Constantly feeding to sleep

[PDog]

My DD has just turned 7mo. I have always fed her to sleep during the night and never had an issue with it but recently she can't seem to sleep, even at nap time, unless she is on my boob.

She has never been good at napping but over the last month had got much better and would settle herself in her cot. On a night she would usually fall asleep quite quickly but would carry on feeding properly. When she got tired, I would swap her over to wake her up a bit and she would come off when she had enough. I would then be able to put her down drowsy and she would self settle.

For the last week, she seems content to suckle for eternity. If I take her off before she is properly asleep she will kind of chase my boob with her eyes shut and mouth open, like she used to when she was a new born and cry if I don't latch her back on.

This is the same at nap time. Even if she has had a feed recently, when I try to put her down for a nap she sucks my arm furiously until I feed her. As soon as I try to move her, she wakes up fully and won't go back to sleep unless she is on the boob. She only tends to sleep for about 20 mins this way so is constantly tired.

It is more the daytime that is getting me down as I can't get anything done or have 10 mins to myself (the only other way she will sleep is in the car or pram but wakes as soon they stop moving).

Help!!

Have posted in feeding too.

My money's on teething. And I know, oh so well, how frustrating it is, but my best advice is to roll with it. DS fed until he was 2.3, mostly at night when he'd get into our bed and feed to sleep. He phased it out himself as his molars came through. There were long stretches between teeth when he didn't need to feed to sleep, but it was the best weapon and I was glad of it when he was uncomfy.

She is still so young, I would just go with it for now- do you have a decent sling you could put her in that would go on your back so that you can carry on what you are doing? The Ergo is good. My DS who is 22mths old still feeds to sleep at night and if we're not out in the pram will feed to sleep for a nap too. It's hard when they are so young but it passes soon enough. DS is happy and confident and will go off and play with other children in baby groups or with family members without so much as a backward glance at me and I put it down to him always knowing I'm there and him being secure with me.

There is a section in the No Cry Sleep Solution, Elizabeth Pantley. where she describes how to stop feeding to sleep. when you notice she is dropping off you unhook your nipple, she will try and latch on and root around so wait again till she drops off and unhook again.
when I tried this it took me probably 10 or so goes the first few times. Gradually she started to be able to be took off the nipple by the 2nd attempt.
The NCSS is a slow process but a nice process and you get loads of tips.

My DD is 22m and is still feeding to sleep on a night but she will nap during the day in her pram and no longer wakes 5 times a night for a feed. And we are all getting better sleep and a lot calmer.

Thanks for the advice. I do have a wrap sling but have not mastered feeding in it. She used to sleep in it a lot when she was younger so I will try it and see if she will sleep in it without feeding.

I did wondered about teething as her bottom gums look very white but nothing has appeared yet and she has been like this for more than a week.

I've got the NCNS but didn't want to start any sleep training until DD was 6 mo so will have another read.

They never tell you that the really bad bit with teething is way before the teeth actually cut through.

Hi PDog

My money would be on teething or that obsession of mine, a developmental spurt. In the fortnight before DS started to roll, he refused to go to sleep by being rocked or in the pram (cue screaming hysterics). If I put him down drowsy but awake, he'd try to roll over and then yell.

Then the weekend he got the hang of rolling, he went to sleep in the pram again - to my amazement - and could be rocked to sleep too.

Mind you, he's been hard work the last couple of days, but I never know whether that's me getting the timings wrong or what.

Hi AngelDog

They are so aren't they? Just when you think you've got it cracked, they change on you again.

I'm guessing it is teething as she can roll and sit up and is miles off crawling - tummy too big .

She was up 3 times last night and I fed back to sleep each time. I tried the sling again yesterday but she wouldn't sleep in it, although it was handy as I could get ready without having to sing nursery rhymes to distract her.

SBT so how long does it last for? She has had symptoms of teething for months and we've had some particularly bad nights but still no teeth.

PDog, if I told you you'd probably jump off a high bridge, sorry!

If it's any consolation we haven't had bother with teeth for ages now, DS is 3

Seriously, IME it can go on, and on, and on. For us the discomfort seemed to settle down and then a week or so later the tooth would cut. He was also really windy during the pre-tooth stage, but again that settle before the damn thing popped up.

It's maddening, you have my sympathy.