Did feeding to sleep ever become a problem for you?

[Salad]

This has probably been asked before. I feed Georgia to sleep most of time including day sleeps I am worried this will become a problem but she wont self settle. Would love to hear your stories or opinions.
Thanks

[MantaRay]

That's something that worries a lot of mums. I fed both my boys to sleep and it was never a problem. I even went back to work while they were still bfing and still no problem. They know that things are different when mum isn't there. Both of them self-weaned when they were ready, so they just stopped feeding to sleep when they were ready to stop feeding. They were still able to settle themselves with no problem at all.

[Kailani]

I am exactly the same. DS will not self settle, I have to feed him to sleep. No idea how to change it, but there's only so much rocking and pacing up and down I can do!

[Nadine216]

Short answer - NO

[Bathsheba]

Same as Manta here too. BFing to sleep was never a problem often and a blessing. My 2yo self weaned and it was so much easier to get him to settle of a night when he BF. 5 minutes feed (often) and then he would be asleep afterwhich i could carry him into bed for the night. Now it's tuck in bed... say goodnight... go back out to lounge-room and then see him coming out 5 minutes later... so i do it again and again and again. And often it's way past 9pm before i get a break... previously he was asleep before 8pm. I know that doesn't sound very child-centred but it just seemed easier and calmer for us all when i BFed to sleep.

This might sound like I have created a rod... but honestly it was never inconvenient to BF to sleep... and if i didn't do it that way i would have had 3 years of unsettled nights of crying to sleep instead of 6 months of a 3yo tippy toing out to the loungeroom. He has never had to cry himself to sleep which I am content with... as i sure he is too.

[Ozziehoffy]

I didn't find it to be a problem. Sometimes it was a pain only cos it meant it HAD to be me putting him to bed, but we got past that over a period of time after I weaned him and now we have a different bed time routine. So, no was not an issue and it's really a beautiful way to get them to sleep as it's a natural sleep hormone released

[Salad]

Thanks for the replies.
It is no hassel for me to feed her to sleep I enjoy it anyway and usually she is out in about 5 minutes too bathsheba and then I carry her to bed and tuck her in. I just wondered if I was creating a problem for myself laster on.
There is no way I will just let her cry it out or anything and she does not go to sleep if I sit next to her and pat her. I have tried carrying her around the house and that works but takes longer and I think will create problems later on.

[~Raven~]

Nope! Not for the 3 boys and for the girl so far

[Bathsheba]

Hey Salad... like they say; if it's not broke then don't fix it! Sounds like you're doing fine BFing to sleep... and yes! The sleep inducing hormones in breast milk play a nice role too. I wish you many nights of continued calmness

[Salad]

thanks girls - breastfeeding is such a blessing she is asleep on booby now - still melts my heart she looks so peaceful.

[Visitor8]

I feed Ash to sleep, it's so easy! Much easier than listening to him cry or rocking, feed for 5 minutes and he's sleeping

10 months on and most of the time during the day he self settles, no need to feed to sleep anymore, night time I still feed to sleep

[Arcadia]

Depends on what you mean by a problem. Things are only a problem if you can't cope with it. For me it lead to so many night wakings I was a zombie and was starting to resent breastfeeding (which is an awful feeling)

We are back to feeding to sleep because of separation anxiety issues, and honestly I feel conflicted. Part of me loves it (holding a sleepy babe is my favourite thing!), but part of me resents the constant tax on my body...I find it really draining to make all that extra milk for the comfort feeds (no, seriously I notice extra feeds a lot).

I hate the stigma attached top feeding to sleep too...we are always told its "bad" by the should brigade...but honestly I think just do whatever works!

[shellbell3]

It did for me with DD1, worked great for first 3 months then she was on the breast constantly I could not get her to sleep otherwise, as soon as I tried to put her down she would scream and scream. Got very upsettling for me I couldn't spend the whole day with her on the breast just so she could sleep and when I did finally get her to sleep she would only sleep 30mins and wake crying again.
But all children are different, what is a prob for one might not be with another.
DD2 I thought I'd introduce a dummy instead well that turned into just as much a problem as I was up all night replacing it.

[Sterla]

This thread is just what I needed to read . I sometimes feed to sleep (other times I rock to sleep), but I always feel so guilty about it. I even say to DH that I'm 'cheating' when I feed DS to sleep...

I'm not going to feel bad about it anymore. It works and I don't mind doing it... Better that than crying to sleep IMO. Thanks for this thread .

[Lolli]

Depends on what you mean by a problem. Things are only a problem if you can't cope with it. For me it lead to so many night wakings I was a zombie and was starting to resent breastfeeding (which is an awful feeling)

We are back to feeding to sleep because of separation anxiety issues, and honestly I feel conflicted. Part of me loves it (holding a sleepy babe is my favourite thing!), but part of me resents the constant tax on my body...I find it really draining to make all that extra milk for the comfort feeds (no, seriously I notice extra feeds a lot).

I hate the stigma attached top feeding to sleep too...we are always told its "bad" by the should brigade...but honestly I think just do whatever works!

I feel kind of the same. Feeding to sleep did cause problems for us as ds got older. We were co sleeping and he woke constantly at night to suck, but not actually feed. Eventually I put him onthe other side of the bed, next to dh instead of me, and limited his sucking to 'proper' feeds. He weaned himself not long after (at 14 months).

I felt terrible at the time, and it probably wasn't very 'gentle' of me. But I was resenting the constant intrusion on my body. And I was pregnant at the time, although I didn't know it then.

But having said all that, when he was younger feeding to sleep was an absolute god-send, and not to mention a lovely bonding experience. If it's not a problem, it's not a problem- you only need to worry baout it when it's causing dramas for you or bubs.

[Salad]

Thanks girls for the replies.

I know what you mean sterla - everything I read about it seems to make me feel bad for doing it, like I said in the other posts it is not a hassel for me so I am not going to feel guilty about it anymore. it works for us too I guess if there are hurdles when she is older we will tackle them then - right now its important for her to get to sleep whatever way works.

[OceanPrincess]

If it makes you feel any better, I wish I COULD feed to sleep. DD has always gotten sleepy while feeding but the amount of times she has fed to sleep I could count on one hand. She always wakes after I stop feeding!

ETA - wakes and screams, which is why I wish she would feed to sleep

[Bathsheba]

We co-sleep alot too and like Lori said it was sometimes tiring to be disturbed for a few minutes suck but compared to actually having to get up and out of bed to deal with a crying child it was far preferable. My 2yo self weaned too but the last thing he dropped was the 5 minute comfort suck before bed and it was me who missed that more than him I think. Now he is old enough (just turned 3) to come into our bed at about 4am himself... he doesn't cry... I don't have to get up out of bed in the middle of the night (well, not often). For me almost anything is preferable to having to get up out of bed in the middle of the night to re-settle a child. Call me lazy but my bones are older and if they aren't happy with the sleeping arrangements then they can do the walking! I'm just glad I managed to avoid (largely) having to do it much before they could come to me. I don't mind having to share my side of the bed... I just don't wanna have to leave it!