Cassandra27
03-09-2004, 05:02 PM
I'm sure it's totally normal, but my 5-week old DD will pretty much only sleep if she's snuggled up next to me with my breast in or near her mouth. She'll start nursing and give it a really good go (20 mintes +), but then she dozes off and won't stay asleep if I put her down on her own. I'm becoming a slave to my rocking chair!
My goal is to have her nurse for as long as she needs to, and then allow me to put her down for the remainder of her nap. As it is, I tend to let her sleep at my breast for 15 minutes or more (for fear of waking her), and then if put her down in the Pack N Play she wakes up wailing after less than 5 minutes. DH has found that she'll sometimes take a pacifier and go back to sleep, but he has to hold it in because lets go and then starts crying again, so that's not much of an alternative.
I go back to work next week, and to save my emotional sanity I would like to have broken the two of us by this habit by then. Will this tendency just work itself out on it's own? She'll be taking bottles of EBM during the day with the nanny while I'm at work, so maybe that will ge her used to other ways to fall asleep? Has anyone found a successful way to deal with this? Or is this all a part of new parenthood that I just need to grin and bear it for now?
p.s. I posted when Jenna was just a few weeks old about how she wouldn't latch on and would only bottle feed. She was a preemie, and I was in tears about how my whole plan to breastfeed was a failure. Several of you replied to my post and made me feel so much better, and to my disbelief, she latched on that night and has never let go since! :) She is doing great, and is gaining weight like a little oinker. A special thank you to everyone who replied to that post.
Cassandra
mom to Jenna, born 02/03/04
My goal is to have her nurse for as long as she needs to, and then allow me to put her down for the remainder of her nap. As it is, I tend to let her sleep at my breast for 15 minutes or more (for fear of waking her), and then if put her down in the Pack N Play she wakes up wailing after less than 5 minutes. DH has found that she'll sometimes take a pacifier and go back to sleep, but he has to hold it in because lets go and then starts crying again, so that's not much of an alternative.
I go back to work next week, and to save my emotional sanity I would like to have broken the two of us by this habit by then. Will this tendency just work itself out on it's own? She'll be taking bottles of EBM during the day with the nanny while I'm at work, so maybe that will ge her used to other ways to fall asleep? Has anyone found a successful way to deal with this? Or is this all a part of new parenthood that I just need to grin and bear it for now?
p.s. I posted when Jenna was just a few weeks old about how she wouldn't latch on and would only bottle feed. She was a preemie, and I was in tears about how my whole plan to breastfeed was a failure. Several of you replied to my post and made me feel so much better, and to my disbelief, she latched on that night and has never let go since! :) She is doing great, and is gaining weight like a little oinker. A special thank you to everyone who replied to that post.
Cassandra
mom to Jenna, born 02/03/04