How to Walk Away From a Sleeping Baby Who is Attached to Your Breast

As a mother of a breastfed baby knows, although it is a bad habit to encourage, it is very tempting to allow said baby to fall asleep while nursing and to encourage her to stay asleep for the duration of the nap or night, whatever the case may be. As a mother of a breastfed 8 month old, I have had 8 months of experience NTS (nursing to sleep) and leaving her asleep on the bed to enjoy some baby-free time. Some new mothers are inexperienced at this practice and end up waking the baby up, forcing her to begin nursing again or get the baby up and miss out on some free time. Therefore, I will share with you my technique for keeping baby asleep.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baby
• Lactating breast
• Soft bed
• Warm blanket for baby
• 2 pillows (not required)

1. Make sure she is clothed, including feet, and that there is a blanket over her. If it is warm, you can leave her unclothed or in short sleeves, but make sure she has a warm blanket pulled up to her chin. The objective here is to make her feel warm and cozy.

2. Turn him toward you so that he is on his side and you are belly to belly. It will be easier for him to stay asleep after you leave than if he were lying on his back. If necessary, prop a pillow or something similar behind him to keep him from flopping over onto his back.

3. Stroke her face, head or back while saying “shhh”. Put on some calming music or the television on low. The objective is to have background noise that will continue as you get up and leave the room.

4. After you are sure he is asleep and he is no longer actively sucking, slowly insert one finger into his mouth and pull nipple out. If he wakes up and moves back toward the nipple, he is not in a deep enough state of sleep. Repeat step three. If he starts, pat his back and say “shhh” until he closes his eyes and is still.

5. Wait a moment, then very slowly, move your body away from hers. Place a pillow or something similar where you were lying. Continue patting and “shhh”ing. Do this very slowly or you will have to start all over. Move the bed underneath her as little as possible, she will feel all of your movements.

6. Leave the room very slowly and with soft footsteps. Keep the music or television going and crack the door. This will not work if he is exposed to rowdy dogs, noisy children, or ringing phones.

7. Make sure you stay close enough to be able to hear her when she wakes up and fusses. If you come at the first cry, she will begin trusting you more and won't wake up so easily when you leave her to nap on her own. Greet her with smiles and soft voices even if she is crying – this will help enforce her trust in you and her own self-esteem.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't fret if it doesn't work the first time – just try, try again next time.
• Done correctly, if there are no interruptions to her sleep, I can get 45 minutes to an hour out of my daughter during the day and 2 or 3 hours after bedtime. In younger infants or heavy sleepers you can probably get more than that.
• Good luck! Hope this helps.
• This article may offend if it doesn't sync with your beliefs. That's fine, you don't have to read it. It's here to educate those who want this information.