What will your future be like if your baby is "trained" to be nursed to sleep? Here is a conversation I had today with my 2.5-year-old:
Mama: Anders, we nursed a lot yesterday, so I don't want to nurse you to sleep at your nap time right now. Would you mind going on a walk instead?
Anders: I go on a walk in the stroller and then fall asleep and sleep in the stroller.
Mama: I would really appreciate it.
[Anders goes to the other room to get his stroller. After we walk in his stroller for less than three minutes he is sound asleep.]
Standard American Parenting books caused me to be sooooo afraid of having a baby habituated to nursing himself to sleep. It has never been a problem. Not for babysitters and not for me. Many days he doesn't nurse to sleep anyway, he just climbs up into my lap and passes out. There is so much respect between us, so much effort to meet each other's needs... it's so beautiful.
This is so great and inspiring! But what did you do when Anders was too young to understand your request? And did you find that nursing to sleep led to more night waking?
ReplyDeleteI nurse my five month old to sleep and she sleeps through the night, we also co sleep, I dont think theres any connection between nursing to sleep and night waking at least for us.
Delete