I have a 5 month old DD who is EBF. Everything is fine and I've done the whole 'do what works for you and the baby' technique but things have started to change and aren't working for me anymore. I need some help in trying to get into good habits over the next few weeks. I don't want to use a dummy.
Currently she is in our room and will be until she is at least 6 months. I put her down at about 8pm in our room and leave the monitor on until i go up at 9.30pm. She's up every 2 hours or so then wakes up for good at 6-7am.
Here goes...
- Napping. At the moment DD will only nap when being walked about. That used to be fine but as she wakes up at about 6 or 7am I want to get her to nap in her cot for at least her first nap of the day. How do I do this? Feed her in a dark room then put her down? Keep trying every day until she gets it?
- Feeding to sleep. I still do this and would like to stop because every time she wakes she wants boob. I plan to do a full bedtime routine to calm her down then do a 10 mins feed then put her down awake and stay in the room. I'll pick her up if she cries then put her down. Do you think this will work? Any hints?
- Night waking. She used to be great but since 3 and a half months she wakes up at least every2 hours and wants a feed then snacks for about 5 mins then will go down. This is starting to take its toll. However she is growing really quickly and she's really trying to roll at the moment so I will keep doing this for another few weeks as I think there is a leap occurring.
When I stop this I plan to go cold turkey. She'll still be in the room with me and I'll go to her when she wakes and sush her but i need to stop that association of always getting boob when she needs it. Does that sound OK?
I'd love to hear any wisdom you may have. Thanks