Is falling asleep on the breast always a bad thing?

[Teddysmummy]

my second son is just 10 days old. I've been trying to do EASY to some degree, as I didn't with my first, and things were chaotic.  I read on the FAQs that it's ok at 10 days if they do short nursings (like 20 mins) and then the 'activity' is changing a diaper. However, after any acitivity with him, he seems to need the breast or motion to get him to go off to sleep. He won't lie there and go off on his own.  He also sometimes just wants to suckle for the sake of it. My first son became so dependent on the breast and motion to go to sleep that it was very very hard to break. Am I setting up a pattern by having him sleep on the breast? Any advice much appreciated...

[jbepko]

At 10 days old...no. At 3 weeks or 4 weeks old....you might be heading that way. By suggestion at 10 days old- feed on demand, get your supply up, sleep when you can...and at 2-3 weeks start moving towards EASY. Of course those first 2 weeks are just a BLUR!

[Samuel's mum]

Yes, those first few weeks are a blur alright!

Many mums post and worry about establishing EASY with young babies if their babies are particularly sleepy at the breast (perhaps suffering from a dose of oxytocin hormone) but your situation isn't quite the same.
Your LO has done the feeding part and is now seeking comfort/help to get off to sleep. With a young baby especially with a toddler around (?) falling asleep at the breast is so comforting/ comfortable/ convenient but as the weeks and months go by things may get a lot harder. e.g those night waking where they can't transition between sleep cycles without a boob in their mouth.

There are benefits now to frequent feeding as it helps to build up your supply as Jeni said. I'm also not sure if I would have been able to distinguish between a hungry sign and a 'please can I have some boob because I'm tired sign' at 10 days.

Leave it a while if that feels more comfortable but perhaps begin a transition fairly soon. Imagine how you might go about breaking this pattern. You could experiment with trying other forms of comforting e.g pat/shush. I would go out on a limb and even say at this point motion is a better choice over nursing to sleep (if he's  not hungry) as breaking the nursing to sleep connection can be particularly hard and can make EASY trickier to establish if they've had a feed just before sleep.

Think about what feels right. Obviously you don't want your baby to be unsettled and it's so natural to comfort him using the breast - women have been doing it for centuries but many people do find EASY has long term benefits. Think about other ways you might comfort him.

[Teddysmummy]

Thanks for the advice both of you. Samuel's mum - Teddy will go to sleep with patting/shushing/motion. But isn't this still a sleep association? Do you think I should be trying to put him down without anything? Because if so, he isn't having it! My 3 year old was dependent on stroller/car for a long long time and I live in fear of this happening...
Or should I just be focussing on not letting him go off on the breast for now?

[Samuel's mum]

Personally I would focus on just not feeding to sleep for the moment. Yes, you could argue pat/shush is another prop but heck it's a lot easier on the back than rocking! and is something you can gradually taper off if you want to. I think at his young age there's great value to him feeling the physical contact and reassurance. Obviously he has yet to realise you are a separate person or understand where you are if he can't feel you there. You could also think about using swaddling as that is a great way for a young baby to feel secure. I wouldn't put him down 'without anything' if he's clearly upset. Pat/shush is the way for you to show him you're there and not let him feel abandoned. Some sleep folks might be able to help you more with this.