7 Month Old Wants to Fall Asleep on Breast

Try the "No Cry SLeep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantly (I think that's the author's name). It helps you through this without the cry-it-out thing. It does take a long time, and a lot of patience, but it works for a lot of people.

Of all the things there are for you to worry about, this is not a biggie at all. Breastmilk is not going to rot your child's teeth...formula and juices do, not breast milk. When your baby stops sucking so does the milk flow whereas the bottle may continue to drip into the mouth. Studies have shown breast milk actually inhibits bacterial growth--which is why you can use it to heal cuts, scrapes, rashes, burns, etc.... because of the ANTIBIOTICS within the milk. The sugar in breastmilk is a natural balances sugar versus refined sugar added to formula or many juices which reacts differently in the body.

Falling asleep at the breast during this age is NORMAL. Don't sweat it. Nothing bad or evil is going to happen because of it.

I'm not sure why crying it out is even on the table. Cry it out for what? You just want to be able to put him in a crib and walk away at night? I don't understand that part.(The dynamic of it all, not the idea of CIO--though I'm not a fan of that either)

Don't worry, anything you address with love and patience will be fine so long as your intention is for the BEST interest of your child versus convenience--it's hard to tell at times but you'll balance that out as time goes by.

worry not. . . this is not bad for baby's teeth. unlike a bottle, the milk does not pool in the mouth, instead because the breast tissue is back far in baby's mouth, the milk bypasses the teeth. it's not a "bad habit" either. . . . rethink weaning and "crying out" and just go with baby on this one, or help him with a new routine for bedtime to replace nursing to sleep. you can still nurse him near bedtime, then maybe a few stories, massage, and singing to sleep, or having dad work to start a new bedtime routine so he won't be thinking about mama's milk.

Let him!!! There is nothing wrong with letting a nurseling fall asleep at the breast! It is the most natural thing for him and you to relax! It releases oxytocin in your brain too and that is a very important hormone for you to relax and get back into shape. Breastmilk is not bad for his teeth, do not worry. The sugar contents are low and are what his body is able to use correctly! Continue on, relax, and enjoy every minute of this, it goes way too fast...relax and listen to your heart...it will tell you what's right!

Dear S.,

I am a dental hygienist. First of all I have never heard of any baby getting bottle mouth teeth from nursing at the breast. The only way that could happen would be if you lay there all night and let him nurse. Bottle mouth comes from allowing you child keep the bottle in crib and suck on it when ever they want. Plus, most people who allow their baby to have a bottle in their bed they screw up by putting nasty things like sugared cool-aid etc. in them. Enjoy nursing your baby. He will grow up before you know. I read some of the other peoples' responses and I have a comment. One person said that he is using you as a pacifier. Baby do that because they get their needs emotionally from it. Don't worry that it is some bad habit that needs to be broken. You won't have a kindergarten child sucking at your breast as he goes to school. Nursing like he does is very very healthy and strenghthens his bond to his momma. I am a also a clinical therapist who works with kids. I would much rather see someone like you give so much love to your baby than try to stop something that is good for him. Have a blessed day.

S.,

This is a normal habit for breastfed babies, and it's not a bad thing when they are little. Your son is just the right age to start learning to go to sleep on his own, and it doesn't have to take a bunch of crying!

"The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley is a fantastic resource. It helped me get both my daughters sleeping on their own with no more than a few minutes of angry fussing. Some of the biggest ideas I took out of this book...
1. Babies need to be in bed early. Around 7pm seems to be ideal, however, that will vary from baby to baby, and you have to do what works best for the whole family. It's nice when they go to bed earlier, then you get some alone time in the evening!
2. Babies need routine. A bedtime routine is essential. If you need to hurry through the bedtime routine, shorten each step rather than skipping steps.
3. You can GENTLY teach your child to sleep. It might take a little longer than letting them scream alone, but I think it's worth it.

Like anything else, you will find ideas that work well for your family, and ones that don't. Take what works, and leave the rest. I found that I needed to let my kids cry a little bit. However, I kept an ear on them. I never let them go longer than 5 minutes, and if their crying ever changed from angry to hurt or panicked, I immediately went to check on them. Several times I found that they either had dirty diapers or their legs or arms were stuck in the crib. Thankfully I had responded to them, instead of leaving them uncomfortable or in pain! So, follow your gut, and do what works best for you and your baby. No matter what happens, remember that this too shall pass. Before you know it, this baby will be growing phase will be over - the bad things about it and the good!

Best of luck,
S.

My oldest girl, now 2 1/2 almost always feel asleep on the breast. When it came time to wean her she did just fine. Each baby is different though. I found it very soothing for both of us to just let her fall asleep while nursing. That way I knew she was asleep and I didn't have to fight to lay her down. As for the teeth issue, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Your little one will most likely wean in 3 months or so. I would just enjoy the easy time you are having putting your little one to bed.

Also when it came time for my girl to go to sleep on her own, she did fine with that as well.

Hope this helps

There is nothing wrong with letting a baby nurse to sleep. I've done this with all four of my babies, and it did not make weaning more difficult, nor does it mean they never learn to fall asleep on their own. (Also, like a previous mom mentioned, it is not bad for their teeth like a bottle is.) We do not do the CIO thing, and if you do not want to either, I second the recommendation of the book The No Cry Sleep Solution. It will give you some good ideas and support you in your decision to help your baby learn to fall asleep on his own without crying it out.

A great book I would recommend is called "The No-Cry-Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley....she discussed gentle ways you can help your child learn new sleep associations.

My youngest just turned 7 months old, someone had given me an exercise ball at my baby shower. I just started using that to put her to sleep. I hold her on my shoulder, sit on the ball and bounce until she falls asleep. She still nurses in the middle of the night though, when she's half asleep.

My 16 yo and 3 year old both fell asleep at the breast and nursed in the middle of the night and it didn't hurt their teeth. I don't think breastmilk contains the same kind of sugars that formula or cows milk contain.

Feed him before you put his Pjs on (maybe just with a diaper on). Then change his diaper for the night and put on his pjs while Daddy's reads a book. he may just barely wake up, but that is okay. Put him to bed while he is in limbo from you changing his diaper and putting on his pjs. Slowly but surely he will start picking up on putting himself to sleep.

Follow your intuition but like others have said it is really important that he learns to put himself to sleep and to self-soothe.

Good luck!
R.

Both of my kids nursed to go to sleep the whole time they were nursing. they are grown up now and have good healthy teeth. To me breast feeding is the best to do if you can, some can't. I didn't worry about their teeth I just wanted them to get the rest they needed if nursing to go to sleep did it that was okey. Good luck and keep nursing its also a security thing when they are small.

Hi, S.,

My daughter used to do this too, and at first I worried about it, but my girlfriend told me that all of her kids did that to go to bed at night. She just made sure that they did not do it before their nap. I noticed at about 9 months old, my daughter just kind a of naturally stopped doing it before naps, and at about 10 or 11 months old, she stopped doing it before going to bed at night. I kept telling myself that she wouldn't do it forever, and eventually she would out grow it. After all, how many 10 year olds still nurse? They all grow up at some point, so enjoy your special bonding time!

Chrissy

I agree that there is nothing wrong with the baby falling asleep on the breast. The difference on teeth is that breastmilk can't pool in the mouth like something out of a bottle. First, breastmilk goes straight to the back of the mouth, it never touches the teeth. Plus, when they start getting sleepy & not sucking strongly, milk doesn't come out. (Something in a bottle comes out easier so it will still come out.)

Try pulling him off and see if he will transfer to sucking your finger. I don't know that this is the best advice as mine both ended up sucking fingers or thmbs and still do, but they did learn to soother themselves.

My four year old breastfed himself to sleep until he was three, and we've had no problems with his teeth whatsoever. It's natural for a baby to want to breastfeed to sleep---he'll grow out of it. Mine just stopped falling asleep on the breast. He'd eat, and then lay down and go to sleep. It goes fast, no need to rush it. Breastfeeding them to sleep is easier, too. :-)

i dance to music holding my son.

1. It is totally OK for your baby to nurse to sleep, it will not harm his teeth and it is a special time when he and you can be cuddly and happy, he will be a big kid running around and refusing to nap soon enough so enjoy this stage while you can!
2. Do not worry about the sippy cup issue, sippy cups are not vital to good health and in fact some babies who overuse sippy cups develop dental problems such as misalignment and cavities if they have juice or milk in the sippy all the time. My cousin who is a speech therapsist also told me that kids who overuse sippy cups can develop speech problems as well.
3. Your baby does not need to drink that much water if he is breastfeeding well. A little sip from your cup of water now and again will do. And he does NOT need juice, it is sugary and not very healthy. If you do give him juice make it half juice and half plain water so he does not get too much sugar. Your baby should get his fruit in the form of food not drink because then it still contains fiber.

Hope this helps, good luck!

I have 4 kids and nursed all of them. I did use the ferber method with my older 3 then found a book called the happiest baby on the block by dr. Karl Harper. I loved it. my last baby i never had to make cry himself to sleep. the book was a lifesaver on many different levels. I did start off with advice in the book when he was a newborn. Don't feel too bad, your nursing will give him so many benefits and its not just sitting in his mouth all night. But do keep in mind that teaching your child to sooth and calm himself from crying to sleeping is a life essential ability and your not helping him by doing it for him. You need to teach him now, or else how will he learn to sooth himself. Your mom, and sometimes us moms have to make our kids learn, even though i agree just giving in is much easier in the beginning. but in the long run thats not what is best for your healthy baby. There are always exceptions, but my kids can all put themselves to sleep (we still do a bedtime routine) and all of them sleep in their own beds and have since they were infants. although i admit i did cheat their first few months and would pull them into bed with me while i nursed them, it was soooo much easier and i was so tired. Good luck

Nobody likes hearing our baby cry, however giving him the gift of self soothing and to fall asleep on his own now will save you so much heartache and stress later. He will cry, then just lay him down, give him a kiss and walk out of the room. I am betting within a few days the crying will stop, he will learn to fall asleep while awake and get a better nights rest!
I agree not getting him started on a pacifier at all! That is another habit that gets harder to break after 6 mos.
He is using you as a pacifier though and it will get more of a habit every month and be harder to break if you don't just stop now. Make sure he is awake, feed him, change his clothes, change his diaper, bath or whatever then lay him down. Just always lay him down awake.

My friend has a three and a half year old that still will pitch a fit if he isn't nursed to sleep, that is nuts and a habit she is having a very hard time still trying to break. Even when he wakes from a bad dream he is expecting her to nurse him back to sleep. At almost four that is just not healthy for anyone in the family.

Your son will continue to wake a lot and not sleep through the night for a long time if he is programmed to need nursing to get to himself back to sleep.
Healthy routine along with teaching him to self soothe is honestly doing him a great service not doing him any harm.
My daughter used to chew on her sleeve of her jammies to go to sleep, my son used to babble himself to sleep. Find a music box, white noise like a fan or something that will help him into the transition but seriously, teaching him you are not a pacifier is the best thing you can do! :)

First nursing your baby to sleep or feeding while sleeping for a breastfed baby is not bad. Here is a link to kellymom.com my favorite breastfeeding site http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/tooth-decay.html. Also start a night routine to let your little one know its time to go night. Start with your nursing, if your baby falls asleep wake him up and then brush his teeth or gums if he doesn't have any yet, read a book, change diaper, then put to bed. I have had this routine with my daughter since she was 6 months old and was being nursed to sleep every night since birth. It took a couple of weeks to get her used to the routine but it was well worth it. Now she knows when we go up to brush her teeth, we are starting her bedtime routine. Good luck.

I say let her. The breastmilk isn't as bad on his teeth as juice or regular milk and he is not falling asleep with a bottle in his mouth. It is the milk that is left in their mouth that is the concern. After you are done feeding, he shouldn't be completely asleep, but as you move him to his bed, that gives him enough time for a last swallow and right off to dreamland. Also, as soon as your little guy has teeth, you can begin to brush them.

I did that with my girls and they both fell asleep with the bottle, never juice only formula. They both have beautiful teeth, with no problems.

Also, what a nice end of the day moment with your little guy.

Hi S.--

I did this with my first (now 3) and never had any problem. When I wasn't there, he just took the bottle and then was rocked and put to bed (sometimes falling asleep, sometimes not). He cried for a few nights when I quit nursing him (shortly after he turned one) but that was it, and it seemed totally normal. My 6 month old sometimes falls asleep on the breast, sometimes not--so far everything is fine.

As far as the teeth, I think that is more of a concern with the bottle, which stays in long after they fall asleep, as opposed to the breast, which is soon removed.

You can find an expert to back up anything you want to believe :), but I like Dr. Weisbluth, who wrote Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby (or something like that). His book gave me solid advice plus confidence in what I was already doing, which is just about as good as it gets. :)

Good luck!

Hi! I'm a mother of five children, the youngest is 9 months old and have delt with the very same situations as you. My first question would be is the water tepid? some babies need the liquid body temperature, while others like it cool try both ways using a teaspoon, laddle a small amount into his mouth. Another way is to add a pinch of sugar (never honey!) to the water, because mothers milk is sweet. Juice by the way is what ruins the teeth, or bottles while they sleep, not breastfeeding. All my children nursed to go to sleep, and had perfect teeth untill they were much older and started to drink soda pop.

I think that's okay, my 11 month old son has always been nursed before going down for naps and to bed. He usually falls asleep. When it's time to wean him, he'll be fine... it will be a bit difficult when you wean regardless of if he falls asleep nursing.