https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 05:01:29 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2724144 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 21:25:31 +0000 Amorini 2724144@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm a ftm, too, so I know how hard it is to just have confidence and go with what feels right. My LO is 6 months and nursing to sleep is right for us. He was a sleepy nurser from the start so we just went with it. I really try to ignore some of the parenting stuff that is too rigid and one-size-fits-all. I'm so glad I'm not alone!</p> <p>I don't know how many decades the experts have been talking about "sleep crutches" (seems relatively trendy), but mammas have been nursing babies to sleep much longer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2724085 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 19:49:59 +0000 peaches1038 2724085@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just nursed my 17 month old to sleep just like I have for every day of his life so far. I don't feel guilty at all. It's such a sweet time for us, especially because I'm at work all day. We night weaned at about 14 months and it was painless. He sttn 12-13 hours now. We will probably be weaning soon because my supply is really dipping and I don't think it'll be too hard. Do what feels right to you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2724072 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:59:08 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2724072@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Your babes are only little for so long and some day you'll look back and think, "why did I beat myself up over nursing my littles to sleep? I would do anything to have those moments again."</p> <p>I think it's so natural, honestly. I have a five week old and he always falls asleep at the breast and I think it's normal, expected, and I love that I can provide that comfort and warmth for him ❤️I won't stress about my babe nursing to sleep. Not because it's "easy" and convenient, even though yes it is.. but because it's special and beautiful and I know I won't regret it. I want to cherish each moment and don't feel the need to do what I'm "supposed" to do, and will just do what feels right ❤️</p> <p>Good luck, dear!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2724054 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 18:33:06 +0000 petitenoisette 2724054@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsKRB: @meadow: once you get down to one wake up life is basically magical. Regarding weaning over night naturally, I waited for that for a long time, would sporadically be like IM DONE! and try to night wean her purposefully and it just didn't work until a few months before she was two. And then I think she was ready and it took a couple of nights of her crying for 5-10 minutes (and me never going in anymore, my DH does any nighttime wake ups now) and she's mostly sttn since. So even though it wasn't totally natural it still wasn't too bad and I'm glad that i didn't force it too much and basically waited til she was ready. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2724025 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 16:46:41 +0000 Iced Tea 2724025@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We JUST stopped nursing to sleep after my daughter turned two. I don't think your approach is abnormal at all. If you do want to make some changes, I recommend the book The No Cry Sleep Solution (there is a toddler version too). It has lots of good ideas, not just one strict method. Her advice for phasing out overnight feeding worked amazingly well for us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723942 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 13:06:51 +0000 JessyMess 2723942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just wanted to agree that there's nothing wrong with what you've been doing. Everyone has sleep crutches or things they're accustomed to having to fall asleep. I can't sleep unless its dark, and I have my pillow and bed and a glass of ice water. DH needs a fan to sleep.<br /> When I tried transitioning like you are, I would nurse DS until he was done, then pop him off the boob and hold him while I sang a lullaby. Then I would turn on his seahorse toy that glowed and played music and rock him to sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723784 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 08:38:57 +0000 catlady 2723784@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meadow: Just saw your comment about them not STTN. If they are not waking too often to nurse, I wouldn't worry about that either! My DD only slept through for the very first time at 10 months and became consistent by 1 year. Yes, it took awhile, but it was what she needed and she never regressed after that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723735 Thu, 13 Apr 2017 05:16:06 +0000 MrsKRB 2723735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meadow: I don't mind most of the time either, although I would be happier with 1-2 wake ups vs 3-4 :) and I hear you on the supply, all of my friends with baby's who sttn weren't able to keep up with pumping so I'm grateful! I just hope she will naturally start to sttn without me having to wean her entirely! She's definitely not anywhere near that though :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723667 Wed, 12 Apr 2017 19:32:57 +0000 meadow 2723667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone for making me feel more normal and not alone! And sorry for taking over a day to get back on here to respond - I was reading along but having trouble writing back from my phone :(</p> <p>@danda: True - creating a separation between nursing and sleep would be better in the long term and is probably a good strategy to use in the transition as we move toward ultimately weaning.</p> <p>@catlady: Your routine sounds awesome. You are right - I should be more consistent with the time after PJs. Probably the best first step would be me reading 1 story to them - as that is the max I can hope for most days as usually PJ time is crying time :(</p> <p>@sarac: Your post is very refreshing. Thank you!</p> <p>@MACSUNSHINE: :)</p> <p>@MrsKRB: Hi friend! I nurse overnight still too - I rationalize it as ounces that I don't have to pump during the daytime AND a means to help keep my supply up. LOs have slept through the night on the rare occasion - probably less than 10 times ever. But I do worry about how we will get over that hurdle too. I think if I was FFing them, I would want the middle of the night wakeups to be done, but BFing, I don't mind them. People's eyes always bug out of their heads when I say that they don't SSTN at this age. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723506 Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:58:39 +0000 LulaBee 2723506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I find this thread very interesting. I nursed my first baby to sleep until she was over 2.</p> <p>My current baby (almost 17 months) get nursed, then does books with her dad and he puts her to bed. A few months ago she got really sick and we ended up incorporating a bottle after books and now she is obsessed and screams if she doesn't have her "baba". I miss the gentle nursing to sleep baby. I say embrace it for as long as you can. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723212 Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:22:02 +0000 MrsKRB 2723212@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nurse my almost 10 month old to sleep as well, plus 2-3 times during the night. For those of you that nurse(d) to sleep, did your lot eventually sleep through the night? I'm worried I'm creating a monster! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723165 Wed, 12 Apr 2017 06:30:25 +0000 petitenoisette 2723165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We also transitioned away from nursing to sleep gradually and naturally. For a long time I would nurse her to sleep in our bed and then transfer her to her room. That stopped working so I started to nurse her in her own room with the lights off. At some point on her own she stopped actually falling asleep but would be very close to sleeping when I put her in her crib. Then I started leaving the light on and reading one more book after we finished. So she is totally awake when I put her in her crib and goes to sleep on her own. We're still at that point right now slightly past 2.</p> <p>At this point I don't think I could nurse or rock her to sleep if I tried, she needs to be alone to fall asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723159 Wed, 12 Apr 2017 04:19:50 +0000 Kemma 2723159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@katsupgirl: sometimes, when I'm feeling philosophical, I wonder why society says it's so wrong to spend time with our children (or assist them) as they go to sleep at night!</p> <p>I agree with everything @sarac: wrote, nursing to sleep is very natural and even biologically normal, there's all sorts of hormones in the milk at night that promote sleep and at the end of the day it must be a really lovely way for a baby to go off to sleep!</p> <p>@nana87: totally agree with your comment about the fear mongering!</p> <p>OP - both my kids just naturally moved away from nursing to sleep some time around the 12-18 month mark, it was a very organic process that just gradually happened. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723153 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 23:14:29 +0000 katsupgirl 2723153@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KT326: I also "rock" my 4 year old and we have the best conversations. She asks some deep questions when she's falling asleep. Best times :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723033 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 16:48:47 +0000 KT326 2723033@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our routine has just naturally evolved over the years. I nursed to sleep until he was 10 months and he went on a nursing strike that I could not recover from. So we went from nursing to sleep to bottle and rocking to sleep. That lasted until we weaned from the bottle at 15 months. Then it was just rocking to sleep for awhile, then rocking and to bed drowsy but awake. </p> <p>Full disclosure- I rocked with my older son before bed until he was 4.5 years old. The only reason we stopped is that I was pregnant and my belly was too big for him to get comfortable. I love the time we spend together before bed. Now if DH and I are both home one of us will lay with him for a few minutes. But if I'm doing bedtime by myself he goes to bed on his own while I put the baby to bed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2723024 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 16:24:38 +0000 winniebee 2723024@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It honestly wasn't a big deal for us! Right around where you are, I tried to create a little more of a routine. Bath, jammies, sleep sack, sit in chair and read or sing songs. Then nurse, paci, bed. When I was ready to wean (we were down to just before bed and overnight), I told him the night before that it would be our last night nursing. The night I weaned I just gave him a pacifier after our songs and he was completely fine with it. He continued to wake overnight for a few weeks and when he did, I offered a bottle of whole milk. He sometimes drank it, sometimes didn't. This was at 13.5 months. I would say starting around 10-11 months he would often nurse and be awake after anyways so I just would put him in the crib whether drowsy, awake, or asleep. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722994 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:55:02 +0000 MrsSCB 2722994@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sarac: Thanks for saying this. I nurse my soon-to-be eight month old to sleep, and I'm almost embarrassed to tell people because of how much they drill into you to not do it. It's working for now, so I'll probably keep doing what I'm doing until it doesn't. And hopefully he will transition on his own eventually. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722993 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:49:37 +0000 MACSUNSHINE 2722993@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are still nursing to sleep at almost 15 months but I will say he is starting to naturally drop it. It is totally a personal decision but slowly I am noticing him not falling to sleep at the boob but rather finishing eating. Listening to the story and then closing his eyes. We have always read after nursing but he usually has been sound asleep, so maybe introduce it as part of your routine even if they are asleep so they start to see that as the wind down time?</p> <p>For me it has been nice to have the easy quiet transition but that is the approach we have taken with weaning in general. My recommendation for you would be to keep doing what you are doing if it is working for your family. It is the one thing I have learned in this first year, every family is different in what they need. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722990 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:34:04 +0000 LindsayLou 2722990@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nursed my daughter to sleep until about 8 months. Gradually it shifted to just another part of our bedtime routine, and then we'd put her down in her crib awake. Our bedtime routine from 8 months to 19 months was snack (cheese stick, apple slices, yogurt, etc), brush teeth, wash hands and face, pjs and nighttime diaper, nurse, cuddle and quiet play and books. From 16 months on, she was only nursing at bedtime, and last week at 19 months, she decided that she was done nursing. I'm 19 weeks pregnant, so I think my milk must have changed. The weaning process was very gradual and gentle for us. I'm so glad that I nursed her to sleep and didn't cut out the bedtime nursing session. I'll do the same with the next baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722917 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:20:12 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2722917@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nursed my DD to sleep until she was 10.5 months. At that point it stopped working and when she woke up for her MOTN feedings she would be awake for over an hour. I had to sleep train her. I just switched up her nightly routine a little so that she was going into her crib awake. I agree with the above that as long as it's working I wouldn't worry about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722913 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:04:48 +0000 Peasinapod 2722913@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We replaced nursing with lots of stories and a couple of min rocking while I sing a song. We did this at 22 months though so not sure how well it would work at 10 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722908 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:59:58 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2722908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sarac: :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722900 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:51:26 +0000 sarac 2722900@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I nursed two children to sleep, and both transitioned out of it without significant hassle when it was time. I would beg you not to stress about it. If your sleep routine works, great. If it stops working, try something else until you find a new routine that works. But nursing to sleep is lovely, and wonderful, and forget all the garbage about how you should never have done it in the first place. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722898 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:47:51 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2722898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I also didn't have that much issue weaning from nursing to sleep. Other nursing sessions later in the night were another story! And sadly still are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722863 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 11:00:05 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2722863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was worried about nursing being a crutch but it just worked for us for a very long time (I didn't wean until DD was 22 months and only because I was TTC). DD was not necessarily dead asleep every night after nursing but always at least veeeery drowsy. We started experimenting with DH putting her to bed with a bottle of breastmilk once in a great while when I went out in the evening and then once she was over about 18 months he tried no milk at all a few times and did bath/story and she went to sleep no problem. He would turn off lights and sing to her/rock in the rocking chair a little bit making sure to hold her like I did when nursing and he thought that helped with comfort. Basically I would not stress about it too much but definitely have your DH try putting them to bed a few times for piece of mind (and so you can go out sometimes too!). Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722852 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:48:10 +0000 mdf106 2722852@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What I did to stop nursing my first to sleep was to wake him up when he nursed to sleep, and put him in the crib. It worked fine, he went to sleep right away. He stopped falling asleep nursing pretty quickly. I was already doing books before nursing to sleep, and I eventually moved that to after nursing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722842 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:33:15 +0000 catlady 2722842@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would not worry about the fact that you've been doing it this long. I might add in a few more sleep cues into your routine while still nursing so that eventually it will be the basic routine that gets them ready to sleep and not necessarily the nursing part. In particular, I'd probably remove the playtime after PJs and be more consistent about what you do then. Our basic routine is: dinner, quick play time, bath, PJs, put on white noise, turn off lights, sleep. There are a few different steps in there for DD age 3 (potty, brush teeth, couple books) and DS age 4 months (swaddle, lullaby, nurse). But overall it is the same. With DD, I nursed her before she went to sleep up until age 2.3 but she stopped actually nursing to sleep long before that. So it was just part of the whole routine at some point and when we removed it, it wasn't a big deal and definitely not necessary to actually falling asleep. DS still nurses before sleep but I often gently wake him up while swaddling and then he falls back asleep in his bassinet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722830 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:17:15 +0000 danda 2722830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 20 month old still nurses to sleep (and it's the only time he nurses on most days). He reliably sleeps 11-12 hours straight through the night. If I'm not home my husband can rock him to sleep.</p> <p>With his big sister, we removed nursing to sleep much earlier but bedtimes often included a lot of screaming. With our youngest we've opted to go with what works and keeps everyone happy.</p> <p>One tip that you can use - nurse in evening someplace bright before pajamas/diaper change so that it can become dissociated with bed itself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722805 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 09:47:58 +0000 maddyz 2722805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There was a while where if I was home LO would nurse to sleep. If I wasn't he would have a bottle and then rock in the chair and either fall asleep then or in his crib. He had 3 different ways of falling asleep with different people and it was totally fine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/weaningnursing-to-sleep#post-2722800 Tue, 11 Apr 2017 09:44:15 +0000 snowjewelz 2722800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD1 self weaned... I think b/c my supply was dipping too maybe? But she would refused to nurse so I just started laying with her in bed while she learned to fall asleep. </p>