Is It Okay to Feed My 3.5 Month Old to Sleep?

Okay to feed baby to sleep for nightime feeding. Its just the day time feedings that it is better to do a feed/wake/sleep cycle. Feed/wake/sleep teachers you baby to self sooth and learn the art of falling asleep. I do recommend it, but night time feeding does not count.

K the biggest mistake people make is trying to train your kids before they are old enough to develop a habit. You baby is too young to be starting a "bad" habit like associating food with sleep. Your baby is still really young and feeding right before bed usually helps them to have a full tummy and sleep a little longer. Not to mention it keeps your baby happy. I nursed both my babies to sleep until they were a year and once I weaned them they were fine. No issues and slept great once they stopped nursing to sleep. If you want to sleep train and lay your baby down awake before he/she is 1 then that is fine but all the books say not to start that until they are at least 4 months and better at 6 months. Anytime before that they are too young to understand what is going on. I mean yes some babies naturally fall asleep on their own but not all. And if your baby is sleeping good for you now why mess with a good thing this early on? My sister in law is a firm believer in the whole you can never feed your baby to sleep and it's pretty sad to watch (her baby just turned 4 months old) and from birth she is always crying when she is sleepy and has a hard time falling asleep. they have to rock her and bounce her etc. But if she would just nurse her that baby would be out in no time without all the crying. also she complains that her baby never naps well and I believe it's because she never lets her go to sleep with a full tummy. So I feel that she is making things harder on herself. Anyways it's really up to you but If I were you I won't worry about it yet.

I nurse my baby to sleep every night and he is a great sleeper. I have read that when babies suckle they produce saliva that is washing over their gums and "cleaning" them. I think the only thing that I have seen is that you want to watch out for any milk pooling in the sides of their cheeks, which is more common with bottle feeding. So if anything, you can just lightly wipe inside the cheek to prevent that, if you want. Or, if you are comfortable, you can pop a pacifier in that will create more saliva to wash over gums. My pediatrician never worried about me feeding my babies to sleep, he just wanted me to wipe their gums daily, not necessarily at night. I do it daily and that seems fine. I did this with my first and he hasn't had any problems with cavities, he is three and his teeth are bright white:) I think the main thing with bottle rot, is giving an older child a bottle of cows milk or some other liquid that can stay on their teeth. I was looking at my baby's toothpaste and it says it is made with ingredients as close to breastmilk as possible, formula is made to be as close to breastmilk as possible so I think that as long as you wipe the gums/teeth after eating solids or drinking something other than formula or breastmilk you are fine. I said ALL that to say that I think feeding an infant/baby to sleep is fine, why else would our bodies release hormones to make us and our babies relax and get sleepy during nursing?? When babies nurse or bottle feed they relax and want to sleep, I think nature has given us our answer :D

From reading your what happened section, I think you're on the right track! I *tried* not to feed my son to sleep, but sometimes (especially when they are little), it just happens. Doing something after feeding (a diaper change, or something...like you said), is a great solution. I wouldn't worry too much about feeding to sleep, at this age. I know my son always fell asleep, from the bottle at 3.5 months! It's more when they are a little older, that it becomes habit/routine. Good luck and congrats on your little one!

awww spoil that baby! hehe!
I think it is perfectly fine.

I nursed my daughter to sleep until she was 1. She doesn't have any problems with her teeth from the nursing.

Many babies that age fall asleep with the bottle. I wouldn't worry too much, but you could maybe burp her or jostle her a little so that she's relaxed but awake when you lay her in her crib. That way she is learning to go to sleep without sucking on the bottle. If she's sleeping fine at night and naps, I really wouldn't stress too much.

I always gave my boys a bottle and than put them to bed awake so they could learn to sleep on their own. Once they know how to self sooth they will do it at night as well. The main problem comes not only from them needed to feed to fall asleep, but also once their teeth start coming in, milk left in their mouth can cause decay. The teeth/gums should be cleaned after the last feeding before bed to protect the newly growing teeth.

Only you know what works for your baby. If she burps well before you put her down so she doesnt choke on spit up in the night, then it's all good I guess. Just dont lay her down with a bottle propped in her mouth, that is just wrong.
If you have someone telling you that its not good to put her to sleep by feeding her they may be seeing something you arent telling us. Just remember if that's the only way to put her to sleep then that's they way it will be for quite a while.
They sleep when they are tired and they are awake when they are not, that's just the way of babies.

I nursed mine to sleep for a long time. I think at this age it should be fine.

If you don't mind her associating nighttime sleeping with bottlefeeding then keep doing what you are doing. if you want her to learn to fall asleep with out the bottle then feed first then perhaps hold her and then put her to sleep. It is just what works for you. If she falls asleep with the bottle and you want her to learn how to go to sleep on her own then pick her up and perhaps change her diaper, burp her and lay her down when she is sleepy. She will start to understand this routine. I fed my daughter downstairs, burped her. Brought her upstairs and laid her on the big bed and wrapped her up in her swaddle blanket and then laid her her in her crib starting at 4 months (she slept with me until 4mo). She became used to this routine and went to bed very easily. She is a year now and we still do this same routine. Edited to add: They also say don't wake a sleeping baby unless you really have too. She is only 4 months old, so if she falls asleep while you are feeding her, no big deal. She'll probably wake a little when you burp her but don't worry to much if she doesn't. She is still soooo young.

the problem is that your child may associate needing to eat to get to sleep, which can cause problems. With my baby, I went with the Baby Whisperer's EASY routine, which was eat, activity, sleep. I would also do a "dream feed" around 9 or 10, where you pick the baby up, sleeping, feed them, still asleep, and put them back to bed, never waking them up, but it kind of tops them off so they can sleep through the night.

Also, you're going to hear lots of people who think they're right, you have to do what you feel is right for your baby. :-)

I nursed both my boys to sleep since birth, both weaned from the breast between 1yr and 2yrs, and neither has ever had a sleep problem because of it.

I would be more hesitant with bottle feeding to sleep though.

Really, it depends on what your personal parenting philosophy is. Attachment parenting or scheduled parenting. I'm more comfortable with attachment, feed when they want to be fed, hold them when they want to be held, co-sleep, etc.