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I nursed to sleep all the time. But I did nurse at night as well for a while.

@sslm: honestly after my experience I somewhat agree with the statement because we nursed to sleep all the time and it worked great but somewhere around 4.5 months the night wakings started and increased continually until we sleep trained.

I chose not to train for naps and continued nursing her to sleep for those but of course somewhere around 10/11 months that stopped working and now trying to get DD to nap anywhere other than a stroller or a jumperoo is a nightmare (she is 13.5 months). If I could go back, I would have nap trained her too!

I nursed to sleep until about 7 months when she started fighting sleep after I nursed her to sleep. At that point, we switched it up to nursing first, then reading books, singing songs and putting in the crib. It was a transition but it worked well. Side bar: Still not STTN at 14 months but, at least sleeping better.

We nursed or fed bottle to sleep all the time. My kids were sleepy eaters so keeping them awake through feedings was pretty much impossible. They both stopped falling asleep during feedings and after that is when they both started STTN.

We got locked in to nursing to sleep until age 2.

I say do whatever works until it stops working! If nursing to sleep is what you want to do and it's working well, then keep doing it. You will know when/if it ever stops working.

We did a gradual transition from nursing to sleep to putting down awake. I would nurse till completely asleep then put LO down suuuuper gently. Then I would just be less and and less gentle. Then I started passing him off to DH to put down. Within a couple of weeks he was going down completely awake. No tears required .

@MrsCB: I really dislike the whole "waking up on the lawn" statement!! I get the idea but my baby's beautiful cot that she has slept 80% of her sleeps in is nothing like a lawn / kitchen/ some other strange and unfamiliar place. Perhaps falling asleep in a chair and waking up in bed would be a better comparison?

Fwiw we started nursing to sleep for all sleeps at just over six months when A got super active and putting her down drowsy began resulting in a very worked up and unhappy baby (previously we only nursed to sleep at night). Nursing to sleep has been a lifesaver in our household and I'll continue doing it until it no longer works or LO is old enough to be helped to sleep in other ways.

I'm in the opposite boat - I wanted to nurse to sleep but DS wasn't having any of that. He would fall asleep nursing and I'd think, "yesss...!!", then the moment he was finished he'd pop off automatically and wake himself up. I'd try to get him to suckle back to sleep again, but no go.

Do what works for you!! Every baby is different. I thought every baby would enjoy falling asleep at the boob... apparently not mine!

I nursed to sleep pretty much every night until around 13 months, then I gradually started dropping nap then bedtime feedings each month.

We hit a rough sleep patches at 10 months and a brief one at 14 months. He has always slept pretty well, not necessarily through the night, it got better once I cut out the middle of the night feedings. I never bothered to sleep train, and just went with what he needed day to day.

At 19 months he is an awesome sleeper. I can set him down in bed and he plays with his Scout doll until he falls asleep. I may sit with him for 5 minutes or so, but he's very good at falling asleep and staying asleep on his own. So it's not true for us!

Yes, I nursed my now nearly 3yo to sleep until just shy of 2, when he decided he just wanted his back rubbed. He didn't STTN super early or anything, but he's a good sleeper now. I don't view nursing to sleep as a life sentence for mom.

@sslm: not true! A has been STTN since 12 weeks (11-12 hours) with minor hiccups at 4 months or while teething, but we always nurse before bedtime and he's a GREAT sleeper. sometimes he's awake, sometimes he's drowsy, he still sleeps!

I don't nurse to sleep, but a couple times this week when LO hasn't taken a third nap he fell asleep while nursing, and it was sooo nice... reminded me of when he was a tiny baby.

every child is different. any blanket statement about raising kids automatically gets ignored by me

we nursed to drowsy then snuggled to sleep until we stopped nursing at 10 months, now we formula bottle (sometimes to drowsy, sometimes to sleep) then snuggle. he turns 1 in a week and has been STTN (in his own bed and own room) since 3 months (with the exception of the 8/9 month sleep regression).

it's not like you're still going to be nursing your high school kid to sleep when they're 15! (not that there's anything wrong with that if you did ;)) just do what works and what you feel comfortable with! if it stops working, you can always find something else to try!

I did. Dd sttn when she was 2 months old then she had a sleep regression and I nursed to sleep again and again whenever she woke up. She is now takes formula (supply issues) but drinks her milk and falls asleep and sttn except when teething or growth spurts

I've always nursed to sleep at night. I don't really understand the problem with it? I TRY to nurse her to nap, but it rarely works.

As for the waking up on the lawn kind of analogy, I usually nurse in my bed, pick her up and walk her to her room. Usually in that time she will kind of open/flutter her eyes for a little bit and maybe they'll even be open when I put her down in her crib. I wonder what that counts as?