Feeding to sleep help!

[MeredithGrey1]

Sorry, this is long and rambling, I think I may still be half asleep!
I think my 14 week DD is starting the 4 month sleep regression. The last few days her sleep has got so much worse and last night she was up every hour.
She has always fed to sleep, sometimes if I feed her to sleep and put her down, and she wakes immediately then she can be rocked back to sleep, but mostly she needs to come back to me for a quick feed before she’ll drop off. We’ve tried to stop this but she just screams blue murder for hours on end.
I had her in bed with me last night and basically just put her on my breast every time she woke and she just suckled for ages but always fell asleep within minutes of being put on the breast. If I tried to unlatch her she woke and wouldn’t sleep until latched again and I just got too tired to keep trying so just left her to it. She will not take a dummy, or a bottle.
Is this fine? Or am I going to cause problems. If so, what do I do??
The idea of putting her down “drowsy but awake” as is always recommended seems laughable, she has never fallen asleep like this. One night last week I shushed and patted her for 4 hours from 10pm before giving up (she wasn’t crying at all during this time, as long as she could see me and I was touching her, but she was yawning and obviously tired. At about 2am she did start crying at which point I fed her to sleep. I had to do it twice before she stayed asleep when I put her down).
I’ve never really minded feeding to sleep, but if she’s going to start waking every hour I need to try to stop it. She’s started rejecting one breast so I’m feeding mainly from the other, and that combined with almost constant sucking last night has left me with a very sore nipple. The issue is I just get too tired to follow through with anything. Last night I fed her to sleep, tried to put her down at 7pm, and then for the next 4.5 hours we were rocking her and putting her down, then immediately having to pick her up again because she started howling, before we gave in at half 11 and put her on my breast in bed - instant sleep!
Does anyone have any tips? I just don’t see how to break this cycle when she just will.not.sleep. without nursing.

I'm no help at all since I'm still deep in 4m regression mode at 23 weeks, but:

Would nipple shields and lots of Lansinoh help with the soreness to get you through while trying to find a solution

The extra howling and difficulty putting her down could be overtiredness from trying the shhhh-pat for hours; personally I would just feed to sleep at bedtime and cosleep for now to maximise her sleep and yours. She might be more amenable to unlatching once she's less tired? Are you feeding lying down? When you unlatch her can you try holding her mouth gently closed with your finger as she continues sucking? It's meant to help.

Drowsy but awake is a mythical state for 99% of babies, as far as I can see

She won't wake hourly forever. That's the best I got, sorry.

I fed all of mine to sleep, (all 3) even through the dark 4 month regression and I'm not really that way inclined generally! It passes and now my youngest at 13 months is doing 7-6 and the older two sleep through until 7.30. I do think on the long run it's better than trying to fight it.

@MeredithGrey1 I could have written this exact post when my DD was this age! I thought I was setting myself up for a whole host of problems! My DD is now 14 months and I'm still feeding to sleep and you know what? It's worked out really well! She sleeps really well at night and is a great napper! But I went through the same ordeal thinking I needed to stop doing it - but if it works, it works!

You aren't going to create any sleep issues. You're doing an amazing job breastfeeding. Keep feeding to sleep I say. My DD's sleep actually improved. The 4 month sleep regression is a tricky one but it does pass!! I fed to sleep throughout that and we got through it ...and then it was teething but that's a whole other story!!

Good luck

Another vote for feed to sleep. My toddler was fed to sleep until around 19 months, now (2yrs 8months) has a little chat & cuddle & asleep in 5 minutes.

I'm still feeding her brother to sleep and he's just turned one.

There's a reason breastfeeding puts them to sleep. It's natural, go with it for as long as you're happy to do so.

I fed back to sleep every time until we night weaned (and extremely gently) at 21 mo. He's now happy with a cuddle if he wakes at all (ok we're in a bad phase this week with more cuddles but no milk at night for 6 mo now, more sleep for all, but no tears in getting to this point)