How to put a newborn to sleep without breastfeeding?
When a mother wants to stop breastfeeding for various reasons, she may face difficult moments in putting her newborn to sleep without the breast . This is due to the so-called sleep association.
In this article I will explain what it is and how it is possible to dissociate the breast during sleep.
1. Why does the newborn need the breast to fall asleep?
Do you ever need to read a book or listen to music to help you fall asleep more peacefully?
Here, these can be considered sleep associations that allow you to calm down and relax so you can fall asleep easily.
The newborn , by nature, associates falling asleep with movement and/or sucking . In fact, during childhood, the child is not always able to go back to sleep on his own in the event of night awakenings and helps himself with these associations.
Is it wrong to associate breastfeeding with sleep?
No sleep association is wrong or a bad habit because they represent a physiological need of the newborn.
In fact, awakenings are not greater if the baby falls asleep only with the breast:
- If he wakes up because he is hungry, the solution is to breastfeed him to get him to sleep again;
- If he wakes up not because he is hungry, the breast is not the cause, but it can help the little one to go back to sleep more easily and quickly.
So, if the mother and the child are happy to continue like this, there is nothing wrong with it, but rather it is something wonderful.
2. Sleep associations: what are they?
As we have seen, by nature the newborn's sleep associations are sucking and movement. This is why breastfeeding or rocking him helps him fall asleep .
In addition to these natural ones, there are also those constructed by the parent such as caresses on the hair, the lullaby song or the favorite stuffed toy.
It is important to say that associations are very powerful and work at an unconscious level ; therefore, it is precisely for this reason that it is difficult to put a newborn to sleep without the breast.
3. When to try to dissociate the breast?
But when should you try to wean your baby off the breast to put him to sleep?
It would be important to avoid it until one year of age as the newborn still feeds a lot and receives important nutrients from the breast during the night.
However, it is possible that the mother is going through a tiring period and needs to dissociate the breast . In this case it is important to hear the opinion of your pediatrician who will also be able to tell you how to properly replace night feedings.
4. How to put a newborn to sleep without the breast?
It is not possible to remove an association without inserting a new one . In fact, trying to put a newborn to sleep without breastfeeding, but without any alternative, risks only making the baby cry desperately, making him wake up completely and working twice as hard to put him back to sleep.
Changing the habit of falling asleep at the breast requires patience and time as the newborn will have to get used to the new association and accept it.
Certainly, an important aid for the first sleep is to have a fixed sleep routine . In fact, in this way the newborn will understand even before arriving in his crib that the time for bed is approaching and falling asleep will be easier. You can find some advice for building your routine in my article “ How to put your baby to sleep ”.
I would also like to reiterate the fact that dissociating the breast does not mean decreasing night awakenings because these are physiological. Therefore, until the baby is able to fall asleep again on his own, he will need his association and/or the presence of the parent.
In the video course “Sweet dreams, peaceful nights” you will find all the advice to be able to dissociate the breast and put the baby to sleep peacefully. In fact, the sleep consultant Marika Novaresio will provide you with scientific answers and practical solutions to improve the sleep of your newborn and, consequently, that of the family.