Breastfeeding, etc. - Page 19 « Back to Group Discussions

[dashley111]

Bettie will NOT nurse to sleep!  Rarely I can get her to at night in bed, but Im probably the only one who still has to walk the floors with a 7 month old    She prefers to use a pacifier to get herself to sleep because then she can move her head around.

[Mal85]

Ok well this makes me feel better then. She just hates doing it. I nurse her before naps and she fights it the whole time. She won't nurse lying down, not even overnight. That's ultimately what ended co-sleeping for us. I had to sit up and nurse her anyway, so I just started putting her back in the crib when she was done. Plus she is so squirmy, I wasn't getting much sleep anyway! She'll usually nurse before her morning nap and afternoon nap, then a couple of times between that last nap and bedtime. Sometimes she also nurses first thing in the morning but not often-- she doesn't like to eat in the morning. 

DD1 fought the breast too, but not until she was around a year old. I fought her until she was 14 months then just gave up and let her wean, which she had no problem with! She was old enough though, I still have to wrestle this one to the breast for at least another 4.5 months! Oh the joys of the scratching, pulling, tugging, chomping, back-arching and screaming!

[Mal85]

Originally Posted by dashley111 

Bettie will NOT nurse to sleep!  Rarely I can get her to at night in bed, but Im probably the only one who still has to walk the floors with a 7 month old    She prefers to use a pacifier to get herself to sleep because then she can move her head around.

Greta won't nurse to sleep either, never has, not even as a newborn. She will take a pacifier though. So, she nurses until she is done, then I slip her the pacifier. She's pretty easy to get to sleep just after she's nursed. She had started fighting me really hard a while back. Out of frustration one night, I just put her in the crib and walked away (not my finest moment!). She went right to sleep! It's worked ever since. I lay her down awake and leave the room, she goes to sleep. I usually hear her chattering for a little bit, then she goes to sleep. If she starts crying, then I know she wasn't ready. I'll get her up and snuggle or walk with her for a few minutes, then usually she'll lay right down. I know that doesn't work for a lot of babies though. It certainly never worked for DD1... who only recently started laying down on her own at 3.5 years old!

[seraf]

Shay won't take a pacifier, but he wil usually fall asleep within a minute of holding still (nursing/carseat/sling). Sometimes, he grunts like he is trying to poop while nursing. It took me a while to realize that he wants me to sing. If I sing, he stops and goes to sleep.

[jill the pill]

When will they stop nursing so much at night?  Audrey was only waking up at 5 am to nurse until about two months ago and now she wakes up 3 or 4 times.  It's driving me nuts! 

[KayPea]

So, is nursing to sleep a good thing? I tried really hard to get Oren to go to sleep without nursing, and he was doing good, but then we all got sick for pretty much the whole second half of winter and part of spring, and would only fall asleep nursing while sick. And now that's just his thing. I don't like it, because I think it makes him wake up more at night. He wakes up 3 or 4 times in the night (between 11pm and 4am, that is), and then it's pretty much non-stop nursing after 4 until I can't stand it any more and wake up DH to take him downstairs. Sometimes he'll wake up between his bedtime and mine, but not usually. This makes me wonder if he'd do better in his own space. He's in the crib until I come to bed, then he's in bed with us.  I love cosleeping, but I like sleep too.

[jbk21]

Most people say nursing to sleep is bad.  But nursing to sleep is generally accepted in the AP community, from what I understand.  Neither of my kids nurse to sleep, but they have both been paci babies.  They nurse, then need a little rocking or bouncing (older DS needed more bouncing/walking than Dylan does).  

I say just do whatever works for you.  If it isn't working, change it!  It does seem like maybe Oren thinks you're a buffet.  For us, it doesn't matter if Dylan is in my bed or in his own space next to the bed- he wakes a ton.  Oye vey.

[TalkToMeNow]

Eh, I don't know why nursing to sleep is a bad thing. I coslept with and nursed both my girls to sleep until they were two. Both now go to sleep 100% on their own and have for years. And years. I'm guessing the objection is that they will be too dependent? Nothing lasts forever! Kids grow up and become independent. So I don't worry about nursing to sleep right now! If I get sick of lying in bed nursing, I put Jasper in the carrier and walk around.

I feel you on the early morning nursing fests though, Kirsten. Sigh. I just keep trying to unlatch and scoot away!

[KayPea]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

 If it isn't working, change it! 

I need to remember this. With DD, it really was next to impossible to change something that she decided was THE WAY, and that I had trouble with. Even when she was a baby. But with Oren, I think that making changes gently is totally possible. But I'm just not used to thinking that way!

[seraf]

Nursing to sleep is seen as both bad for teeth and a hard habit to break. I know dozens of kids who nursed to sleep into their toddler years and have great teeth and sleep habits now. My older kids do have bad teeth, but I don't think nursing is the reason (for one, DD was long past nursing to sleep and night weaned when her nursing carries started).

And the idea that if they fall asleep nursing they want to nurse every time they get to light sleep in their sleep cycle.

Shay currently wakes only at morning buffet time ( it was 4 forever but now it's 5 or 6). It seems to me if almost all the babies are doing that, there's something important to it.

I really think Shay being such a great sleeper for most of his life has to do with his size. The kid looks like a toddler (oh yeah, NIP is going to be more interesting with this one, I can feel it already).

[birdhappy85]

Originally Posted by seraf 

I really think Shay being such a great sleeper for most of his life has to do with his size. The kid looks like a toddler (oh yeah, NIP is going to be more interesting with this one, I can feel it already).

 

[jbk21]

Yeah I think it is mostly about creating habits but I don't necessarily agree with that.  Hence why I said AP parents practice it.  I think babies need things that are entirely different than what toddlers need which are entirely different from what older children need.  I just do whatever my babies need at the time (as do most other AP parents).  When I say "most parents" that is to say, most mainstream parents- the sect that likes to get a child on a schedule, etc etc etc.

My babies just happen not to nurse to sleep for the most part.  They definitely wanted to nurse before sleep, but not to fall asleep.  

[TalkToMeNow]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Yeah I think it is mostly about creating habits but I don't necessarily agree with that.  Hence why I said AP parents practice it.  I think babies need things that are entirely different than what toddlers need which are entirely different from what older children need.  I just do whatever my babies need at the time (as do most other AP parents).  When I say "most parents" that is to say, most mainstream parents- the sect that likes to get a child on a schedule, etc etc etc.

My babies just happen not to nurse to sleep for the most part.  They definitely wanted to nurse before sleep, but not to fall asleep.  

Ahhh... I see. Yeah, I knew what you meant by most parents.  For me, the whole dependence thing is silly! Are there really a bunch of teenagers out there begging to nurse to sleep in their parents' bed? I'm thinking not. Is it really dependence when it only lasts through baby/ early toddlerhood? As for teeth, I'm obviously no dental expert. I just have anec-data: neither of my girls has "bad" teeth. Dd1 has a lot of cavities, so I suppose hers aren't great. Dd2 has great teeth, no cavities. Also, I have good teeth, and I nursed to sleep and nursed until I was 2.5 years. 

All three of my kiddos nursed to sleep. I think this means I have sleepy boobies. 

[jbk21]

OMG that is an awesome smiley.  I haven't seen that one before (the sleeping one!)

Yeah I was just clarifying because I realized what I originally said wasn't very clear.  I've had to be pretty short lately because I just get a few minutes online here and there!  


Now that Dylan is eating more he has started gumming on my nipples. Ouch.  But it is random, and it doesn't happen every time.  Whew.

[jill the pill]

Audrey doesn't nurse to sleep.  I have to put her in the carrier with her blankie tucked under her head and walk around the house until she is asleep.  I wish she would nurse to sleep so I could at least lay down and relax for a few minutes. 

[TalkToMeNow]

Originally Posted by jill the pill 

Audrey doesn't nurse to sleep.  I have to put her in the carrier with her blankie tucked under her head and walk around the house until she is asleep.  I wish she would nurse to sleep so I could at least lay down and relax for a few minutes. 

I bet you do! Sometimes I enjoy lying in bed with Jasper, nursing him to sleep. It's what I'm doing right now! I get to goof off on my phone. But he can go for over an hour at night before I can leave. I can't take it! I think 20-30 min is my max. Then he goes in the carrier.

[birdhappy85]

I need advice about pumping at work. What's the max # of hours I can go before I have to pump without the risk of lowering my breastmilk supply? I'm particularly concerned about my first few weeks of training because I'll be working with someone nonstop... but then once I'm working completely alone, I'll have more opportunity to pump. I started the job tonight and realized that I have files to transfer at specific times around the 3-4 hour mark that will make it difficult to leave my desk to pump... Maybe I'll have to pump at the desk and wear something over myself to cover up? Is it reasonable to ask HR if they have cameras in there? I honestly haven't even brought up the subject of pumping to anyone yet because I just figured I could figure it out on my own when I'm alone. Now I'm thinking I will call HR tomorrow and discuss it (since I'm uncomfortable bringing it up to my male boss).

Also to put things into perspective, I'll only be working 3 nights in a row per week, about 5-6 hours into the evening when Sora doesn't really nurse much anyway before bedtime these days... Will that seriously kill my supply if I don't pump? I'm sure I'll receive a lot of yes answers to that one, lol. Can you tell I'm not looking forward to figuring out the pumping thing? 

[TalkToMeNow]

Joanie, I'm confused! Okay, you will be at work for 5-6 hours, 3 nights a week? Is Sora on a schedule of sorts? Meaning, if you were home, when would she nurse? I would think you just need to pump when she would normally eat. For me, if I was working from say 4-9, I would pump once. Jasper normally eats at 5ish and 8:30ish, so I would try to feed him at 3:30 (before I left), pump in the middle, say 7, then feed him right when I got home. But the pumping would be to provide milk for while I was gone. I wouldn't get engorged in 5-6 hours at all as that would only be missing one feeding. 

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by TalkToMeNow 

Joanie, I'm confused! Okay, you will be at work for 5-6 hours, 3 nights a week? Is Sora on a schedule of sorts? Meaning, if you were home, when would she nurse? I would think you just need to pump when she would normally eat. For me, if I was working from say 4-9, I would pump once. Jasper normally eats at 5ish and 8:30ish, so I would try to feed him at 3:30 (before I left), pump in the middle, say 7, then feed him right when I got home. But the pumping would be to provide milk for while I was gone. I wouldn't get engorged in 5-6 hours at all as that would only be missing one feeding. 

[birdhappy85]

My work hours are approx. 4:30-9:30pm, give or take an hour as needed. Yes, 3 nights a week. Sora is *kind of* on a schedule... The girl nurses at such random times, I use the term "schedule" loosely. She eats 3 solid meals a day that are pretty consistent, but her nursing is still fairly sporadic since she's a major comfort nurser too. Hmm. If I feed her before I leave, I think she'd just need one bottle before bedtime (8:00-ish) while I'm gone since she eats solids around 6:00 that fill her up too. *blond moment* I totally wasn't even thinking about how the purpose of pumping at work is to have milk for when I'm gone. DUH. Thanks for pointing that out Amanda. Wow, I must be tired... I was viewing that pumping time as only necessary to keep up my supply on the nights I'm not working. I usually pump a stash around 5am these days, so I've been using that milk.

Sora is fast asleep and STTN by the time I get home. I'm thinking it would be a bad idea to wake her up and feed her when I get home? I pumped when I came home tonight. If it might keep my supply regular, though, maybe I'll take her out of the crib and sleep-nurse her when I get home. I don't know much about keeping up a supply, that's all. I've heard stories of women having supply issues when they work, and I don't know all of the ins and outs of it.