DS1 is 2.5+ and nurses to sleep. There were times when he was a baby when he preferred to be worn/walked to sleep, but for most of his life it's just been nursing.
I was determined to teach DS2 different ways to fall asleep instead of just nursing, so I wore him to sleep a lot. For a while, I had the perfect setup (IMO): I'd wear him to sleep for naps, and he'd nurse to sleep at bedtime. During the day I'd even switch him to my wrap real quick if I saw him start to drift off while nursing. This was because I couldn't be stuck on the couch with him latched on for his entire nap, when I had DS1 to care for as well.
Now, DS2 is almost exclusively worn to sleep. Every nap or bedtime I nurse him, change him, then put him in my wrap, give him a pacifier if he wants it (which I remove after he falls asleep), and bounce on an exercise ball. If he's tired, this routine is fairly easy and painless. My worry is what I'll do to get him to sleep when he's much bigger. He's already quite a bit bigger than DS1 was at this age, and I can't imagine getting DS1 to sleep in a wrap at his current age/size.
Should I start working on teaching DS2 other ways to fall asleep? How would I do that? One time for a nap, DH and DS1 were out somewhere and I was too exhausted to wrap and bounce, so I just laid down with him and nursed and cuddled until he eventually fell asleep (and I did soon after). It took a while but he didn't cry; if he had I would have gotten up and wrapped him. But I don't frequently have that much time to devote to naptime or bedtime. Usually I've got to work quickly then transfer him to bed (or DH's lap) so I can get to DS1.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
I was determined to teach DS2 different ways to fall asleep instead of just nursing, so I wore him to sleep a lot. For a while, I had the perfect setup (IMO): I'd wear him to sleep for naps, and he'd nurse to sleep at bedtime. During the day I'd even switch him to my wrap real quick if I saw him start to drift off while nursing. This was because I couldn't be stuck on the couch with him latched on for his entire nap, when I had DS1 to care for as well.
Now, DS2 is almost exclusively worn to sleep. Every nap or bedtime I nurse him, change him, then put him in my wrap, give him a pacifier if he wants it (which I remove after he falls asleep), and bounce on an exercise ball. If he's tired, this routine is fairly easy and painless. My worry is what I'll do to get him to sleep when he's much bigger. He's already quite a bit bigger than DS1 was at this age, and I can't imagine getting DS1 to sleep in a wrap at his current age/size.
Should I start working on teaching DS2 other ways to fall asleep? How would I do that? One time for a nap, DH and DS1 were out somewhere and I was too exhausted to wrap and bounce, so I just laid down with him and nursed and cuddled until he eventually fell asleep (and I did soon after). It took a while but he didn't cry; if he had I would have gotten up and wrapped him. But I don't frequently have that much time to devote to naptime or bedtime. Usually I've got to work quickly then transfer him to bed (or DH's lap) so I can get to DS1.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
