did you have to wean from sling use

[ixtlan]

I am wondering if anyone whose bubs required heavy sling use for the first few months of their lives needed to be weaned off it.

My four month old is growing out of her colic and i love her closeness, however getting her to sleep, even at night is becoming a problem if it isnt in the sling. We co sleep so as long as im in bed we have an okay time (though i think she is going through a little growth spurt because we have been getting up 4 - 5 times a night increasingly, lately). She is increasinly irritable and her eyes have been so red, she just really fights hard against sleep and is even starting to scream when i just walk into the bedroom, let alone try to put her down! :o) so back in the sling she goes.

I am taking the next couple of days to catch up on sleep and then i am going to work towards creating strong cues to help her relax to sleep (thats my intention anyway), in the mean time just wondering how other people went when bubs strongest association with sleep was the sling.

[Bronnie]

i'd think that fighting sleep at her age is probably pretty common (they might miss out on something! )

it's prob not the sling that puts her to sleep, but more that she's close to you she's too young to have sleep associations, she's only following her instincts

i foudn laying down with them to sleep very helpful. one of mine responded )later on) to me singing. when she was older, if she started to grizzle before falling asleep, i'd sing and she realised that she needed to shush and fall asleep

[strata]

I started putting daughter nahi in a sling on my back when she was four months old, a tricky maneuver but with practice it becomes second nature. So for the daytime sleeps at least it is easy to get on with what I need to do, and the weight on my back, even now she's seven months, and eight kilos, is barely noticeable, unlike wearing her on my front. There are various slings out there that do the trick. I used a simple one from the nursing mothers association, then wrapped a blanket around, african sling style for extra cosy support. and the ergo baby carrier worked well on my back from five to six months. Now nahi is on the verge of crawling she enjoys more and more her own space to explore, but when tired or just funny, she is instantly content on my back, and sleeps longer too.
If it is possible to find out if something is troubling your little one, if her eyes are red, is there an allergy? or perhaps her teeth, or sometimes an osteopathic consult can realign bones misplaced from birth-a frequent reason for baby having difficulty sleeping. She may just simply want to be near you.
Sounds like your knowledgeable on some great techniques to help her sleep too, you'll work each other out before long!!

[Jamie]

I weaned my DD from going to sleep in the sling at about 14months as i was pregnant again. She was already used to going to sleep in the sling and then being put to bed. This wasn't as easy as it sounds! It took time to get her used to this.
I agree with Bronnie, it's closeness that they like. I moved to laying with DD and feeding her to sleep. Then as she got to about 2.5yo I would lay with her and read to her until she fell asleep. Then when she got to about 4 we would read a few books and then i would rub her back until she fell asleep. We still do this and it works well for us.
As you can see, we've taken to having a slow transition over time. We do what we feel works for all of us at the time.

[ixtlan]

Thanks for your comments guys. I must be tired because it has taken me too long to figure this one out. I thought all the same things teething etc because she is such a bright happy baby and enjoys some time on the floor nappy free as long as there are lots of cuddles and conversations, naps were not a problem and we havent had to rely on the sling so much.

The last month i have been battling to keep up my milk supply, after almost loosing it twice and eveytime i get it up, i start to nurse less frequently as it seems she is getting more and that she is happy, but within a couple of days its gone again, but i think its still there. So I am a little ashamed to say, my bub is just hungry. I feel terrible! But at least we know now and hopefully i can get my supply up again and keep it!!

[Jamie]

I'm glad you have figured out what is going on.
Defininitely give the ABA a call if you want someone to chat with about this. What state are you in? Their 24hr Helpline numbers are here:
Australian Breastfeeding Association - Breastfeeding Helpline Service