Baby only falls asleep on breast or rocked...help!

[NomsQualityStreets]

DS is 4 weeks old. Through the day he is fine being rocked (usually with dummy which he spits out once he's almost gone) to sleep.

At night he will only go back down when breastfeeding, refuses dummy and will want to go back on the breast to fall asleep after finishing a feed and being burped.
We have the snuzpod so I usually won't pick him up unless he needs a burp, just give him the breast and he will doze off.

I wonder if I'm doing something wrong/ what to change especially since his comfort feeding makes him too full and he tends to bring milk up once or twice a night or get hiccups.

The other night I tried to rock him to sleep like I do through the day and he just screamed for nearly an hour until I gave in and breastfed him.

What am I doing wrong?

Nothing! This is standard baby behaviour. Boob milk has sleepy chemicals in it. Babies are designed to fall asleep this way. Don't fret, you're doing a good job.

Nothing! Babies like to be fed to sleep. You’re doing what your baby needs.

Also you're not giving in when you breastfeed. You should be doing it on demand (which can be every 3 hours or every 30 minutes). Your baby will need to be feeding really regularly at the moment to build up your milk supply.

So if that's what I'm supposed to be doing how do I teach him to self soothe in the months to come?

If he's constantly rocked or fed to sleep will it not be nearly impossible?

They learn it when they’re developmentally ready to. 4 weeks is very very young still and way to early to be thinking of self soothing! You’re doing exactly what your baby needs.

You're doing a great job and, as PP have said, exactly what your baby needs from you now. The sense of security and comfort you're instilling in him now is what will help him learn to self soothe when he is a bit older (at least a few months old, more like 5-6 or later).

I worried about the same. Then I followed a few attachment parenting pages on Facebook which really helped me stop thinking I was making a rod for my own back (as others had said). I remember thinking my son would never sleep and how I was the only Mum with a child who was fed to sleep etc.

Mine still does the same at 11 weeks. I’ve worried that I’m ‘making a rod for my own back’ because we’re warned not to feed to sleep... then i think to myself well what’s the worst that can happen? She needs a feed to sleep every night? Don’t all babies? Maybe naive/inexperienced, but I say there’s no issues, keep on as you are

I remember feeling like you. Then I gave into it and changed my thinking to loving it as a tool to easily settle my baby. And rest myself.

He'll develop different routines as he gets older! Don't worry about that now just do what he needs you to do! That's cuddles and feeds when he needs them!

Baby no.1 reduced wakings herself over, then at 6 months I actively stopped bf to sleep, was sleeping through by 7.5 months.
Baby no.2 has stopped bf to sleep himself at 4 months. Does require cuddle and a few pick up/put downs before falling asleep but getting less each night.
Go with what's easy at the time! They usually sort it out themselves.

I bottle fed both of mine and even they would feed to sleep most of the time at that age, that's still so young. You're not doing anything wrong

Just do whatever is easiest for now and what works. Worry about the future later. Babies change all the time. DS16 was a rubbish sleeper as a baby. Would only sleep on me or if breastfed. Now he is a big teenager I look back at that time fondly. That special bonding time I had with my baby boy.

I'm having the same problem especially tonight! I cosleep with my 11 wk old which I don't mind but now she seems to need a boob in her mouth constantly. She'll wake up and scream until I replace it which can be every 10 min, it's so wearing. She won't accept a dummy, have tried lots of types multiple times.

Please stop worrying about self settling nonsense. Iran developmentally appropriate - some babies do it at 10 months, some at 2 years. They get there when they’re ready it is TOTALLY biologically normal for baby to fall asleep at the breast, it’s what they’re designed to do! It’s why it works x

Thank you for the replies, I guess I will take it in its stride for now.
I'm just a bit worried about EBF this time around as I constantly feel scared of being tied down and not being able to do or go anywhere on my own.
My older DS ended up waking every 30mins at 8months old when I decided to wean him off the breast 

I'm just concerned I'll make a rod for my own back and end up with a 1yr old who can't self soothe or sleep longer than a couple of hours at a time once he goes in his own cot.

All those things you’ve just described - although difficult - are developmentally normal for breastfed babies. It’s really about managing your expectations. Also, not ALL babies do end up like that, some sleep longer stretches than others.