HELP!!! My baby will not sleep at night unless she is nursing what do I do?

Question

Hello so my baby is 4 months and 2 weeks old. She used to fall asleep around 10:30 and would sleep any were from 6-9 am but for the past month she will not sleep in her crib, she has to be laying next to me nursing and I do not want her to get in this habit but it is the only way I can get any sleep!! Any advice on what I should do?? Is it really bad to let her cry herself to sleep at this age? Please any advice or help would be great, thank you;)

Answer 1

Watch her when she's nursing. When you notice her drifting off, pick her up and put her in her crib. If she wakes up, have her latch back on, and keep repeating it until she stays asleep in the crib. It's worked for all 3 of my children. You just have to be consistent. Good for you for breastfeeding :)

Answer 2

If you want to put your baby to sleep in 20 seconds you must get the "Instant Baby Sleep" MP3 sound track. Here is their official web-site: http://www.instantbabysleep.net



The sound track gently produces energy over the full human hearing spectrum with an embedded pulse that gently eases the brain to the Alpha state well known for drowsiness and sleep induction.

Answer 3

Of course it's normal! Babies are all different and begin to sleep through at different times. Let the child take their time and don't worry about nursing to sleep.

Answer 4

You're right, this is now a habit. I think the problem is that your daughter is used to nursing to sleep, and when she stirs in the night, can't get to sleep without breastfeeding. This can be remedied by helping your daughter learn to soothe herself to sleep



You say that your daughter can sleep through the night, so now you have to encourage her to do so again.



I suggest continuing to breast feed often, but at bed time, after her bedtime routine, breast feed and then put her down to bed. She will complain and cry, but go in and pat her back after 5 minutes, then leave the room. You will likely have to do this many times the first night, and again the second night, but your baby will not cry herself to death just because you don't allow her to use your breast as a soother!



Start during the day too - lay her down when she is really tired, drowsy but still awake, and pat her back, but leave her in her bed.



If you do not do this, you will have her sleeping with you for years!



I breastfed three babies, and all of them were good sleepers, slept through from midnight to 6 am by about 6 - 8 weeks, then by three months were sleeping from 11pm (last feed) to 7:00am, but I would cuddle them, rock them, sing and dance with them, but I put them in their little beds awake, EVERY TIME, because I truly believe that you should not start a habit that you will one day have to break.



I know that the other answers said let her do this, but that may be okay for them, because it is what they want to do, but it isn't what you want, so you need help to fix what is happening.



Again, I am not saying that your baby won't protest, she will, but if she is fed, dry, warm and tired, the place for her is in her bed.



I should also say that there is a difference between letting a young baby cry and cry unattended, until they fall asleep, but if your baby is tired but just is used to suckling to fall asleep, there is nothing wrong with going in to reassure her every ten minutes, but leaving her where she is.



It is also better to have Daddy on board with this, and perhaps he could be the one to go in to pat your daughter's back, as she knows that you have milk, and he doesn't!

Answer 5

It is beyond bad to let her cry herself to sleep. Nursing to sleep is not a bad habit, and at her age is still very needed. You may want to educate yourself on the normal development of a breast fed baby.

Answer 6

Geez, your baby found out it's nice to snuggle with mom and sucking is comforting. Like every other baby that has it's emotional needs tended to. Letting your child cry alone is ignoring her emotional needs.



Try reading Elizabeth Pantely's "No Cry Sleep Solution".

Answer 7

This is deeply effed up stuff -- why wouldn't you want your wee baby to nurse? Why would it even occur to you to just drop the parenting duties and leave her to sob alone; was this an unwanted pregnancy?



Bizarre...



Here, read up:



http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/04.09/ChildrenNeedTou.html

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=a1a74c84-c59d-414d-bbb7-3860fee988f1

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/fussy-baby/science-says-excessive-crying-could-be-harmful

http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/index.html

http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/12/21/cosleeping-and-biological-imperatives-why-human-babies-do-not-and-should-not-sleep-alone/



Try to engage in mothering which will make your child _thrive_, not mothering which is...I want to say "at best, not a SIDS risk," but that is exactly what leaving a 4mo to sob alone is. Also not sure who told you nursing to sleep was some sort of bad _habit_. She's not smoking cigarettes; she's doing what she was biologically programmed to do.