5 mnth old wont go to sleep at night unless fed to sleep

[Arcadia]

Could you feed her until drowsy and then put her down, so she's not fully fed to sleep iykwim? Thats what I used to do with DD. If she sooked when I placed her in the cot, I either fed her a bit more, or patted her bum.

These days I thank god/dess for the boob, because she just doesn't lie still without it (and even then she twists and turns with a boob in her mouth!) Its like a shot of tranquiliser. Bam! And she's out! Lol

[sleepyljm]

You could try putting her in her cot and patting her to sleep or you could rock her in your arms.

[Visitor8]

No suggestions. Is there a reason you want to stop her from feeding to sleep? I still feed DD2 to sleep and she is 14 months. She also sleeps ok during the day but wants the extra comfort of BF at night. I will keep doing it until she doesn't want to anymore.

Same here

Hunni she is still only so little. They grow up so fast and these things DON'T last forever! Ashton goes down with a bottle of water now and falls asleep on his own. Enjoy those night cuddles and bonding, before you know it she will be older and not want it anymore. They really do grow up too fast.

I would not say it's a bad habit, and it's something that they will stop in their own time Trust me 5-10 minutes of feeding to sleep is SO much easier than 1 hour of crying, or 45 minutes of pacing/rocking/patting. I've done them all and I will feed this one to sleep because it's SO much easier!

[skeetaboat]

My first born was like this, and it drove me nuts. My second born isn't a fan of feeding to sleep so I have to rock, pat, bounce, etc her to sleep. Looking back, feeding to sleep was so much easier. i know that doesn't help much though, sorry. I think OP's advice is good.

[Visitor8]

Hey just popping in here to post a link to my latest blog post

Live, Laugh And Love: To Cuddle Or Not To Cuddle?

Hope it can help you see that you're doing the right thing

[summers_mum]

Personally, I love feeding DD to sleep. Having said that, I don't do it (nor does she want it) every night. She is capable of going off on her own, but sometimes it's a relaxing routine that we both want and enjoy.

Elizabeth Pantley has a book "The no cry sleep solution" which describes many ways of helping babies go to sleep without using CIO methods. To break the 'b/feed to sleep' she describes her method called the "Pantley pulloff" (I think that's what it's called). It basically describes feeding baby to the point of drowsiness and gently pulling off and letting baby do the rest on his/her own.

If breastfeeding to sleep really doesn't work for you, it might be worth getting the book from your local library to see if this method (and/or any of her others) could be worth a try.

[Kristin27]

I also used Elizabeth Pantley's book when I wanted to stop DD feeding to sleep when I returned to work at 12 months, it worked really well, I took her off just before she was asleep but drowsy and rocked her to sleep, each day taking her off sooner so eventually I just rocked her to sleep.

I agree with the other ladies though, don't stop it because you feel like you 'shouldn't' be doing it, it's perfectly fine even if others around you don't agree (been there!).