Feeding to sleep

[ToTravelIsToLive]

What age did your babies stop feeding to sleep for every nap or bedtime. Did you do anything to stop it or did your babies do it naturally?

I can't remember the age but well beyond 1. I absolutely loved breastfeeding ds to sleep and he loved it too so we went with it and ignored the critics who warned me he'd 'never sleep alone' blah blah blah. He's a very happy 18-month-old now who sleeps brilliantly in his cot!

I'm a big fan of feeding to sleep, if you want to do it or feel it's just what comes naturally then just do it

About 18 months and only because we deliberately weaned her off it to help her sleep better. We completely changed her bedtime routine so that there was no expectation of a feed at a set time, replaced breastmilk with a cup of cows milk and a story.

Thank you I am happy to continue as his still pretty young. Just don't want other people's irrelevant opinions to sway me. I would rather hear from mums who have been there and have experienced it

I breastfed my daughter to sleep until she turned 2 and I decided to stop. I was a bit apprehensive but she couldn’t have cared less!
Now feeding dd2 to sleep. She’s 14 months

Ages. Just do what works for you both. It's only temporary so whatever creates the best sleep is the best way

Feeding to sleep rocks. So quick and easy! And really lovely for DC too. I did it for ages, probably until 2! No problem at all. Go you!

Stopped actually getting him to sleep for naps and bedtime by 1 but continued to feed back to sleep at the (many) wakes through the night til gentle night weaning at 21 mo

I think if you are willing to feed to sleep every time then continue but going off most people’s accounts. It led to their baby not self settling and not sleeping through until quite late. If they are used to feeding to sleep, they are unlikely to link their sleep cycles and will wake more.

I actively tried to stop doing it and changed nappy in between or put him into swaddle after feed. Once we got over the 4 month sleep regression he slept through from 5 1/2 months 6.30pm - 7.30am. I have given the odd dream feed if he’s unwell or not eaten much but very rare. He does sleep with dummies and he will put them in himself and go to sleep.

Obviously you may not want to stop feeding to sleep but these were the reasons I stopped x

I think around 6-10 months for first one (who was bottle fed), naps and nighttime happened at different times.

Then between 13-15 months for 2nd who was bf.

It was no big deal. They just stopped needing it and I offered other things.

For those of you that feed to sleep do you co sleep too? DH wants LO in her own room at 6 months but I think I may struggle to transition her as we feed to sleep in bed together.

Mine stopped falling asleep at the breast at maybe ten and fourteen months. They were fairly annoyed by it but soon got used to being put in their bed and patted to sleep after a feed.

For naps, about 9 months (when I went back to work) and bedtime about 1 I think. We didn't do anything to actively stop it at bedtime as it worked so well! Never co-slept and LO went on his own room at 6 months. Bedtime feed (we combi fed) was done sat on a beanbag next to the cot then a quick transfer.
He slept through consistently from about 18 months - I don't believe that stopping feeding to sleep any earlier than we did would have made a blind bit of difference to that.

@NotwhereIshouldbe we don’t co sleep. I just transfer into the cot once they’re properly asleep. Dd1 slept through from around 9 months I think and dd2 was soon after she turned 1

@NotwhereIshouldbe

Yes we bedshared so I got more sleep but went for a floor bed in DS room from 14 mo, partly as he was so heavy that getting him down in the cot was killing me and not working

We still bedshare as needed now at 2y8mo. Works for me and DS

Two years old with gentle encouragement. Continued to breastfeed for another six months then she gave up pretty much of her own accord.

Both of mine stopped falling asleep while feeding before they were one. One was always a brilliant sleeper, the other one did not sleep through the night till about he was 3. No correlation with feeding to sleep whatsoever. Do whatever is easiest for you, and you can change later if needed. Babies change so fast anyway!

It makes a rod for your back but I gladly did it three times over! I found it so brilliant as mine would fall asleep on the breast so quickly - it was like a general an aesthetic - and I was happy to have a speedy fix. In fact I did it until they were weaned around age 2. After that it was sitting and stroking, singing etc which, admittedly, could take a long time. More than once I fell asleep before them! I found it much easier once they’d dropped their afternoon nap and were properly tired at bedtime and ready to sleep. With two of mine they stopped bfing after dropping the nap so that was easier, with the other I needed DH to do bedtime for a week or so with some excuse that mummy was “shopping” etc.

It was something I expected to be a much bigger deal than it was in the end. I think if you go with your instinct and their maturity, that’s the best combination. Don’t upset them unless bfing is becoming a chore.

Still feeding my twins to sleep at 18 months. No plans to stop until they want to!

I didn't really feed to sleep, for some reason I never really had to but I will say there's nothing wrong with it and to follow your babies lead... There's so much pressure for us to go against what our babies actually need so we don't create "a rod for our backs" but I'm a strong believer of doing whatever they need and what works for them individually, if that's feeding to sleep then so be it.. It won't be forever.

I did it when I was BF, switched to mixed feeding at 4m, then exclusively formula by about 8/9 months, she stopped feeding to sleep around that time too. For a while I rocked her instead (which was v tedious), then one day I decided I couldn’t be bothered rocking any longer (it had been ages) and I’d put her in her cot to see what happened. She rolled over and went to sleep in about 3 minutes with no crying. She now does this most nights. I feed until drowsy, put her down with a little comforter and leave.

Never coslept (well occasionally at 5am to get a bit more sleep but never the whole night), just fed to sleep then moved her to her crib/cot. Worked brilliantly when she was in my room, once in her own the move from my bed to her cot sometimes woke her up. Hence the switch to rocking!

I honestly think babies will do things in their own time. I did no sleep training and don’t regret feeding to sleep for a minute.