According to some schools of thought, the methods I use to put my babies to sleep are going to make them completely dependent, neurotic adults. They’re never going to leave home and will breastfeed until they’re 25. My opinion? Fooey!
I’m a breastfeeding mama and have always nursed my girls to sleep, naps and all. Lots of people warned me I was going to regret nursing my kids to sleep; they told me they’d never figure out how to go to fall asleep on their own. I’ve ignored everyone and do what I’ve always done in parenting – trusted my gut. And guess what? My girls sleep!
The evolution of putting Dessa to sleep has proven that I have no real control in the situation and that her needs dictate what happens. For the first twelve months of her life Dessa nursed a long time, sometimes on and off for an hour, before finally falling asleep. Then once she hit the one year mark the amount of time nursing to sleep dwindled to the point where now, at 2 years old, she may only nurse for a minute or two before drifting off to sleep. There are also nights at this point where she hugs and kisses me goodnight then falls asleep, no nursing.
We’ve been flexible with how we respond to her sleep needs because it’s been evident to us that sleep for young children is never cut and dry. When she was younger, she’d sleep until 7am or even 8am. Then one day at around 14 months, she went through a spell of waking up at 4am or 5am! There have been times when she would wake up every night around 2am and just be wide awake for an hour. Sure sometimes it flat out sucks but we try to keep in mind that she’s still growing and many unique situations are going to be just a phase.
Nursing my girls to sleep is what felt right in our home and what our babies have responded well to, so we’ve stuck with it. I have friends who have put their babies in their crib since day one without any fuss and they’ve slept through the night. I know folks who have almost one year olds still not sleeping through the night; they’re still trying to figure out what works. Some people swear by letting their kids cry it out. To each their own as long as parents and babies are happy and sleeping. What’s worked for you?
-Carla
The only thing that helped my oldest daughter sleep was a toddler bed. We put her in it a lot sooner than we intended, but we were desperate. You would have thought her crib was a bed of hot nails. The first night in the toddler bed was the first full night of sleep for her. By the way…she was 18 mos. old! We were much more fortunate with her sister. She liked the crib and slept in it until she was almost 3 yrs old. She actually outgrew it and was bummed out. It sure made for an interesting display of their individuality.
I did the exact same thing you are doing! I nursed by little boy to sleep until one day he just went to sleep on his own. It was a sad day for me but he’s a big boy….or so he tells me!
I think independence comes from trust. When babies know that they can count on you to be there when they need you, they feel secure enough to try new things on their own. Every baby/parent group is different. You have to trust in your gut instincts a lot!
Glad to hear that I’m not the only one…
“ditto”