# Still nursing down to sleep at 8 months...



## mother2ty (Dec 1, 2006)

My son is 8 months and I am still nursing him down to sleep at night and for naps during the day...any other mamma's still doing (have done) this? I feel like the more mothers I talk to, the more I am seeing babies by this age are putting themselves to sleep. I just will never have it in me to let him CIO, but this takes out such huge chunks of time - especially at night (the only alone time I have with my husband). After he is through nursing (one never knows how long that can be!), I still have to lay in bed with him for a while until he is really out. Then, he is awake 20 minutes later becasue I am not in bed with him! Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance


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## rjruiz_415 (Dec 5, 2006)

i do the same with dd, who is just 1 month younger. but once shes out, shes pretty much out...do you nurse him and then move him, or nurse him where he will by sleeping?


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

TOTALLY NORMAL!
My 13 month old DD still has to nurse to sleep.
Not needing parenting to sleep at that age is the exception, not the rule.


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## amore74 (Nov 8, 2006)

Yup! My Ds is almost 10 months and I still nurse him to sleep for naps and bedtime. I don't think about it anymore. I just want to enjoy it while it lasts.


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## lyttlewon (Mar 7, 2006)

My DD's last nursing sessions to go were the nap and bedtime nursings. She weaned at 3.5 yo. I still parent her to sleep she prefers to rub my eyebrows while she is drifting off.

Quote:

After he is through nursing (one never knows how long that can be!), I still have to lay in bed with him for a while until he is really out. Then, he is awake 20 minutes later becasue I am not in bed with him! Any thoughts?
It gets easier as they age. Also make sure you are putting him to bed when he is tired. I can get DD to sleep in about 15 minutes most nights and have been able to for a couple of years.


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## mamawithstars (Mar 12, 2007)

Me too!
DS is almost 8 months and can only fall asleep while nursing. I can sneek out during the day while he naps but at night if I try to get up he will wake in 1/2 hour. I am looking forward to the day when I can get my evenings back but I know he won't be my baby forever I am going to enjoy it while I can. I'm sure at some point he will get better at falling asleep on his own...right???


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## mamawithstars (Mar 12, 2007)

lyttlewon said:


> she prefers to rub my eyebrows while she is drifting off.
> 
> THAT IS JUST TOO CUTE!!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

My dd always nursed to sleep until around 2 at least. Now sometimes she goes to sleep on her own, but sometimes she still nurses down.

-Angela


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## Swandira (Jun 26, 2005)

I was still nursing to sleep for naps and bedtime at 8 months both times. It's very normal, and I'm pretty sure at that age you have to leave them to cry repeatedly if you want to teach them to go to sleep alone. (Correct me if I'm wrong, and of course I'm only talking about breastfed babies, because that's all I know. The experiences of FF mothers, while they may be different, seem to be inapplicable for the original poster, since if she's nursing her baby to sleep it stands to reason that her baby is probably a breastfed baby. Again, feel free to chime in if I'm wrong on that count, too.) I think my son decided on his own, when he was about two years old, to start going to sleep without help and staying asleep all night long.

Nealy
mama to Thales, 12/9/02, and Lydia, 2/26/06


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## Daisie125 (Oct 26, 2005)

Heh... the grass is always greener. I would pay money to get my DS to nurse to sleep, at least I could lay down rather than bounce on that ^%#@$ ball for two hours...

Anway.... yep, totally normal.


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

My older DD nursed to sleep until she was almost 4, if she was with me. From 3 on, she could fall asleep on her own with grandma and grandpa if she stayed at their place overnight (but with me she nursed). At age 3 and 4, she was only nursing before bed. Once she stopped nursing, I still laid with her to fall asleep and she rubbed my ear. Sometime after she turned 6, she no longer needed me to lie beside her to fall asleep.

My 8 month old also nurses to sleep and I wouldn't expect anything different at her age. She won't stay asleep in our bed unless both DH and I are there!







With my first, I'd put her to sleep then end up running to the bedroom every half hour after she woke up to nurse her back to sleep, it was exhausting. With this baby, I keep her downstairs with us and let her nurse to sleep in my arms. Then when she's good and asleep, I put her on the floor near us on a blanket. Then she comes up to bed with us when we are ready to go to sleep.


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## Cranberry (Mar 18, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TechnoGranola* 
DD nursed to sleep until she was almost 4, if she was with me.









: Same with my DS.


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## dillonandmarasmom (May 30, 2005)

dd turned 2 in april and nurses to sleep. she has begun pulling off, rolling over, sighing, then...asleep.


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

I sure hope DD2 is still nursing to sleep at 8 months.







DD1 nursed to sleep until she turned 3.


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## runes (Aug 5, 2004)

dd is 18 months and she nurses to sleep as well. as i recall, around 12 months is when it started to get a little bit easier for me to 'slip out' during naps and night-night so that i could get some stuff done or have a little bit of one on one time with dh.


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## MommyToClayton (May 14, 2007)

DS is almost 14 months old and he still nurses to sleep at bedtime and for all of his naps. He won't sleep alone even for his naps, I need to be laying with him until he is totally out, then I can get up, but bc the mattress isin't on the floor yet I am limited to still having to stay in the room, but I usually fall alseep with him anyway...and at nightime I lay with him until I know he's totally out then I can get up if I want to since DH is in there and the other side of him is the crib (which I don't even know why its up bc we've never used it lol) But at least at night he is asleep for a while before waking up to nurse and I only go where I can still see him with the door open, and the monitor is on. I will never let him CIO, so it should be interesting when the new baby come!!! Ahhh! lol


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## MelKnee (Dec 5, 2001)

I nursed my ds to sleep until he weaned at 33 mos. And still doing it with my 14 mo dd. I think it is a very useful tool.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

I fondly remember nursing DS to sleep. Sometimes i'd nurse him down on my lap and then put him down gently in the crib. Other times I'd snuggle next to him in bed. Sometimes he'd nurse to sleep, other times he'd nurse for a while and then stop nursing and snuggle to sleeep, other times he'd roll over and have his own space when he fell asleep.

I honestly don't remember when he stopped nursing to sleep- it was a gradual process.


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## taterbug1999 (May 5, 2006)

my ds is 27 mos and still nurses to sleep for nap and bed. My dd did the same till she was weaned. For us now it only takes 20 mins or even less occasionally but when ds was younger it could be a couple hours on rough nights. But that will pass and soon you will find a routine. Value these moments and don't worry what other mommas might say or do. Fleeting is the time that they will lay in your arms and fall asleep. You will value every memory of it when they are 16 and out half the night with pals! I for one plan to hang on to it as long as possible!


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

27 months of nursing to sleep here. That and the rare car nap, all that works. Of course, this child does not enjoy sleeping, would prefer never ever to do so.







: I'm lucky I can nurse her to sleep, otherwise she'd be awake forever.


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## pixilixi (Jun 20, 2006)

Another one here who nurses ds (13 months) to sleep for most naps and every night sleep. I don't know many other mothers IRL who do the same, but have had lots of reassurance from mothers here!

We usually nurse in bed, then I get up and potter about. It has totally gotten easier over the last 3 months or so. I remember sometimes it taking nearly an hour... now usually we look at books in bed until he starts snuggling in for milkie. Then maybe 15 minutes and he's out... it's so peaceful







:

Brooke


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## Cujobunny (Aug 16, 2006)

We nursed to sleep up until about a week and a half ago. DS is 26 mo. I'm 6 mo pregnant and haven't had milk in about 6 wks so it was an easy weaning process replaced by singing songs in bed


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## joyfilledmomma (Mar 14, 2006)

my dd who is 17 mos old still nurses to sleep. first i loved it and then around the 1 year mark i really wished she'd give it up...now i'm back to loving it since she's so independent during the day it's really our time to connect and snuggle..sigh!...they're only little for so long...

oh...dh can "bounce walk" her to sleep, but it takes much longer and she usually protests by doing this whining thing a little, so we just don't bother with it...


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## momuveight2B (Mar 17, 2006)

My dd is four and we are still nursing to sleep, however now it is minutes and not the long extended time it was when she was little. She sleeps all night and does not ask again until mornings but often will not even ask then. We do the bath and stories and so on too. Things have changed a lot through the years. Once she is asleep daddy moves her into her own bed.


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## Sharlla (Jul 14, 2005)

DS2 is 23 months. He nurses to sleep but when I am away he has no problem going to sleep with DH without nursing. it's like he only wants to do it when I am home.


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## happy & blessed (Aug 3, 2006)

DD is 11 months and always nurses to sleep. The only exception is if we are in the car when she is extremely tired, and she will fall asleep on her own. Any other time, she has to have the "milkies" to sleep


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## Qestia (Sep 26, 2005)

without having read the thread, one of the dumbest things mainstream parenting teaches is that nursing to sleep is bad. Believe it or not they will quit on their own and you will be sorry when they do and you have to figure out new ways to get them to sleep!!! We FF (didn't find MDC till too late) but bottle nursed DS to sleep as long as he let us, probably around 12-15 months. Now he's awake 60-90 minutes after his bedtime routine, happy, playing, but AWAKE and I wish I had a magic booby to put him to sleep!


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## jennoelle (Dec 6, 2005)

Still nursing my 20 mo old ds to naps and bed. Occassionally he'll fall asleep on his own. I actually thought nothing of it til reading some things on yahoo answers... didn't realize so many people think it's a bad thing! I am thankful I have a comforting way to get him to sleep! I'm just glad I found this site when he was little! My mom is the only one I know who did things the AP way so I think I'd second guess myself a lot more without all of you!


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## Jessy1019 (Aug 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
My dd always nursed to sleep until around 2 at least. Now sometimes she goes to sleep on her own, but sometimes she still nurses down.

-Angela

My daughter nursed to sleep until 2 also, and sometimes in the year after that until she weaned. DS is 15 mnths and nowhere near ready to put himself to sleep. It'll happen when your babe is ready.


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## damyen's mommy (May 5, 2005)

wow... totally normal. My 15 month old still nurses to sleep and so does my 3 1/2 year old







So totally normal. I nurse them, then get out of bed spend time with myself or dp depending on the night.


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## WillyMom (May 1, 2007)

DS is alomst 10 months and nurses down for naps and bedtime. Also, nurses
twice a night. I work 2 days a week and he'll fall asleep for the sitter and DH but if Momma is around he needs the boob. I also started a thread about the same question last week. I am SO glad I found this site and other Momma's doing similar things to me. I honestly think that its what the babies are designed to do. I agree with PP that most babies that self soothe were taught by crying it out. DH says " A baby that had to CIO may be quiter but are they happier







?"


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## podalyria (Mar 28, 2007)

I nurse my 20 month old to sleep for all naps and at night, unless he falls asleep in the car during nap-time. If the day has been peaceful and the night-time routine in place then he is sound asleep quick-quick. I don't know why so many people think it's wrong. It works so well!


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## BlueStateMama (Apr 12, 2004)

I still nurse DD (25 months and counting) down for naps and bedtime. It's easy!







DH puts DS (3 1/2) to bed and has to work sooooo much harder. I just hang out and watch TV while she does her thing.


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## larkish (Oct 5, 2006)

I find that the first hour at night DS wakes easily and may nurse off and on... then after that I have more luck laying him down and he may sleep 1-2hrs without me right there. Then I can have time with DH. HTH


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## green betty (Jun 13, 2004)

Still nursing to sleep 98% of the time at 30 months here... and not particularly looking to change. In 40 years I don't think I'll look back and say, "Gosh, I wish I had spent fewer prolonged, sweet moments nurturing and nourishing my child. If only I had stayed on top of the dishes!"

Seriously, though, I can get very aggravated when I feel drained and behind on life and dc nurses and nurses and nurses and nurses. When I feel tired and impatient, I am much more successful at adjusting my expectations than at changing our behaviour patterns. I say, "what are my most important needs that aren't being met now?" Sometimes it's sleep, or adult time with dh, or just personal veg time. I try to find a way to do even less housework and stuff I "ought" to do in order to buy time for me. It's not that my child is too demanding... but that I keep buying into a myth of what my life should look like. The reality is messy, disorganized, and joyous.


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## marsmom (May 25, 2005)

: Yep, also still nursing to sleep at 31 months here. It has gotten easier and faster over time. But like pp, sometimes it seems to take forever and I have to remind myself that these are days to be treasured... even if I want to velcro off my booby and leave it with her!


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## kochanyk (Jun 30, 2005)

There are kids that don't nurse to sleep???







My 6 mo old does (even to nap 80% of the time & DS1 did til 18 mo)


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## treemom2 (Oct 1, 2003)

Yep, totally normal especially at 8 months!!! DD nursed to sleep (even naps) until she weaned at almost 18 months. DS still nurses to sleep at 31 months and I see no end in the future. I totally agree that sometimes it seems like they take forever to fall asleep and you really want to get out of the bedroom and be with your DH--I've been there so many times!! Often DH and I will make plans for our alone time and I will have to lay with the kids (even though DD doesn't nurse to sleep I still have to lay with her--my hair is her comfort item) for so long that I will get tired and have to cancel our plans to sleep.

About the babe waking up a few minutes after you get out of bed, my DS used to do that as well!! I will tell you that he stopped waking up at around 12 months when I would leave the bed--until it was time for him to nurse again (he nursed every 1.5-2 hours until he was two and even now he nurses maybe one or two times a night).


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## Midwitch (Feb 17, 2007)

DD is 10 mos and yes, I still nurse her to sleep


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## rrible (Feb 1, 2007)

I'm glad I'm able to nurse my almost 8 month old DS to sleep. Especially when he's exhausted, we can go from awake but clearly tired to asleep in about 5 minutes. I've found that snuggling with him for a few minutes after he falls asleep gets him a little deeper into his sleep cycle and will allow me to put him down more easily in the co-sleeper as well. This is great as long as I don't fall asleep holding him







As a working mom, I count on that 1 - 2 hours after DS goes to bed to get anything done.


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## 2mama (Feb 3, 2006)

ds still nurses down and he was 2 in Jan. dd is almost 3 months and nurses upon waking and never falls alseep nursing. Every kid is different. If dc wants to nurse down let him/her despite "popular belief" they will not be harmed by this! They will just know you love them enough to help them get to sleep no matter how they need your help!


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## waylonsmama (Apr 1, 2007)

Ds is 10 months and he nurses to sleep. The babies that are not nursed to sleep are soothed other ways...or CIO.


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## Kira's mom (Nov 30, 2004)

DD nursed to sleep until she was 3 or so. I thought she'd never sleep without it! Around 3 1/2 she started nursing a little and then rolling over to sleep. Now that she's recently stopped nursing we still lie with her and tell stories for a while before leaving her (in our bed) to go to sleep.


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## gabysmom617 (Nov 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mother2ty* 
My son is 8 months and I am still nursing him down to sleep at night and for naps during the day...any other mamma's still doing (have done) this? I feel like the more mothers I talk to, the more I am seeing babies by this age are putting themselves to sleep. I just will never have it in me to let him CIO, but this takes out such huge chunks of time - especially at night (the only alone time I have with my husband). After he is through nursing (one never knows how long that can be!), I still have to lay in bed with him for a while until he is really out. Then, he is awake 20 minutes later becasue I am not in bed with him! Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance









My monkey still nurses down to sleep at 23 months.







My sister's child is 2 weeks older than mine, and the only reason why he was putting himself to sleep at that age (the age of your little one, 8 months) was because she would put him alone in a dark room and he would cry it out.







:

There were times here and there where his incessant nursing sips to sleep was really annoying, especially at night when I wanted some time with my husband. But it never lasted all that long because he usually nursed a long time like that while sleeping because he was either teething a molar, hitting a growth spurt, or coming up on a milestone. What i had to do then, was try to wind him down a little bit earlier, turn all the lights off, and let him start off winding down early, so I could ease him to bed and still have enough time left over to spend with hubby before bed.

He's starting to nurse a little less now, and I enjoy him nursing to sleep at night and for naps. It's SOOOOOOOOOOO relaxing to me. He takes his little truck and drives it across my shoulders while he's nursing, or either he picks at my eyebrow, both of which seems to sooth me to sleep with him. It's a nice relaxing break for both of us. I hope he nurses at least until he is three.

I say relax and enjoy it.


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

8 month old babies do not put themselves to sleep, without some sort of aggressive 'sleep training,' as a rule.

I am still nursing down my 3.5 year old. I'm sure there is a middle ground there somewhere.







But I don't think it's a fair expectation for such a young babe to go to sleep without help.


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## bornbythesea (Oct 24, 2006)

Still nursing to sleep at 16 months.

Sometimes when he's really riled up he will fall asleep better in the ergo, cuz it holds him still, but usually it's the girls that tuck him in at night.


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## oldermom (Jan 6, 2007)

Gotta question about nursing to sleep - maybe this should be a different thread, but anyway...

I'm nursing my 10 m.o. son (and nurse him to sleep), but I didn't breastfeed my older daughter. I remember that her pediatrician wanted me to wean her from the bottle at 1 year old because of tooth decay issues, among other things. I want to continue nursing my ds to sleep, but what about tooth decay? I'm concerned that his pediatrician will discourage my continuing nursing past a year for that reason. I don't have to follow her advice, of course, but wouldn't it cause tooth decay, not to brush after nursing, which would wake him right up and defeat the purpose?

BTW, I do brush his 4 teeth about once a day.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oldermom* 
Gotta question about nursing to sleep - maybe this should be a different thread, but anyway...

I'm nursing my 10 m.o. son (and nurse him to sleep), but I didn't breastfeed my older daughter. I remember that her pediatrician wanted me to wean her from the bottle at 1 year old because of tooth decay issues, among other things. I want to continue nursing my ds to sleep, but what about tooth decay? I'm concerned that his pediatrician will discourage my continuing nursing past a year for that reason. I don't have to follow her advice, of course, but wouldn't it cause tooth decay, not to brush after nursing, which would wake him right up and defeat the purpose?

BTW, I do brush his 4 teeth about once a day.

Research shows that breastmilk alone doesn't cause decay. Just make sure to brush well before bed to get any other food off the teeth.

-Angela


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## Novella (Nov 8, 2006)

Nursed all of our three older kids to sleep pretty much every night until they were weaned. I weaned each at around 1yr, which I know is on the shy-side for lots of mamas here. But it was a combination of going back to work and wanting to get pg again (I fairly surely do no ovulate the entire time I'm nursing. Yay in some respects!)

I will likely nurse longer this time as am not planning on having more children.

Re: the second question posted: tooth decay and breastmilk. We also gave our kids night sippie cups of milk after they were weaned. Yes, I know it's a big no-no. My husband's family has a history of poor/weak baby teeth and our oldest did have excess wearing down/decay of the front upper teeth. Not sure if the night milk caused it or contributed or not. Other two kids seem to have had no ill effects from it, and certainly lots of comfort and benefit.


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## Fiddlemom (Oct 22, 2003)

8 months was challenging on the sleep front, esp with the second one. it took a lot of concerted efforts to help him fall asleep with his dad sometimes--no flames, please! This was a needed thing for us--he also seemed to have a built-in nursie sensor that would wake him up a lot, and we did our own, non-CIO, flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants sleep "training" program to help short-circuit that a little bit. I was totally losing my mind from all the waking up. (again, please, no







: !)

Other than that he (now 4+) has gradually outgrown over the last 2 years the need to nurse to sleep. he will still nurse to sleep sometimes, but more often it's that he wants to nurse sometime before sleep, and drifts off on his own. Dad's been able to get him to sleep since 18 months, with relative ease. we still co-sleep (me in between the 4 & 6 yo's) off and on as I often fall asleep before the 4 yo.

IMO, you are way, way within the bounds of "average" or "normal", no matter what other moms around you are saying!


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## gabysmom617 (Nov 26, 2005)

Breastmilk itself doesn't cause tooth decay, foods do. So I brush his teeth before he nurses to sleep. Breastmilk actually helps teeth not to decay, but you still have to brush.

Breastmilk doesn't usually pool into babies mouth the way sucking on a bottle does, anyway.

Tooth decay is usually a hereditary thing, as well as other factors. But our ancestors have been nursing for thousands of years, and they pretty much for the most part, had/kept their teeth.


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## junio19 (Mar 30, 2007)

My dd is only 6 months, but I also still nursing down to sleep. I try not to pay attention what others say.

Angela







:














:














:


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## mama2walden&luna (Jun 29, 2005)

My dd nursed to sleep every night until 2 years old, which I always enjoyed. Once I became pregnant, I had to night wean her because I wasn't getting any sleep. She still nurses during the day, and sometimes at bedtime, but I can tell her to say "goodnight to nummies" and she rolls over and falls asleep on her own. I definitely recommend reading The No Cry Sleep Solution. It is an incredible book and really does help.


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mother2ty* 
My son is 8 months and I am still nursing him down to sleep at night and for naps during the day...any other mamma's still doing (have done) this?

Yes I do. Ignore the opinion of those who do differently and do what suits you both.


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