[jeminijad]

On allexperts.com, some poor young mother is asking if her 8 week old baby "should" be nursing every hour or so. The baby also sleeps a 7 hour stretch at night...

Well, someone named Sally Wendkos Olds answered that the baby should not need to eat more than every three hours, and that nursing her to sleep was a "bad habit"!!

: Her signature included that she is the author of a breastfeeding book!

Am I missing something or are "Experts" from the 1950s loose on the internet??

 

[kristi96]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeminijad On allexperts.com, some poor young mother is asking if her 8 week old baby "should" be nursing every hour or so. The baby also sleeps a 7 hour stretch at night... Well, someone named Sally Wendkos Olds answered that the baby should not need to eat more than every three hours, and that nursing her to sleep was a "bad habit"!! : Her signature included that she is the author of a breastfeeding book! Am I missing something or are "Experts" from the 1950s loose on the internet??

Why are there so many people against nursing your kid to sleep? Thats my favorite time to nurse.

 

[LindsG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristi96 Why are there so many people against nursing your kid to sleep? Thats my favorite time to nurse.

That's my favorite time to nurse too and one of the main reasons I haven't given up (i'm extremely low supply). I love letting my DS comfort nurse to sleep on me. It's the only time nursing can be completely relaxing and enjoyable for us.

That's really horrible advice though and really a shame. It's no wonder the breastfeeding failure rate is so high.

 

[sapphire_chan]

So much advice out there seems to translate to "misery loves company, so do it like I did it or you aren't a 'good' mother"

 

[LadyCatherine185]

sure, to (barely) survive, a baby only needs to eat every 3 hours.... but if she wants her baby to thrive and to maintain supply, she needs to nurse him when he is hungry!

it is SO awful the HORRIBLE advice people are getting.... and I hope Liam nurses to sleep for years to come.. why would anyone want to give that up!?

 

[SmoothieMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristi96 Why are there so many people against nursing your kid to sleep? Thats my favorite time to nurse.

I'm against it, it means that my DD can fall asleep when my Mom or sister looks after her. I didn't want her getting dependant on me.

 

[Ianthe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothieMom I'm against it, it means that my DD can fall asleep when my Mom or sister looks after her. I didn't want her getting dependant on me.

The thing is... she IS dependent on you! She is your child!

I nursed my DS to sleep, and no one else had a problem putting him to sleep when I was not around, and they still don't.

 

[chase_mommy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristi96 Why are there so many people against nursing your kid to sleep? Thats my favorite time to nurse.

I'm not for it or against it. I would never recommend for a new mother to do either of the two, that is a personal decision made between mother and her child. I nursed DS to sleep for over 10 months and those were 10 months of the roughest hardest nights of my life. He would ONLY sleep if he was attached at my breast and nursed/comfort nursed all night, if I would unlatch him he would scream as if his world was coming to an end and not stop so back on he would go. I am a light sleeper, never in the 10 months did I get use to sleeping with baby at breast. When DD was born I never started off nursing her to sleep. I would pop her off as soon as she was drifting and put her in bed. 13 months later I have nursed her to sleep 3 times. Its nice being able to sleep at night and its nice to lay in bed with DD and her not frantic to attach my breast. When she is hungry she latches on, she eats, drifts of, does a little comfort nursing and then pulls of and settles into a deep sleep. I love watching that process, its beautiful.

As far as that 'expert' goes, thats ludicrous, people never stop amazing me!

:

 

[sapphire_chan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothieMom I'm against it, it means that my DD can fall asleep when my Mom or sister looks after her. I didn't want her getting dependant on me.

? Is this a joke?

There's a whole thread over in Life With a Babe about how easily kids fall asleep at daycare.

Just because a baby needs to nurse to sleep when the source of nursing is around, doesn't mean they won't be able to develop other routines with other people.

 

[SmoothieMom]

Maybe I mis understood the question. I enjoy nursing my baby to sleep, but I was careful to make sure she could fall asleep on her own without me. I want her to be able to soothe herself, what if there was a emergency or something happened to me or she had to stay at another home for an evening? I don't want an unhappy baby being unable to sleep.

 

[SmoothieMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LizzyQ The thing is... she IS dependent on you! She is your child!

She also needs to learn to depend on herself. I meet all her needs and she can self soothe, I feel very proud of that.

 

[mamazee]

If there were an emergency or something happened to you, she'd be unhappy anyway. I don't understand making choices about every day based on unlikely what-ifs.

I always nursed #1 to bed, and that was the last nursing time she gave up. It was great. #2 doesn't fall asleep nursing. Oh well.

 

[hollycat]

i love to nurse my baby asleep and i also love that he can fall asleep on his own, as well. best of all worlds.

 

[StoriesInTheSoil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothieMom She also needs to learn to depend on herself. I meet all her needs and she can self soothe, I feel very proud of that.

This reminds me of something I read earlier in Our Babies, Ourselves. What I got from it was that independence is something that American parents think of as an extremely desirable quality and it is what they strive for and want to "train" their children to be. Because it is not as desirable as other qualities in other cultures, we Americans are and "westerners" are uniquely obsessed with solitary sleep and sleeping through the night.

For the OP, yeah, it seems that the "experts" have to be heard just like anyone else- some are right and some are dead wrong.

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LizzyQ The thing is... she IS dependent on you! She is your child! I nursed my DS to sleep, and no one else had a problem putting him to sleep when I was not around, and they still don't.

Um,

:

-Angela

 

[alegna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoothieMom She also needs to learn to depend on herself. I meet all her needs and she can self soothe, I feel very proud of that.

Babies can not depend on themselves by very definition.

-Angela

 

[Jojo F.]

I hope you chimed in and gave your opinion on the issue. That new mama needs to realize that nursing her baby to sleep is not a bad thing and can be sooooo lovely

:

And only 8 weeks old?! of course that baby is going to nurse every hour, he/she is a growing baby!!!!

About independence- they are babies, they are not *supposed* to be independent. IMO, I think it's kinda sad to expect a baby to not be dependant on their mother. Babies need to know their mother will be there for them, always.

For the record, I nurse my DD to sleep but, she can also fall asleep on her one. Babies are differnt though, no two are alike so situations differ. And I have to admit, we do use a paci on rare occassions- she only takes it from DS

 

[twinsplusone1]

I totally agree about teaching a child to self soothe the older they get it becomes important with night wakings etc..i love letting my little on fall asleep nursing but he also can be put down awake and fall asleep its crucial in our house bc we have older kids, soccer games, basketball, girlscouts etc he's got to be able to be put down to fall asleep I can't be driving to games with a baby at the breast LOL

 

[vegancat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristi96 Why are there so many people against nursing your kid to sleep? Thats my favorite time to nurse.

Not to mention it works *every time*. Why give something up if it's obviously so comforting?!?! To the OP, I hope you commented that her advice was silly and discouraging.