Easier to fall asleep WITHOUT breastfeeding?

[nabisco]

DS is 15 mo.  In the past few months, I have noticed that he won't fall into a deep sleep while breastfeeding.  When I try to detach, thinking he's asleep, he reaches out for it.  We've spent up to 3 hours like this... and neither one of us is sleeping well.  But when my dad (who watches him while I'm at work) puts him down, he falls asleep easily and stays asleep.  When he's with me, he doesn't want to let go of my nipple.  Sleep is so important and I want to be able to put him down without getting my dad to help!  Is this common?  Any ideas?

btw, nursing used to be the only way to get him to fall asleep.  Not sure what has changed!

[voxana]

My 22mo used to only fall asleep with nursing.  Now I've had to change it up a bit since he doesn't fall asleep that way anymore. I've now added rocking simultaneously w/ nursing (in total darkness) to get him sleepy and then lay him down in the crib. I unlatch him just as I'm laying him down. If he is still a little awake (usually is), he will sometimes get himself to sleep the rest of the way.  If not, he calls out for me and we start over.  It's a pain sometimes.  He sleeps in the crib now because at 20 months he stopped sleeping at all when I'm next to him. 

[Asiago]

Perhaps it is separation anxiety, or he may be making up for lost time nursing.

[nabisco]

Well it was just a phase!  He is 18mo now and ever since he dropped one of his two naps, he falls asleep so easily!  I nurse him for about 10 minutes and he falls into a deep sleep, deep enough for me to detach and he continues sleeping.  I think the problem was that we were transitioning from two naps to one (although I didn't know that at the time) and I just don't think he was tired enough to get into that deep sleep at night.  He has always been a very light sleeper, so I'm really enjoying this 10-minutes-to-sleep phase... it used to be more than an hour of nursing/walking/rocking/etc.