fed on demand although has had a bath/bf/sleep routine from the early weeks. Sometimes he will fall asleep on the breast (and that's him for the night) and sometimes he will remain awake and cry for a few minutes in his cot before falling asleep for the night. It sounds like you already have it pretty much cracked if she is only crying for a short while before going to sleep. What time does she fall asleep for the night? Ds is off by 7pm which I think is an ideal time to aim for .... it also gives you the whole evening to yourselves

I am still BF my 'baby' to sleep and she is 16 months I would certainly try and encourage her to get to sleep on her own, not necessarily leaving her to cry but maybe soothing her and stroking her but not letting her use you as a dummy like mine is. I simply don't have it in me to do controlled crying and DD is now too old and very headstrong and would simply get out of bed and go completely nuts.

To all of you that kindly gave your advice an update. I have now started to put Roxanne to sleep at 8:30 and am going to gradually bring this forward to 7pm when I return to work. I have also tried not to breastfeed Roxanne when she needs comforting but sticking to mealtimes. I am glad to report that it's working really well, there has been a couple of nights where we have had a few tears when I put her down but she settles within a few minutes. I am now wondering what I was making all the fuss about, however my husband is on lates this week, it maybe a different story when he's on earlies next week and looking after Roxanne whilst I'm swimming.

Thanks for all your advise it really helps to have advice from Mum's who have been through the same sort of issues.