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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 5 Feb 2001 10:42:46 -0500
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I'm tempted to say that the baby will grow out of this, as most toddlers do,
regardless of what, if anything, mom does about it.  I'm also tempted to say
"stop counting the nighttime nursings", LOL, but that would be cruel.  I
suppose my point is that if you're awake enough to know how many times your
child is nursing at night, then you're too awake.

But, I'll stick to the practical.  This helped with my 2nd and 3rd kids.
What I did was I bought a twin-sized bed and put it in my kids' room.  I
would nurse the child to sleep in THAT bed (after our typical go-to-sleep
ritual), and doze off myself.  Whenever I happened to wake up during the
night (long after my child had fallen asleep and let go of the breast), I
went back to my own bed.  From that point on, the nursling would have to get
up out of bed and come GET ME if he or she wanted to nurse.  Leaving a
little nightlight on in the hallway helped.  So did putting more than one
child into bed together (once I had a 2nd toddler, of course).  The
combination of sleeping with a sibling, being nursed to sleep in a bed large
enough for me to sleep in (that wasn't my OWN bed), and having to come get
me in order to nurse again later in the night, gradually weaned them from
nursing at night, without my having to really do much of anything, or lose
much sleep.

My daughter, who is now 9.5, still smiles when I remind her of how she used
to toddle into my room at night, tap me on the shoulder, and whisper into my
ear, quietly but emphatically, "Mommy!  Mommy!  Nunnees!"  LOL.

With my youngest, who was more of a repeat-nurser than my daughter, I did
occasionally have to just hold him and say, "No, we're not going to nurse
again now.  We're going to go to sleep. Go to sleep."  Then I'd hug him to
sleep, rather than nurse.

Still, bottom line is that none of my mine were sleeping thru the night
without benefit of either nursing or my comfort until they were 2 years old.
So maybe all this mom needs is time?

Regina Roig Lane, BS IBCLC for Miami-Dade County WIC, who now looks back on
those nursing nights with more than a little fondness

-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth Pantley [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, February 03, 2001 4:48 PM
Subject: Breastfeeding to sleep association


I am working with a mother of an 18 month old baby boy. He has nursed to
sleep for every nap and every night since birth. He is still waking 6-8
times a night to BF. The mother is distressed. The father has moved to the
guest bedroom. The mother refuses to let him cry to sleep, the father is
frustrated and pushing for her to do so.

Baby has a regular bedtime routine and is always asleep by 7:30 PM. His
napping is consistent. When he wakes it's for a 5-10 minute feed and
quickly back to sleep.

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