Breast as dummy and other sleep issues!!!

[caroline971]

Hi all, I am breastfeeding my little man of 4 weeks. i am finding in the last 2 weeks my wee man wants to be on my breast constantly. During the night he seems to snack for 10 mins, fall asleep then wake up and snack a little again !! This can go on for hours !! Also I'm finding it very tough for him to drop off to sleep during the day
Heres an example. Today. This morning he fed at 7am, then a nap, then 9am, then we got up and by 10am he was crying for the breast again! So he fed for another half hour, then fell asleep finally after being overtired im guessing. So i placed him in crib, he woke after 10 minutes crying again, i put him on breast again, he dozed off, back down in bassinet, and after 10 minutes he was back up again!!

I am reading about introducing routines etc but how could i when it is SOOO difficult to get him off to sleep with my help, never mind by himself??
 I'm wondering if its the start of a boob as dummy habit and whether I need to do something about it, or just go with it and let him comfort suck all he wants? I have tried a dummy (silicone) but he's not into it/ gags :-( He gets such comfort from my boob I want to leave him but a few friends have made valid points about how it could leave it very difficult for me to leave him at all if he gets so used to being comforted this way? Thoughts ??

[Fiver]

Depending on the personality of the LO, a bit of comfort sucking needn't be the end of the world.  At 4w, it's good for supply as well.  It sounds like he may have been having a bit of a growth spurt with the frequent/overnight feeding (there are lots close together in the early days - every couple of week for the first few months).  And a dummy is simply a synthetic nipple

You said he's having 10 minutes "snacks" in the night - how long is he feeding for during the day?

Also, you say he 'gags' on the dummy - have you tried a few different shapes?  Or what about offering a finger to suck instead?

Apart from the frequency of feeds, is there anything else bothering you with BF?  Any pain?  Any clicking/dribbling from LO when he feeds?