Am I mad to try this

[mylittleavalon]

I have a 9 month old, started out terrific sleeper- 8 hour stretches then quick feed and another three hours at 2 months- but all went to pot at about 3.5 months, possible reasons stopped swaddle, chest cold around this time, early teether. Now at 9 months she's in our bed and mostly fed to sleep and I'm fed up and confused. Reason for confusion is that when she wakes she's asleep but screaming--I can pop a boob in her mouth and she feeds and back to sleep, which I can handle but not every 40 mins to an hour a night. But if I put the light on and she wakes up properly she can go back to sleep without the boob. Am I mad to just try waking her up properly with light on for a few nights to break the feed to sleep association or will that just create a new habit?! Help!

I personally wouldnt put the light on in the middle of the night.
Does baby not use a dummy?
I would work on breaking the feed to sleep association for naps/night time and see if that helps the night waking (a lot easier said than done, i know)

Definitely a dummy, doesn't sound as if she's hungry just wanting to suck for comfort

Thank you. I tried my best with a dummy but she has always spat it out. Last night husband took her and settled without feeding a couple of times so we thinking this is a way forward. He is still working at the moment but has a week without work coming up so we will spend that week with him taking her and transferring to a cot as cosleeping at the moment and see how that goes. He did switch the light on to stop her crying but perhaps we will stop this. Have put her for first nap in sling not feeding to sleep today so will keep that up. Thankyou for your replies

Dummy can take practice. My dd used to annoy herself pushing it out with her tongue not meaning to so I used to hold it in place for her initially until she learned how to do it.

She didn't use one for long at all contrary to popular belief not all babies rely on them they very often naturally stop using them themselves.

My dd stopped around the 6 month mark which ime (I've looked after a LOT of babies, ex nanny and childminder among other things) is about the point most do give them up and learn to settle themselves reasonably well of a night when they do that very slightly roused thing.

Maybe going through phases where they find it more difficult due to illness, teething or unusually hot weather for Uk (we're geared up for cold weather in our homes but not hot. At one point I had 3 fans in dds room! Think it was 2003? We had a heatwave?)

But then once the issue is resolved they soon go back to a pattern of sorts.

Thankyou so much for your replies. I really worked on the first nap getting her to do anything but feed to sleep and I hadn't even got round to fixing anything else but she has been sleeping 6-8 hour stretches. Not sure if this is conincidental or because I stopped feeding her to sleep for one nap or just she developed a bit more but long may it last!

Sadly it's all phases enjoy this one while it lasts