First of all I want to commend you for putting your baby on a feeding schedule. That is wonderful that he eats every three to four hours. That is very normal. For a baby that age it is very normal to fall to sleep towards the end of feeding. That is your routine while they are this young. You change them you feed them and then they go off to sleep. It takes a lot of energy out of them at that young stage and you should only be concerned if he is snacking. This means if he is only getting an ounce or feeding partially and then he is waking up every hour to eat. This would be a bad habit that you would need to break him from. But it doesn't seem like the case with you. Now I have breast feed my children and I found it to be easier to introduce them early to the bottle so that they are used to it from the very beginning. It also helps the father bond to the baby as well by letting him have a chance to feed the baby. What I would suggest is that you just continue to give him the bottle. Make sure you do not forget to pump when you do give him the bottle to make sure that your milk supply does not deplete. He will get used to it. It is sort of like tough love. But this way he will not give the babysitters a hard time when it is time for you to go back to work. I would alternate between the bottle and your breast. This is the best way to help adjust. He just needs practice sucking from the bottle nipple. It is a little different and babies resist change. That is why it is very crucial that you keep him on a good eating schedule. That way you can schedule what you have to do around it.
That is excellent that he is sleeping in his crib at night. You are starting off very well. There are so many who let them sleep with them in the bed, and then have a hard time getting them out of their bed when time. Being a mother you have to pick and choose your battles. If he loves to sleep in his swing then let him. That is fine. It works for him and at least he is taking his naps. My second daughter was just like that. She loved the swing. It gives them a sense of security and the swing lulls them to sleep. It is doing what it was designed to do. My reccommendation would be to use it as much as possible now because pretty soon he will outgrow the swing. Then when he is bigger he will probably go to his crib and nap. You really should not have anything to worry about. This is very normal. Take care and good luck.
I wouldnt let him nurse and sleep. The milk sitting in their mouth while they are sleeping can cause their teeth to rot even if they dont have teeth yet. I started that bad habit on accident and realized it was bad when my daughter was 4 months. Now she is 8 months and we are still having a problem with it (but she had breast milk through a bottle at night to sleep). Now since she cries for about half an hour before finally falling asleep, we sometimes give her water in a bottle. Now we are trying to totally eliminate the bottle in bed. It has been a struggle so I dont recommend it.
--Shannon
Hi, Tina! Congrats on your new little baby!!! I spent some time reading the other responses and I just want to start by saying that every baby and every family is different. You do what you need to do or feel is right because only you know your child best. Nursing your child to sleep is NOT a bad thing. Breast milk WILL NOT rot his (nonexistence at this age) teeth. Please visit www.kellymom.com for all kinds of advice/facts on this subject and anything else related to nursing, including bottle feeding tips. I've heard a million and one different ways to try and get a nurser to take a bottle and my advice is to just try them all until you find which one works for your little guy. The only real cardinal rule is to have someone else introduce the bottle while you are not around (why should he take the bottle when the breast is right there??)
Letting him fall asleep in the swing is not a bad thing. At this age you do what you've gotta do to meet their needs and get some rest yourself! I'd suggest to keep trying the crib, but if you opt for the swing, no biggie. He's not going to be sleeping in it when he is three, I promise you. Really the only important thing to remember is to turn the swing off when he is good and asleep (wait about twenty minutes after he nods off). A baby in motion will find it difficult to reach the most restful, or R.E.M., sleep and that will make for one overtired little grouch monster! If you find he wakes when you turn the swing off no matter how long you wake then try manually slowing the motion very gradually over, say, 5 minutes (your arm is gonna hurt). Also some soft music to occupy his other senses might distract his sense of motion to allow this. He also needs to nap at least an hour each time to reach the restful cycle of sleep. Another good thing to know with babies his age is that they really cannot tolerate being awake for more than 1 to 1.5 hours. Watch the clock and start a soothing, going to sleep, process after about an hour of wakefulness. If you want to be a sleep expert read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.
Only one other comment, and I do not mean to scare you....I recently read that researchers had found a connection between length of time between feedings and SIDS. They theorize that the part of the brain that signals alertness when there is something wrong with breathing, like too much CO2 for example, may not function as well if the child is hungry. There is also the theory that a full belly, warm temperature (and calcium, thus the warm milk) help a child fall asleep. Wait, I just went back and read that he only goes longer than 3-4 hours in between feedings if he is napping - so, you guys are right on schedule!
One other tip I just though of: try swaddling. Check out www.miracleblanket.com. A crib is huge to a two month old and he might still like the tight space that reminds him of mama's womb. I hear moms say their baby didn't like swaddling because they always wriggled out of their blanket and my answer is that you didn't swaddle them tight enough! My girls wriggled out too, but once I got them in a great blanket they slept like angels! Usually five months is when a baby starts to sleep better without swaddling (this coincides with them also moving about more in their sleep - read the book!).
All advice aside, I wish you well with your new precious babe. Follow your instincts, Tina, only you know best! If you are returning to work just let your caregiver know what works best for your son, so you both are following the same sleeptime routine. I wish you all the best!
I exclusively breast feed for the first 10 weeks of my daughters life until I went back to work. Then I only went back to work for 1/2 days so she only got 2 bottles during that time. But she didn't have any problem at first. Then about 15 weeks or so we went through nipple confusion and she wouldn't nurse she only wanted bottle milk. But we got through that too. Really it's just a learning process with you and your child, start him off slowly and work your way up to bottles. I have read that starting nursing and then giving a bottle helps adjust to the bottle as well. As far as nursing to sleep my daughter is 9 months old and we still nurse in the morning and at night before bed. She sometimes falls asleep and sometimes doesn't. My pediatrician told me not to worry about nursing to sleep until around 6 months when she said I should start putting her down not quite asleep but almost so she can learn to put herself to sleep. And she has learned really well. Most everynight she goes down without any problems but there is the occassional night where she will cry when I put her to bed.
Now on to the napping. I went through the exact same thing with my daughter. My daycare provider could get her to nap in her bed but I couldn't. What I started doing was laying down with her in our bed until she fell asleep and then lodging her in with pillows and she would nap there. This went on for a couple of weeks and then we moved on to napping in the crib. And it worked just fine. Good luck and remember if it doesn't feel right to you then don't do it. Use your own judgement when it comes to your child it will typically be right.
Tina,
There is not a right or wrong way of doing things, just do what works for you and your family. I nursed my now 4 year old until he was 13months he would nurse to sleep for his naps and to bed. They love the bonding time and moms cuddles. Now, my 23month old I nursed him until he was 8months old and then I had to stop. It was hard at first but, both of my boys adjusted just find. Just hang in there and don't let anyone tell you your way is incorrect just go with your gut feelings.
Quit beating yourself up. First of all, you do what you are comfortable. Second of all, I can't believe how long between feedings that baby goes, but each baby is his/her own person. My babies all nursed every two hours until they were about three months old. You need to have your husband help out with the bottle situation, by giving the little guy bottles intermittently throughout the day. Keep on pumping that breast milk, it is soooo, sooo good for the baby. My cousin taught me a test to do to check to make sure the baby is asleep before you put the baby down. Lift up the babies arm, and if it falls like dead weight, baby is asleep. If baby responds to you by jerking the hand/arm away, chances are they are still not in a deep sleep yet. I've heard the argument but personally, I nursed all my babies before they laid down for naps. My 15 month old still likes to nurse here and there before her naps. As long as you provide good overall oral care, I see no reason why not. My baby "brushes" with baby toothpaste 3 to 4 times a day. Naptime, who cares where he sleeps!!! My babies all took naps in swings and other odd places. They have all recovered to sleeping like normal children. Honestly, I don't think it matters where they sleep for their nap. Sure it is fine and dandy if they go to sleep in their "own bed," but it is just a nap. Yesterday, my baby fell asleep on the couch in our living room, in the spot where her Daddy normally sits. To me, I could care less where they sleep at, as long as they get that much needed nap. Take a deep breath and give yourself a break. I can tell you are a new mother. You are doing great, don't let things like this bring you down. Give yourself a pat on the back and keep breast feeding that baby as long as you can. You are doing amazing things already!!!
WOW! Thanks so much ladies for all the input! It is so helpful to look at all the different perspectives. It has been 3 days now and my little one has not needed to nurse to sleep at all except for when he goes down for the night! (yay!) I was just worried that I was creating a bad habit, not so much worried about his teeth. He DOES NOT like the pacifier, but the past few days he will take it for a few minutes when he is tired. Mostly, he just wants to swing or rock or juggle in his seat or be held. I think I will try turning the swing off though, I am not sure what one poster said about deep REM sleep, because he sleeps long and hard in that swing. He went 3 hours this morning and is on his second nap today and has been out for more than an hour. I do want to make sure though that he is not sleeping the day away and maybe if I shut off the swing, he will be able to take naps in his crib! SOmeone else said something about the time between feedings. Just to clarify, he is definitely not hungry! My little bambino is 9 weeks old and weighs in at almost 15 pounds!!! He started sleeping from 7:30 p.m. to 4 or 5 a.m. at 8 weeks.
I have lots of new things to try and I really appreciate the input. This website has been great so far!
Thanks again!