10/11/2020
Reposted from Nope! It’s not.
It’s something I hear from clients regularly. Someone is pressuring them to stop feeding their babies to sleep, and it’s causing issues for them.
Either the baby is unhappy about it and won’t settle, or the mother is exhausted with the effort required to ‘break the habit’ or the whole family is stressed and confused by the conflict between what feels right for them and this advice.
Well, you can rest assured that it is NOT A BAD HABIT to feed your baby to sleep!
In fact, it’s the most natural way to help your little one fall asleep. Breastfeeding isn’t purely for nourishment of the body. The comfort and security it provides is also incredibly nourishing to their little souls.
And they won’t need it forever.
My eldest stopped feeding to sleep of her own accord, when she decided she enjoyed falling asleep in my arms reading a story instead. Because she was ready, and a soul nourishing alternative was provided (although not for that purpose, it was an unexpected side effect!). My 2yo prefers to fall asleep being nursed to sleep right now, but she goes through phases and I know she will one day never nurse to sleep again.
Yes, every mama-baby dyad is unique, and what works for one family might not for another. But putting extra stress on yourselves to stop feeding to sleep is completely unnecessary if you don’t want to stop, and can cause more harm than good.
As Dr Sears says, “The smooth continuum from warm bath, to warm arms, to warm breast, to warm bed is the most natural recipe for sleep to soon follow.”.
