Nursing to sleep....need advice on that and napping....

[novemberlily]

If you have space maybe you could move her crib into your bedroom? We did this, because medically I'm unable to co-sleep in our bed with her.
You can also buy railings or w/e to go on the side of the bed for toddlers. But I think you should just cross that road if and when you come to it :P

[masja]

With DS I nursed him to sleep for naps and bedtime and we co-slept for about 7 months, then he slept in his crib in our room. I eventually moved him to his room and continued to nurse to sleep and then put him down. I had to let him CIO a little before bed to get him to sleep on his own.

DD has nursed to sleep since birth and I wish I could go back and not allow her to. She co-sleeps with me and is still up every 2-3 hours all night and wants to nurse back to sleep. She refuses to put herself to sleep without my help, whether it be nursing (which she wants 90% of the time) or else me patting her bum or just laying next to her while she fusses. So yes, if I could go back I would have 'taught' her how to fall asleep and back to sleep without nursing.

However all babies are different. Some mamas nurse to sleep and the babes sleep through the night, or don't need frequent nursing, some don't. Do what you feel is right

[jnno]

Originally Posted by jacquelinemarie82 Right now, I'm do not want to go to sleep at 9pm. I don't think I've gone to sleep that early since early grade school. I'm a night owl. Yes, if things got crazy I would modify my schedule but I am not a morning person at all. So at this point, she has not needed me to actually go to sleep with her which is great. I do not want to do that and don't think I am being selfish for wanting some time to myself after she goes to sleep. We spend A LOT of time together each day. I guess I will just stop even trying to lay her down on her own since that rarely works. I had just kept trying it over and over figuring that she would eventually "get it" but it looks like she does not want to do that at all and I'm not willing to do CIO. I just didn't know if there was any other advice or any mama that had been down that road and would advise differently.

The first paragraph has me a little confused. Are you going to bed at the same time you nurse her to sleep? Does she not stay asleep? Even when I've nursed my kiddos to sleep, I have definitely not gone to bed at that time. After they've finished, I lay them down and have a few hours of mama time.

There's nothing wrong with trying again in a month or two. I've 'experimented' with stuff like that with my kiddos. I give it a shot and if it works, fantastic, if they started crying, I'd go in and do what we normally do. Doesn't hurt to try.

Also, even having nursed my kiddos to sleep for every single nap and bedtime for the majority of their first year, they have NEVER had an issue going to sleep when I'm not around. DD went to down for naps with zero issues at daycare, when my parents watched her or when I was out of the house and she was with DH. DS has only been separated from me a handful of time since we live across the country from family now, but the few times he's been in that situation, he's gone to bed with no problem for others.

[jacquelinemarie82]

First I try to put her to bed like we do for naps. She does not go to sleep. So I go get her and nurse her to sleep. I lay her on our bed then go back to doing what I was doing. When I am ready to actually go to sleep for the night, I co sleep with her.

So I was just wondering if I should keep trying to get her to go to bed on her own or just nurse her and not even try that since she doesn't seem to want to do it and I don't want to make her cio.

[jeebee]

Originally Posted by jacquelinemarie82 First I try to put her to bed like we do for naps. She does not go to sleep. So I go get her and nurse her to sleep. I lay her on our bed then go back to doing what I was doing. When I am ready to actually go to sleep for the night, I co sleep with her. So I was just wondering if I should keep trying to get her to go to bed on her own or just nurse her and not even try that since she doesn't seem to want to do it and I don't want to make her cio.

I would just nurse her to sleep. We don't nurse, we rock but it's the same thing really. I nursed or rocked DD1 to sleep every single nap or bedtime (nursed until she got teeth, then started rocking) and it never caused an issue with her going to sleep. Of course now is a different story but she's 2. If you know it works and if it's quick, and if they're not waking up during the night expecting to be nursed or rocked frequently, then what's the problem? If she's able to sleep at least a 6-8 hour stretch at this point it means she has the ability to self-soothe herself back to sleep during the night since she is going through those light sleep cycles and not needing you to put her back to sleep again.

[n3w2cl0th]

I nursed my lil man to sleep for ...wow...the first year of his life..lol...we didnt wean until he was 17 mos..and many times he was nursed to sleep...they do eventually go to sleep without it ...and it doesn't harm them to let them nurse to sleep... I used to just nurse him to sleep, transfer him to his crib and then go back to the living room until I went to bed...then we partially coslept after I went to bed for the night...

[ktmelody]

We nurse when baby wants/needs to nurse. DD is 8 months old, still nurses to sleep, for naps and bed. We continue in this pattern until baby weans. I have done so with my last 4 babies and now they are all great sleepers, sleep in their own beds etc. We usually move them to the "big" kids room when they are 2. I guess I look at it as they wont be little and need mommy for very long, so I try and go with the flow and cherish their baby days.

[Pauli]

I was thinking, maybe she is afraid of the dark.


And, I think that everything we do as parents will sooner or later become a "problem" later on. Does using diapers mean that they will never use the toilet? Does using a stroller or carrying our baby mean that they will never walk or have a harder time learning how? Does nursing to sleep mean that it will be uber hard to get them to sleep without it?

[nakedbabytoes]

My youngest nursed to sleep and co-slept until he was 14 months old. I don't think we created a monster, we just flowed with his needs and he let us know that at 14 months, he was ready for his own space and his own routine because he would start trying to play or fight nursing.
I'm big on letting the child lead and flowing with the path of least resistance. It sounds like you are doing a good job following her lead except at bedtime(when you are second guessing yourself and listening to others). Trust yourself to trust your baby.
Later happens later. You aren't creating anything except a happy, healthy, secure baby!
That's pretty great, mama!

[Bethany89]

I guess this is the same situation with people saying that taking a bottle before bed is wrong.. but thats how my DD goes to sleep or gets really drowsy and sleepy... Honestly, I would nurse her to sleep.. she is only little.. my DD is almost 6months and we don't BF but I give her a bottle and cuddle & rock her.. make her feel really loved and comfy and she has a fully belly.. they need it at this age!