This post is all about how to prepare yourself for sleep training breastfed babies.
Sleep Training Breastfed Babies by AGATA
So just a little background about my journey. My daughter has never been the best sleeper. We have also decided to co-sleep to allow us to have some sleep at night. Since the sleepless nights were taking a toll on us. She struggled with both acid reflux and colic when she was born. We would do anything to try and keep her comfortable. Her sources of comfort were contact napping, using a dummy, sleeping in a pram on the move, and being rocked, and the boob.
She would only fall asleep on the boob and she would wake up multiple times a night and need feeding to put her back to sleep. Needless to say, my journey has been exhausting. And with her starting to be more and more mobile, my partner and I decided to sleep train.
DISCLAIMER! I am not a certified sleep trainer or a certified lactation consultant/specialist. This is just what worked for me. Please contact the relevant support for your needs.
Here are my tips for sleep-training breastfed babies.
1. Choosing the Sleep Training Method
Deciding which sleep training method was going to be the best for us was quite straightforward. We are not fans of cry it out (which I have been told is not recommended anymore) and to me, the Ferber method was a little form of that. So, we decided to go with the gentle approach of pick up and put down.
Whatever method you choose, you need to be consistent with it. Consistency is key to being successful. But, if you chose a technique and it is not working for you then you can change the technique.
2. Mentally Prepare for it to be Difficult
Sleep training is difficult, your baby is bound to cry. You are changing their routine and that is difficult. Especially, if for a while now they have been helped to sleep by being rocked, or being fed, or whatever your routine has been up to this point.
Although we chose the “gentle sleep training approach”, we still have a lot of crying. Essentially, it is a gentler approach as you are there to soothe and comfort the baby. So when they are crying you pick them up, comfort them, and put them down.
The moment I put my baby down, she is screaming and crying. Sometimes the picking up portion of the technique is too much for her. Since she started sitting up when we started sleep training, I try to settle her in bed and put her back down as much as I can. But sometimes I have to pick her up.
The number of times I said “I cannot do this or this is too much” is ridiculous. But, I have my partner to support me at night time. Just remember your reason for wanting to sleep train and hopefully, it will help you keep on track.
It is important to continue the same technique for nap time as well. Now this is when I do not have anyone to support me so it can be very difficult if I get overwhelmed I take a breath.
[Recommended: 39 Insanely Eady and Realistic Mom Self-Care Ideas]
3. The Pacifier / Dummy
If you are sleep training with a dummy and it falls out in the middle of the night you might be woken up to re-insert it. If your baby can grab things and re-insert their own dummy, you could try putting a couple of dummies around the bed so your baby can grab it and put it back themselves.
As I mentioned above, my daughter’s comfort has been the pacifier, BUT when we started sleep training we did it without the dummy. We had the Tommee tippee 0-6 month breast-like soother. Then, we went shopping and I thought of changing her dummies so we bought her 6-18m pacifier that was not Tommee Tippee (the shop didn’t have Tommee Tippee). So, it was shaped completely differently and she was super confused and would not have it. I then ordered the Tommee Tippee ones 6-12m and she was not interested she started throwing them around her bed as a form of play.
So, this was a challenge within itself as the dummy did help to soothe her. But, she did great without it. And, I am so glad that we did it without the pacifier as I have been told that if you sleep train with the dummy, you might have to re-train your baby when you want to get rid of the dummy.
4. Breastfeeding at Night
Please consult your lactation consultant/specialist, health visitor, or doctor. Again, this is what I did, and has worked for me.
So, up until I started sleep training, I was feeding my baby to sleep. That means, she went straight from the boob into her bed/ stayed in my bed (as before sleep training we were co-sleeping). Then, when she would wake up during the night, the only thing that would re-settle her was the boob. She would not have a full feed and sometimes she just used the boob as a form of comfort.
I asked a lot of people what they did to reduce or stop feeding at night. IMPORTANTLY, I started sleep training at 7 months, my baby has been gaining weight consistently and was not underweight, she has been eating food during the day, and whenever she went on the boob at night, most of the time she would take a couple of sucks and fall asleep.
The advice I got was to either go cold turkey (stop completely giving it at night) or to slowly replace the feed by offering them a sip of water. We decided to replace some feeds because I had been feeding 4 times during the night. Which was mostly to do with comfort.
[Reccommended: Tips for Breastfeeding at Night, and Must-Know Breastfeeding Realities]
Bonus: Sleep Training Breastfed Babies When Poorly
When your baby is sick, it is time to think about whether you should pause. Trust your judgment. I decided to pause sleep training because my little one had a cold and then we picked back up when she was better. This was my personal preference. Again, remember you are the one that knows what is best for you and your baby!
This post has been all about Sleep training a breastfed baby.
Again, all babies are different. I hope that some of my tips can help you with your journey.