Breastfeeding Problems Leading to Sleep Problems?

Regarding distractability:

I noticed that my son started to become very distracted while nursing right around the 4 month mark. I attribute this to the fact that he is now more aware of his surroundings and is use to a quiet environment when he eats during the day. If anyone is talking to me, he will turn around to look at the speaker - likewise, if I am talking to someone, he will stop eating and watch me.

Fortunately, I am able to nurse him in a quiet environment much of the day and request that my husband wait to speak to me or the baby until after the baby is done nursing. I imagine any external noises and sites (radio, television) would also be equally distracting. You might want to try nursing your daughter in a quiet, distraction-free environment.

It's probably a combination of developmental (more interest in the world) and teething. My two boys always pulled off more when teething (the sucking is hard on sore gums). Try some homeopathic teething remedies like Gentle Naturals (winnie the pooh on the bottle) - just stay away from ora-gel especially when feeding as it could get in the throat and effect her swallowing reflex making her choke.

I always let my son fall asleep at the breast at that age. He would nurse before his morning nap and his afternoon nap and before bed and sleep great at night. The other nursing times I didn't have trouble with him being distracted, so I can't help too much there, sorry! But I never saw a problem with him nursing to sleep. I was grateful! He was always in the 90% for weight, he was and is a champ sleeper and his teeth are white and beautiful. I would always clean his gums in the tub with a soft cloth and that seemed to do fine for him at that age. Around nine months or so he started staying awake at night through feeding and then I would just rock him and put him down. Now if he did cry for a bit, I would wait and see if he was going to settle down and like 90% of the time he did. I remember at about 6 months we had a little bout of him crying just as he was being put in the crib. It was short though, like a week, I don't know if he was teething or what but we got through it. Anyway I said all that to say, I don't think having a baby go to sleep at the breast causes problems. My son did great with it and doesn't need to rock or eat to sleep now. Good luck!

I hear "between the lines" about the self-soothing. My three boys were breastfed and each had their unique way. Try not to sweat what might happen later on. Let your mother instincts guide you.

If your daughter is healthy, then don't be alarmed with the short and seeming "little" breastfeeding. One thing that worked for me was to "switch" feeding, a swap to the other side when restless whether it has been one minute or five. Maybe this could work for you, maybe not.

Good luck. D.

I echo others to not worry about the nursing to sleep. Since this is the main way she is getting breastmilk, I wouldn't mess with it. I think it would be worth checking with either a lactation consultant or your local La Leche League (www.lllusa.org) to see if there is something you could do to help the nursing process.

I also want to recommend The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She has lots of great suggestions in there to help with sleep and avoid crying it out. I will tell you that we tried everything with my daughter and eventually had to do CIO at 10 1/2 months. If you do have to go down that road, please read the original program Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Ferber. It's actually a controlled compassionate program. It is not just letting them cry for hours which is so cruel.

However, for now making sure she gets breastmilk is the most important thing. Perhaps she's not latching properly. You can get into detail and receive personalized help from your local La Leche League and it's free.

I wouldn't worry about nursing her to sleep at this age. She will self sooth when she is ready. Get nursing in whenever you can, you will miss it later. Try not to stress too much, just enjoy this time.

My daughter was always a good eater but we had horrible nights. She also couldn't self soothe so I either breast fed her to sleep or rocked her. She also woke up in the middle of the night and I would have to feed her to make her go back to sleep. When I quit feeding her all my problems disappeared. She started sleeping through the night and learned to fall asleep on her own. By the way, my daughter nursed until after she was one so I am not telling you to quit feeding her. Just cherish all this time with her because you will want it back. Also, congrats on nursing, even if it is only a few times a day.