What's wrong with feeding/rocking to sleep????

At my last MCHN appt she told me that I'm not to feed DD to sleep or rock her to sleep. I have to put her in her basinette when she's still awake and pat her and then stop patting her just before she falls asleep so she learns to go to sleep by herself.

Well I just smiled and nodded, lol. Sounds great but DD is not a fan of that technique. And anyway I like feeding her to sleep and holding her so I don't see any problem!! It's so cute when she falls asleep feeding and I love her sleepy cuddles so poo to you MCHN! And anyway I didn't ask for advice, she said 'how's she sleeping?' and I said 'fine'.

She's only 4 wks old, I don't even like going to sleep by myself!! lol.

As long as you dont feel there is anything wrong with it, then there isn't! I fed/rocked Jack to sleep for 10 months....then he didnt really like it any more and he self settles now. I miss it sometimes.

ETA: If Jack was a girl he was going to be named Grace.

There is nothing wrong with feeding and rocking your baby to sleep. It's perfectly normal for a baby to want your comfort, especially while she's still so little. My DD stopped wanting to bf to sleep at about 7-8 mths (when the world got a lot more interesting) and I missed it then, it was such an easy way to get her to sleep! Plus, when she's so little you and she are both getting a flood of sleepy-hormones while you're bfing that naturally encourage rest. Why mess with nature?

nope nothing wrong with it at all!!! i have done it with all 3 of my bubbas :) still doing it now with Jack (6 months old) although just now he was tired..so i lay him on his belly in his cot gave him his dummy and a muslin wrap ..and off to sleep he went :)

Nothing wrong with it IMO as long as you are happy doing it and it is not problem for you. I did it with my DS and even now on occasion and he is 11 months old today! Do what works for you hun xxx

Nothing at all - I did it with DD1 and she has slept through from 7m. She rarely wakes during the night and sleeps 12 hours - she is now 3. It's not something that will last forever so enjoy the closeness and cuddles while you can.

There is nothing wrong with it at all. When ds was 12 weeks old I tried to stop rocking etc to sleep as this was the magic age and I thought I would have problems if I didn't stop. It didn't last long and I went back to rocking him and then putting him in bed when he was drifting off nice and drowsy.

I think its unfair to put a baby in bed and expect them to fall asleep, if I cant sleep I get up and watch tv or read a book. My poor babe is stuck in bed and cant get out and I wouldn't be very happy if DH started patting my belly to get me to sleep!!!'

You never get this time back. DS wont sleep on my chest like he used to :( Enjoy it while it lasts!

I got the same crap SJ. Blue won't sleep in his bassinet .... only on me or beside me in bed.
So much for me never going to co sleep when I was pregnant.
Also the only way he will sleep during the day is in the HAB.
If I put him in his swing or bassinet he'll be awake within 15 and very upset.
If your happy with it I'd just let their advice go in one ear and out the other!

My DD wanted both of these when she was a newborn and right through until she was about 1. My mcn would always tell me i was wrong, and it really got to me, as i was a first time mum... but looking back, and now that she is 4 (going on 14), i am glad i went with what felt right.. it lasted such a short span of time in the big scheme of things.. and i enjoyed all of those cuddles and loving looks she gave me as she would go to sleep in my arms!!!!

Do what is right by you!

Hi, what a load of rubbish!! If your bub is only 4 weeks old and feels like he needs to be rocked/fed to sleep then do it!! DD was fed to sleep til 8 months, when she ddecided on her own that she didnt need it anymore. She was also rocked for a couple of months in the beginning, and gradually the rock turned into a pat. Shes 16 months now and i still pat her every time, although she has now learnt go to sleep on her own.

Its very empowering to know that after a year a bit, i have never had to leave her cry, there have been no struggles, and she was happy, i was happy and now its all sorted itself out. I think some of the MCHNs are a bit old fashioned when it comes to things like this.

I really beleive that at this early stage for you, just do what works, as he grows and changes, your method will as well. As long you feel comfortable, knw that your instinct is always right!

Good luck!

Do what works for you!!

I was told same but DS got to upset and hystrerical if put in cot so now at nearly 9 months we still feed to sleep.

i breastfed ds1 to sleep until he was 14months old. we both enjoyed it, it was quick, easy and pain/stress-free...so why not? seemed like the easiest/most natural thing in the world to me.
i've been breastfeeding/cuddling/rocking ds2 to sleep everytime too...and will continue it until he doesn't need it anymore too.
just do what feels right hun...i promise you, you won't still be feeding her to sleep when she's 14 years old.

Silly woman. It's people like her who get in the ears of new mums who don't know any better and they do these things and feel like crap. What a way to push someone down the path of PND.

Let's weigh it up... feed them to sleep... 5-10 minutes... let them CIO... 2 hours later...

I got the same thing at our first visit to the local MCHN, when DS was 5 months old. She told me that by feeding him to sleep, I was just making it more difficult for when he was older, that if he wouldn't self settle, he would always be a bad sleeper...on and on she went..

His 9 months today, and we still feed to sleep. (He has self settled a couple of times though)
That day I came home from the MCHN, I was crying, and had a chat with DH who reminded me that I was the one who was getting up to DS during the night, I was the one who was looking after him during the day, and I had to do whatever worked for us, not what the MCHN thought should be working for us...

I hate MCHN's like this! Makes me want to be one myself so I can tell a mum that
You do what works for you & what you are happy with!

I admit at first I put Jesse down awake for sleep, but that was his way of doing things. He would wake, feed, play, then sleep. He was feeding every 2 hours then. My MCHN was great & when we had trouble with settling, sleeping it was her that suggested co sleeping, or rather agreed with my decision to do it.
I was trying to do day sleeps in a different part of the house so he could tell the difference between night & day, but it wasn't working, he wasn't getting enough sleep, so she suggested laying down in my bed with him & leaving him there.
The only gentle/attatchment thing I talked to her about that she wasn't sure of was baby led solids. Everything else she was great about!

Oooh, yeah, I just love this one-size-fits-all approach...NOT!
My MCN knew from the start what kind of parenting we were doing and never spoke against it because she knew I was adamant to ignore 'conventional' advice. The only time I got 'advice' contrary was when my mothers group was finally formed (DS was about 4.5 months) and she showed a Jennifer Keyte video which instructed on 'how to put baby to sleep', in just this way. It made me sick and I loudly said, whilst looking down at DS in the HAB, "oh, well, we failed that part, huh?".
Just ask her which expert this came from...she won't know, she's just passing on dumb, outdated, irrelevant information out of professional habit.
Do what feels good and nice...it's going to be the 'right' thing for you both :)

there is nothing wrong with it... if it is what you and baby feel comfortable and works for you then go for it :P

Thanks girls. I will continue on!! I like feeding her to sleep, it's so sweet. And her falling asleep in the HAB and her little noises, awwww........

At such a young age, why wouldn't you be settling them by feeding or rocking? Our DD is 10 months and during the day is often still fed to sleep - it stopped working at night and she now goes into her cot awake, but that has only been since she was 8 months, and it was her that decided she didn't want it to settle. We have sleeping problems since DD was 6 months old and I got myself very stressed out by the parenting helpline nurses - i finally decided to not listen to them and do things the way that work me and sleep is getting better, and I am no longer stressed. As long as you are happy to do it, then go with it, and like a pp said, it lasts for such a short time that you'r probably regret it in future if you put an early stop to it. My DD is slowly weaning and I already miss the cuddles and the closeness.

Just letting you know i have dd asleep in my arms after settling her in them and i have no intentions of putting her down. i am about to snuggle up to her on the couch with a blanket. Trying to enjoy these moments as much as i can so poo to anyone who thinks that there is something wrong with it! You are her mum and a great oe at that so you do whatever you like hun :hug: