How can i move away from feeding to sleep?
How Can I Move Away from Feeding to Sleep?
It is very common and natural to feed babies to sleep. Cuddling up to a warm and familiar body makes it easy for little ones to doze off during feeds. While feeding to sleep works for many families, there are some common reasons why it might not be working for you, such as:
The strategies you had in place for feeding to sleep were working and now are no longer working.
You no longer want to be the sole caregiver for putting your baby down for naps and bedtime.
Your baby is waking multiple times during the night and feeding is the only way to get them back to sleep.
If you are looking to move away from feeding to sleep, try these strategies:
Create a flow for your day using a wake-eat-play-sleep schedule. This allows you to feed your baby upon waking as opposed to feeding to sleep. If your little one requires an additional feeding during their wake time, try to keep them awake for the feed by undressing them so they are not as comfy and cozy.
Shifting the time of your bedtime feed can help too. Try moving the last feed of the day to the beginning of your bedtime routine so that your baby isn’t drowsy or falling asleep for the feed.
Have alternate caregiver do the feed instead. This changes the comfort level and can help to keep your baby awake during the feed.
If your baby will only go back to sleep with a feed, try to implement other soothing strategies to get them back to sleep (patting, shh-ing, etc). Whichever alternate soothing strategy you choose, ensure that you are consistent with implementing it. If you are changing things too often it sends a confusing message to your little one. Consistency will help eliminate the tears sooner.
Sleep is essential to you and your baby’s overall wellbeing. It is important that they get restorative sleep each day. Following the wake-eat-play-sleep schedule will help you differentiate your baby’s hunger and tired cues. You want to ensure you are responding to a hungry baby, and not just implementing a tool to get them back to sleep.
If you have tried the above options and are still struggling with your child’s sleep, please know that you are not alone. We are here to help. Schedule a call with us for personalized support.
