Over time, every mother is faced with a serious question: how to put the baby to bed without breastfeeding? Some women are in no rush to make a decision, as a result of which the problem is only exacerbated. The older the baby becomes, the more difficult it will be for him to get used to new conditions. In other cases, mothers, on the contrary, immediately stop breastfeeding and replace it with artificial. However, the best option is the golden mean, which is not to indulge the whims of the newborn and at the same time not to deprive him of breast milk until he reaches 1.5 years.
Laying the baby
For the successful completion of the event, the most important thing is to create the right psychological attitude. The approach to solving the problem must be thorough. After all, the process of weaning from the breast, although partial, is stress not only for the baby, but also for his mother, especially if the little one is not yet a year old.
Why can't sleep
The mother's breast for the baby is not only a source of natural nutrition, but also a means of calming. During lactation, the baby does not experience anxiety and anxiety, which sooner or later overtake even a very small child in the form of stress. Feeling motherly warmth, feeling protected, the baby completely relaxes and falls asleep easier and faster.
Causes of falling asleep with breast
Isolated cases of falling asleep during hepatitis B can become a habit, and the baby will no longer be able to go to bed on his own. Since close contact with the mother is one of the ways to eliminate stress for a newborn, the following factors can affect the formation of an unwanted reflex:
- Violation of the schedule of sleep and feeding. In the first months of life, strict adherence to the regime of day and night is essential. If the baby falls asleep at different times each time, biorhythms will fail in his body.
- The appearance of new people in the house (friends, relatives, other guests). Such situations are stressful for the child. To calm down, the baby resorts to breastfeeding.
- Great fatigue. You can understand that the baby is tired by his behavior: the child is agitated, naughty, crying, looking for his mother's breast.
- Painful processes characteristic of the first months of a baby's life. These include frequent intestinal colic, eruption of milk teeth.
- Exposure to external stimuli. It may be too bright light, loud sounds, noise of working devices.
- Lack of parental attention, maternal affection.
The need to breastfeed before bed is due to the need to relieve stress
Why you need to stack without breasts
Sooner or later, the baby will have to be weaned. Abrupt cessation of lactation can be very stressful for the baby. Therefore, it is better to start with laying the newborn without HV. The sooner this is done, the better, otherwise it will be more difficult for the child to wean himself from the ritual that has developed over many months.
Benefits of falling asleep on your own
The baby's ability to fall asleep without breast will be the first step in the process of gradual weaning of the infant from GV. Thanks to this, the newborn will be more relaxed about the complete cessation of breastfeeding. In addition, this opportunity is relevant for those cases when the mother decided to entrust the laying of the crumbs to her husband or other family members. This is a great way out for women who are too tired from breastfeeding or who often have to leave home.
On a note. Falling asleep on their own is the key to healthy sleep for all family members.
How to teach a child to fall asleep on their own
Breasts can be given to a baby 30 minutes before bedtime during the day and evening. Night feedings should be discarded, trying to postpone this process until the morning. So that the baby does not lack love and attention, the baby needs to hug, kiss, say affectionate words more often. In this case, cases of sedation through the chest should be completely excluded.
Alternative ways to calm down
There are several effective ways to wean a young child from falling asleep without breastfeeding. Each of them represents a specific activity that is included in the daily ritual of going to bed:
- Listening to music. Many children love to fit into music. A common form of "sound therapy" is listening to white noise. It can be the sound of an airplane flying, dripping water, a vacuum cleaner, etc. Also among the recommended "music" - the sounds of nature (birdsong, rustling trees, the sound of the sea). You can choose a special relaxation melody before bed. On rare occasions, the child falls asleep well with cheerful and rhythmic music. If the mother decided to opt for a melody, then it is desirable that words are absent in it (otherwise they will interfere with the baby's sleep). While listening, you can resort to motion sickness, stroke the baby's back, arms, legs, thus setting him up for sleep.
Recommendation. It is desirable that the melody be the same every time. Then the child will form a clear association that it is this music that precedes early falling asleep.
- Reading of books. Care should be taken to ensure that the baby does not fall asleep while feeding. As soon as signs of drowsiness appear, the baby should be placed in the crib. If the baby is capricious, you can leave it next to you, but block access to the chest. Next, mom starts reading the book in a calm, soothing voice. The process is recommended to be accompanied by gentle stroking of the child on the head, back, arms. In no case should you combine reading and lactation. Over time, the baby will develop the habit of falling asleep while reading without GW.
- Laying the baby down by another family member. If the baby has a strong bond with a close relative, then it is recommended that this person be entrusted with the laying procedure. Dad, grandmother, grandfather can teach a child to a new ritual of falling asleep. Since these people are physically unable to exercise GW, the infant will not have any temptation.
On a note. If the mother is not ready to refuse the child GV, you can use the Timer method. This method consists in gradually reducing the lactation time before bedtime. Using the timer, the baby is taught to eat for a certain time, and then put to bed.
Reading is one of the best alternatives to GW for falling asleep
Little tricks
To successfully wean your baby from HB during sleep, you can use the following recommendations:
- Create a calm atmosphere in the room;
- Feed the child, sing him a lullaby;
- If the baby fell asleep before food, then you should not wake him up for feeding.
- In order for evening laying without breast to take place with less stress, in the daytime you should pay as much attention to the baby as possible;
- You only need to feed a baby if he is really hungry. Lactation should not be used as a sedative before bed;
- Sometimes it is necessary to refuse feeding before bedtime.
If the above methods on how to put a newborn baby to sleep without a breast did not have the desired effect, then you can use more radical methods:
- Paint scary patterns just before breastfeeding to make the baby afraid of the breast. This option is more suitable for complete weaning from HS.
- Treat the nipples with mustard, salt or pepper.
- The mother must leave the house for a few days, leaving the child in the care of other family members.
Important! Pediatricians do not recommend resorting to harsh measures, as they can negatively affect the child's behavior, worsen his sleep, frighten, ruin his mood.
When to wean
It is recommended to start the process no earlier than the child turns one and a half years old. At a young age, the baby needs HB as a way to establish close contact with the mother. The psyche of a very young child is not yet ready to switch to a new ritual of falling asleep.
Weaning stages day by day
The first step towards weaning during sleep is setting a goal. It consists in teaching the baby to fall asleep without breast, regardless of the time of day. Next, you need to choose alternative ways of laying, of which the bedtime ritual will consist in the future. It is important to prepare your baby for change. This means that the mother, refusing the baby's breast to fall asleep, does not stop GW before bedtime. After feeding, the baby can remain in his arms for some time, then he is taken to the crib and soothed with a gentle voice, music, a dummy is given, some prefer to put toys in the crib.
A calm melody will help the child fall asleep faster
The established ritual should be adhered to every day. Gradually, the child will get used to the new rules for falling asleep. During the first 2–3 weeks, the baby may occasionally remember her mother’s breast and demand feeding. A woman in such moments needs to be persistent and continue to distract the child with alternative ways of laying down.
Major mistakes
In order for the baby to wean off the breast without unnecessary stress, the mother needs to refrain from the following actions:
- Showing indifference to children's whims, crying;
- Leaving the nursery after laying down. You need to stay with the child for a while to make sure that he sleeps peacefully;
- Using a bottle of milk to fall asleep (as an alternative to HS).
What to do with night feeds
If the baby has learned to fall asleep on his own, this means that night awakenings with the demand for breast will also stop. The child will be psychologically ready to do without nocturnal lactation or, in extreme cases, will accept a decrease in its duration and volume. Gradually, it will be possible to completely break the association "night awakenings - GW", replacing feeding with massage, lullaby and other methods of laying.
To euthanize without a breast, a mother can use the methods listed above. At the same time, it is very important to avoid common mistakes that inexperienced parents often make. It is also worth paying special attention to the correct choice of the alternative, otherwise one bad habit (falling asleep with the breast) will simply be replaced by another.
In the life of every mother, there comes a moment when it is time to wean the child from hepatitis B, including feeding before bedtime. Knowing how to teach a child to fall asleep without GW, a woman can solve this problem without much difficulty.
