Intro and a few questions

"Shelly" wrote in message
...


Thanks for the advice, Tracy. This is one thing I have been wondering
about... I have heard other Mom's I know say they don't want their babies
in
the habit of nursing themselves to sleep. Why? Is it because they then
have
a hard time sleeping when they are weaned?

Michelle,

I think the reason some people advise against nursing to sleep is that the
baby can create an association that means he/she can *only* fall asleep by
nursing. This can be troublesome later, after they no longer need to nurse
in the night for nutrition, they will still wake up and need to nurse to get
back asleep.

However, in one as young as yours, I wouldn't worry about that yet. It may
or may not be a problem for you later, but it's certainly rectifiable at
that time if necessary. For now, feel free to nurse him to sleep.

Lucy

So, it sounds like you let your little guy
nurse himself to sleep? Did this cause problems for you as he got older?

No, I never really minded nursing him to sleep, so I just kept doing it until
he was ready to stop (which was not very long ago, and probably due mostly to
my pregnancy!) He never developed a habit of waking a million times a night
and needing to nurse *back* to sleep; other than the occasional bout of
teething, he typically woke up only once during the night if at all. And we
were comfortable co-sleeping, so nursing him back to sleep once per night
wasn't ever a "problem" for me.

I did not, however, usually nurse him to sleep for daytime naps when he was
really small; walking around with him in the sling was our usual
sleep-inducement method. And he never had any trouble falling asleep without
nursing even at bedtime if I were not THERE; his Daddy or a babysitter could
generally get him down fairly easily by carrying/rocking or slinging him (as an
infant) or just sitting next to him on the bed unti he fell asleep (as a
toddler).

I gather that not all babies are that adaptable. :-) But in any case I
wouldn't worry about it in the first 3-4 months at least. I believe in
crossing bridges when you come to them, and not before.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 3yo
EDD #2 6/8/04

"Shelly" wrote in message

1) Lately, it seems to take the critter a few tries to get a proper
latch
and settle into nursing. The first couple times, he will bite instead
of
latch, or latch and then pull his head back hard, taking my nipple
with him.
OUCH! I unlatch him as quickly as I can when this happens, and I do
try to
keep a hand behind his neck/head to prevent him from pulling back, but
he
still manages to catch me somehow. Also, I've been hand expressing a
little
bit at the beginning of each nursing session, since my breasts seem
really
full. Any other suggestions for helping him get the latch right the
first
time?

I'm not sure if this is what is going on with your DS, but my DS
did/does a latch-pull head thing as well. He is 6.5 months old now and
still does it. I hypothesize that it is a let-down starting method (in
his mind), because he does it a few times until letdown starts and then
nurses along just fine (for the most part). Sometimes if he starts
latching on and off and on and off, that means he wants to switch sides.
Since your DS is much younger than mine, I would be very vigilant about
latch problems, in case he is getting into a bad habit!

2) Is Tylenol safe while nursing? My doctor's office is closed today,
so I
can't call, and I really could go for some pain relief. The lanolin
just
isn't cutting it today.

Yes, it is.

3) Critter tends to stay latched for quite a long time if I let him
stay on
until he decides to let go...usually 40 minutes or longer. After about
30
minutes, though, he falls asleep and only sucks every couple minutes.
When I
try to unlatch him, he starts sucking again. Should I be unlatching
him when
he falls asleep, or should I just wait until he lets go himself?

When DS was younger, I would usually wait until he unlatched himself,
but sometimes I would unlatch him if I needed to, by pressing on the
side of his face/my breast. My DS always nursed a lot even while
sleeping (still does. Real nursing, not just comfort sucking, but
totally asleep).

4) Every other feeding or so, Critter sucks too quickly and ends up
choking
on the milk. We both find this stressful. Is there anyway to prevent
this?

Sorry, no tips for you there as DS is pushing 7 months old and *still*
chokes just about once a day while nursing (sometimes more--like twice
during a single feeding!). It is fairly horrible and stressful for us
both. When DS was your son's age, I figured he would grow out of it. I
had no idea that he'd still be choking 6 months later! If it is due to
overactive letdown, people say to express a little into a cloth. I don't
think mine has anything to do with overactive letdown though, because I
have none of the other signs (i.e. I have *never* had milk spray out or
anything). Sometimes it happens towards the end of a feeding and I
hypothesize that it is because he may let milk build up in his mouth
instead of swallowing and then chokes on it. Before, I really don't
know.

Good luck!

--
Em
mama to L-baby, 6.5 months old

"Lucy" wrote in message
...
"Shelly" wrote in message
...
Michelle,

I think the reason some people advise against nursing to sleep is that the
baby can create an association that means he/she can *only* fall asleep by
nursing. This can be troublesome later, after they no longer need to nurse
in the night for nutrition, they will still wake up and need to nurse to
get
back asleep.

However, in one as young as yours, I wouldn't worry about that yet. It may
or may not be a problem for you later, but it's certainly rectifiable at
that time if necessary. For now, feel free to nurse him to sleep.

Lucy


Whew! I'm glad to put off worrying about this for the time being, since I
can't even begin to imagine how else I could settle the little guy to sleep
at this point.

Thanks, Lucy!

-Michelle

"Em" wrote in message
news:jWGec.23547$wP1.52447@attbi_s54...
"Shelly" wrote in message

I'm not sure if this is what is going on with your DS, but my DS
did/does a latch-pull head thing as well. He is 6.5 months old now and
still does it. I hypothesize that it is a let-down starting method (in
his mind), because he does it a few times until letdown starts and then
nurses along just fine (for the most part). Sometimes if he starts
latching on and off and on and off, that means he wants to switch sides.
Since your DS is much younger than mine, I would be very vigilant about
latch problems, in case he is getting into a bad habit!


Oh boy, I don't even want to imagine how much it'll hurt if he is still
doing this at 6+ months old! I guess I'll have to play around some more and
try to break this habit...

Thanks, Em!

-Michelle