Ebf baby will only nurse to sleep
FTM looking for some help and/or reassurance. My baby girl is 21 weeks and she is ebf. I am really struggling because she will pretty much ONLY fall asleep if I nurse her to sleep (bedtime and naps) and then I struggle with putting her down. Here’s what our days/nights typically look like:
-wake up around 8-8:30 AM
-first nap is usually 1.5-2 hours later
-3 naps per day which last anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours, not very consistent, mostly contact naps because she almost always wakes up if I try to put her down (or will only last 20-30 mins once put down)
-wake windows are anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, we mostly follow her sleepy cues
-bedtime usually around 8-9, just depending on how the day plays out with her nap lengths
I’m really struggling with putting her to bed at night. Our bedtime routine is bath (every other night), change diaper, lotion/massage, get into PJs, read book(s), sleep sack, nurse to sleep. She falls asleep very quickly! But I cannot for the life of me get her down into the bassinet unless it’s been over an hour! I’ve tried doing drowsy but awake, I’ve tried putting her down just as she falls asleep, after 6-8 minutes (I’ve seen that’s a magic number??), 15 minutes, 30 minutes… Most of the time these are failed attempts and she wakes up and then is sometimes veryyy difficult to put back to sleep. If I wait an hour or so, then I can put her down and she usually stays asleep.
She used to sleep 6.5 hour stretches until about 3 months. Now she will sometimes give us 5.5 hour stretches, but not consistently. Usually it’s 3.5 hour stretches, which is fine. But these middle of the night wake ups are pretty similar… She will only fall back asleep if I nurse her and I end up being awake for over an hour usually before putting her down due to failed attempts or just waiting for the right time.
Is there a world where an ebf fed-to-sleep baby becomes a good sleeper or is easier to put to bed? Or should I really consider sleep training at this point?
I’m sure there’s info I’m leaving out so happy to answer any questions. Thanks in advance for reading!
Posted Jul 26, 2026, 4:32 AM UTC · locked