Hello,
Looking for advice or even just reassurance as I’m starting to feel like I need help or guidance on my daughter’s sleep.
Background:
I’ve breastfed exclusively my daughter since birth, and also co-slept (with a side-of-bed cot at first and then safe bedsharing from about 5-6 months old) so she could breastfeed laying down throughout the night whenever she needed/wanted to. I also have always breastfed her to sleep because it puts her to sleep so fast and clearly comforts her. Whenever she wakes up, she will go back to sleep within 5-10 minutes of me breastfeeding her. Our situation has been fine up until recently - I feel like the sleep deprivation hasn’t been as brutal as the kind described by other mum’s because I didn’t need to get out if bed in the early hours to see to a crying baby.. but now I’m wondering if I’ve created sleep habits/crutches and how i can gently break these associations and get her to stop waking.. or if I should wait it out and let her grow out of these naturally.
She’s a happy, content toddler who eats solid food well and drinks from a sippy cup throughout the day.
A typical night looks like this:
7pm I put her down in her cot in her room (i lay down with her in her cot and feed her to sleep)
She will usually wake up 1-3 times before midnight wanting to breastfeed (she will start fully crying if someone else tries to put her ti sleep or even if I go into and dont breastfeed) , and usually by the 3rd time I bring her in our room/bed, because as the night goes on it seems harder to put back to sleep in her cot.
She sleeps better in our bed, never fully waking up or crying, but breastfeeds often (not always drinking, often just comfort or like a dreamfeed). I‘m sure if she were in her cot in her room she would wake up and cry out for me. I’m aware of her breastfeeding/comfort sucking maybe 2-3 times more laying next to me, but I dont wake up fully, so it could be more. I sleep quite well until 7am.
If anyone has any ideas or advice on how I can gently break the sleep associations with breastmilk/me then I’m all ears!