small but friendly board :)

[whoanelly]

hi everybody...just joined in here and i am looking very forward to chatting with you all re: parenting, pregnancy, breastfeeding etc...i am aftm, and my daughter is 9.5 mos old !!! crazy how the time flies. we are were exclusively breastfeeding up to 6 mos andhave now added in all kinds of fun foods. we are still b'f ing and i hope to continue well into her second year if poss. anyway, look forward to seeing you around the site.
whoanelly

[Tom]

Welcome whoanelly!

The board is new but we seem to be gathering some nice members. If there is anything you'd like to see done here feel free to post you ideas.

See you around.

[Nat R]

Hello, I'm new as well, still trying to get the hang of navigating the site! It does seem like a nice friendly place to be so hello everyone!

[Jessica & Amber's mommy]

Hi, and welcome! I'm new here too. My name is Carol and I have a ? for you. I noticed you are still breastfeeding I'm exclusively breastfeeding my 4.5 month old daughter. She tends to want to take her daily naps on my breast, latched on and asleep. When I try to take her off to put her down to sleep, she sucks harder and will not let go and/or if I unlatch her & put her down, she wakes up. So, how can I get her to take her nap in her bassinette or in the swing and not on my boob I also have a 2.5 year old daughter to take care of. Thank you
Carol

[Kaytee]

this would probably be better in the infant forum, but as I am also still nursing my 17 month old dd. I can give you some advise. First Congrats on nursing for almost 5 months, you should be commended for giving your baby such a wonderful thing. 2nd, I can tell you that I never let my dd fall alseep at my breast, but I started that from the begining, I also did her sleep/wake pattern opposite then most people. i would nurse her after her naps instead of before, that way she would be good and awake. Of course I still had to try to keep her up at times as well.
Starting later may be more difficult but I think something that might be good for you as well is a baby wrap or sling. Hands free nursing!!!!! Then you can take care of your older child while still keeping the baby content.
I am not the kind of person to allow my child to CIO (cry it out) So the sleeping alone thing may be harder to accomplish at this point but it is possible, you just have to sick it out. When it is nap time lay her down awake but sleepy, if she cries, go pick her up, but don't say anything to her, just hold her right there until she calms down, then lay her back down. You may have to continue doing this a few times or many times, but as long as you are consistant she will get it and go to sleep for you. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me. As I said I have been nursing for quite awhile now and am fairly knowledgeable about it.

[Nat R]

Hi

I have breastfed three children until the age of three, and I have always allowed them to fall asleep at the breast. For me, this felt like the natural thing to do. And thats what us Mums tend to do, right? What comes naturally. I think as a parent it is never a good idea to ignore your instincts.

I have found the dr sears website great. I suppose the advice on there makes sense to me and works for us as a family. There is advice on all aspects of parenting from a highly qualified and respected family of paediatricians and is well worth a look.

It is quite normal for an infant to want to suckle alot, especially when going through a growth spurt which often happens at 4 months or so. This is to stimulate the milk supply, which is triggered by baby feeding more often. It is difficult to meet this supply and demand, esecially if you have other children to worry about, but usually this phase does not last too long, and settles down after a time.

Good luck.

[Jessica & Amber's mommy]

Hello Nat R, thank you for your reply. It's amazing that you bf all your kids so long, congratulations! I'm familiar with Dr. Sears but I haven't had much time to get online and research him much. I don't mind if dd falls asleep at the breast a few times, but it's becoming to were she will not sleep unless I nurse her to sleep. That's why I'm trying to do something about it now. She needs to learn to put herself to sleep, kwIm?

[Kaytee]

It's hard I know. But I think if you just keep trying, by keeping her awake while nursing then laying her down. You just have to be consistent. I know easier said then done. As I said I have a 17 month old, and she still wakes one-3 times a night. Usually once but occasionally more then once.