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Old December 17th 03, 03:04 PM
Leslie
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Default Sleep routines and nursing baby to sleep

Sarah,

I have four children and never have had one sleeping through the night by five
months!

Your baby may BE hungry; how can you know? Grown-ups sometimes wake in the
middle of the night and need a snack. If your baby needs a little snack, she's
depending on you to give it to her. :-) Perhaps she's going through a growth
spurt and needs more calories. Or maybe she's so busy during the day that she
isn't eating as much as she should. Or maybe she does just want to nurse for
comfort--and what's wrong with that if she does? She's still a very young baby
and is depending on you to meet all her needs, physical and emotional.

Have you considered co-sleeping? It can make all the difference. You can
nurse in your sleep (well, I can, and others have said they can--you'll have to
try and see how it works for you) and then you will be rested and baby will get
what she needs as well. I can honestly say that I have never felt sleep
deprived as long as my babies were sharing my bed.

I still nurse my almost three-year-old to sleep. And he still wakes at some
point and comes into bed with me to nurse some more. As your baby gets older,
if you are not comfortable with nursing in the night, there is a book that a
lot of people on this ng recommend: The No-Cry Sleep Solution.

It sounds to me like you are really concerned about your baby and doing what is
best for her. So trust your own instincts, even above what any nurse tells
you. There is a reason that you hate to hear your baby cry. You don't have to
make her do it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with nursing a
five-month-old to sleep.

(And I do understand the pressures--I did controlled crying with my first at 7
months. It was awful. Yes, it worked--at least for awhile--but I would never
do it again.)

Leslie