[Al Dente]

Ds is 11 wks old and has been sleeping great at night. Goes to sleep about 9, up at 3:30 to nurse for a bit, down again until 7. I have been actually thinking about cleaning my house and making dinner for dh, I feel so rested. EXCEPT for the last four nights...every hour waking up. Nurse for 2-5 minutes. Up again in an hour. Almost no naps during the day, so we're both overtired.

NO ONE else can get him to sleep. And I can only get him to sleep by nursing and holding him. Now I realize this is not an incredibly popular opinion...but I want him to sleep in his own bed! Not all the time, but at least for naps so I can either nap or do some stuff. We cosleep at night, but I bought an Arms Reach co sleeper for him and he hates it. As soon as he's out of my arms, he wakes up. I am a fluffy gal and have actually lost him in the bed before...right now he sleeps in a snuggle nest in our bed, but he's getting too big for it. I want to transition him to the cosleeper, and periodically I want dh to get him to sleep.

I'm not articulating this well-sorry, sooo tired-but do you regret always nursing your dc to sleep and having to basically sleep with them? I want someone else to be able to "nighttime parent" once in a while so I am not so frazzled.

I know that there are many interrupted sleep nights ahead, and my heart sinks when I think about it. And there are situations that I just can't nurse him down and lay down with him. He now hates the sling btw and we've never gotten the hang of bf in it because he starts crying the minute he's in it.

NCSS says to start putting him to bed drowsy but awake, and pick up if he fusses and start all over again. Well today we did it TWENTY times. He just gets madder and madder, and it takes me 1/2 hour to calm him down. Drowsy but awake no worky for us. Nothing but boob for this kid.

HELP.

 

[loving-my-babies]

not really, I actually like it. he doesn't sleep in a crib, though. so it's easier for us, awake or asleep he's in my arms so it doesn't make much of a difference to me.
but maybe you could try nursing him to sleep and THEN put him down? I think they are still too young at this age to put them down to sleep by themselves IMO.

have you tried him sleeping by your side? my ds sleeps between me and the bedrail, and he has been sleeping through the night for a while, he loves the closeness and it's so much easier to nurse that way..

 

[ekblad9]

I've always done it and never regretted it. It gets easier as they get older. Hang in there.

 

[MamaE]

Dd is 14 months old and it's still "nothing but the boob" for her. I think I also wished early on that it wasn't this way, but the child wouldn't have it any other way, so the only solution was for me to change my expectations since dd wasn't budging! I began to expect that bedtime was always mine and that it would always take an hour, at least. Then, if it only took 15 min, it felt like a gift. If the NCSS works for you - great - I know it has worked for some here, but not all babies are that... shall we say... flexible with the bedtime routine. Some require the boob - day and night! Actually, hearing some mamas talk about bedtime routines, I am thankful the boob works! Consider it a tool - one (no, two) that will serve you well! HTH!

 

[Icequeen_in_ak]

I used to hold my dd while I nursed her to sleep and she would wake up the second I put her down... so I modified my approach. Now I lay on my side and she nurses that way. When she falls asleep, I carefully take my breast back and ever so gently "ease" of the bed and leave her to nap. Works like a charm

Hang in there. It will get better.

 

[Gidget]

I do not really regret it, but I often wish he would go to sleep another way too. In order for him to sleep he INSISTS on my laying on the bed wiht him. I try to nurse him to sleep in my lap and he will scream, arch his back, wiggle and flail about. Not pretty. It is really difficult in the day when I have no one at home to watch dd while I lay him down to sleep and if I keep her with me in the room she walks all over my bed and makes noise. Plus, dd is his BIGGEST distraction. If she is near, he HAS TO see what she is doing. Very frustrating.

 

[Mami]

I do the same as Icequeen. It did take some time for my daughter to tolerate it though. My best advice is that it does get easier. Hang in there. If it's any consolation, your not alone, my daughter pretty much still requires the boob, when all else fails although dad does manage to bounce her to sleep pretty consistently. Have you ever tried the birth ball for bouncing?

 

[marisa724]

My son is 5 1/2 months old and we nurse to sleep all the time. I have to say I still enjoy it, ask me in a year!

11 weeks is probably still too young for the NCSS, I know it's not one of the typical 'sleep trainers' but the people I know who've tried it are only beginning to have success with it around 4-5 months or later.

I was thinking, he's 11 weeks old, he's probably gearing up for another one of those growth spurts. You know, they have them at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months... pretty much every time you're lulled into a sense of complacency.

Anyway, that would explain the frequent wakings and desire to nurse all the time lately.

 

[georgia]

I've nursed both mine to sleep over the past 4.5 years. Never regret it. Some nights I wished I could have just layed them down and that was it.....Sometimes I realized I need a break in other areas to allow me the energy to keep up with nursing. Just identifying your needs and articulating them can be a challenge---but SO worth it. What you're doing does make a difference!!!

When the ability to nurse them to sleep goes, it was mourned deeply in my house. It was SUCH an easy thing to do in comparison to not having such an easy technique!!!

 

[mamaroni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icequeen_in_ak I used to hold my dd while I nursed her to sleep and she would wake up the second I put her down... so I modified my approach. Now I lay on my side and she nurses that way. When she falls asleep, I carefully take my breast back and ever so gently "ease" of the bed and leave her to nap. Works like a charm Hang in there. It will get better.

Hi Rachel!

I've taken the same approace as Icequeen many times. We don't co-sleep full time here either, and I completely relate to what you're saying (although no regrets, but I don't think you have regrets either, really, you're just frustrated!

). One thing I've learned after caring for 3 newborns is that things change so quickly. . . what they like/do at 8 weeks can be totally different from what they like/do at 10, 15, 20 weeks, etc. It does get easier, the sleep-deprivation is definitely the most difficult thing to deal with. Hang in there, mama!

 

[1ColoradoMomma]

Have you ever heard of a book called the "No Cry Sleep Solution"? It is recommended by Dr. Sears. I still breastfeed my dd and sleep with her, but it gives some solutions on how to cut down on the frequency if nothing else. The only reason I'm trying to get her to cut down is because I'd like to get pregnant again

, but I am glad that I put her to bed in this loving way.

Tracy

 

[nova22]

I've used icequeen's method too; it hasn't worked for dd yet but it worked very well for my son.

When I got pregnant my son was only 4 months old. I'm still wondering how the heck that happened.

Anyway, nursing at night was getting painful for me, not just because of actually nursing, but because my back was so sore. To help me out, my husband took DS to bed without me. It took about five days, but after that my son was accustomed to my husband. DH was able to rock him to sleep, sooth him when he woke up in the middle of the night, etc, and he didn't need to nurse to be comforted. In return I nursed ds more during the day and there was no love lost.

Now that he is older (17 mo.) he is nursing to sleep again, but only because I allowed it. I mean, he probably could have continued being comforted by my husband but when DS wakes up in the middle of the night, I grab him before DH wakes up because DH has a rough work schedule and he needs his sleep. (How's that run-on for ya?!)

Good luck with whatever you do

 

[TexasSuz]

This is still an issue for me and my ds is 34 months old. Nursing to sleep was useful when he was younger because I could always get him to sleep. Now it is a difficult struggle to get him to try and go to sleep without it, but something we have to do now that I am pregnant again. Usually this means that he does not go to bed until he is really tired and that Dh hold him until he is asleep. Not the best solution but it has to be done.

With the next baby I am hoping that Dh can try and get him/her to sleep without me sometime. I think this helps with their bonding also.

Good luck. I know it is hard.

 

[sarahloughmiller]

I have always nursed to sleep and I am thankful that it is so easy to get him to sleep. I have found that when my son all of a sudden starts waking every hour or even half hour that he has an ear infection. He has never been much of a sleeper, but it feels like he doesn't sleep at all when he gets an ear infection. I have kind of tried the NCSS, but I think I was a little to lazy for it. It just seemed like a lot of work, why bother when he would nurse to sleep just fine? I know it can be really hard at night, I have not gotten a full nights sleep in 16 months, but it will pass and then I will probably miss it.

 

[~OceanPotion~]

Personally Ive always done it and still do. I think its a wonderful way to put a baby to sleep, that said it can be challenging at times. It does get easier though. Hang in there.

 

[julie128]

YES i regret it. dd is 9 mos., wakes constantly through the night to nurse or when my nipple falls out of her mouth. i get NO sleep. and, yes, we nurse lying down, thanksforasking. last night, i had enough of it at 1:30a.m., and it took 1.5 hrs for her to fall asleep again, and then she woke up half hour later. i should have learned my lesson from dd1. next time, next time....

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!