Leaving a 16 month old who nurses to sleep?!

[kerrie24]

Ive been invited out on saturday,first time ive considered it since lo was born.I would be out from 7pm ish till around midnight.Problem is Owen still nurses to sleep and will have woken once or twice before midnight too (and would usually nurse back to sleep)
As he is older and isnt relying on the milk for food,just comfort,and his dad is willing to try settling him without,do you think its awful if I went?
He will have supper and will drink cows milk too,its just the habit/comfort thing.

 

[moomin_troll]

dont feel bad at all, u should go and enjoy urself and let ur hair down. im sure ur oh will survive and ur lo will be fine

 

[claire-lou]

I agree if he will take cows milk he isn't going to go hungry, he may even suprise you and settle fine when you aren't in the house. Have your first night off in 16 months

 

[kerrie24]

Thanks to the 2 of you that replied.

 

[Bec L]

Hi
I have got a very similar dilemma! I have been out a few times since having Florrie but always have to make sure I have fed her to sleep before I go, so rarely go out before 8pm and don't stay out for more than a couple of hours. OH and I have been invited to a posh dinner dance thing next week, starts at 7pm so I feel like I'll have to turn it down, as LO not always in bed and asleep by then.

She can also wake a few times in the night too so on a few occasions when I have been out I have had to rush home as she's woken up crying and OH has struggled to settle her.

Saying all that, I say go for it, you deserve it!

 

[EverythingXd]

I agree if he will take cows milk he isn't going to go hungry, he may even suprise you and settle fine when you aren't in the house. Have your first night off in 16 months

WSS ^^ Enjoy!

 

[Palestrina]

Ive been invited out on saturday,first time ive considered it since lo was born.I would be out from 7pm ish till around midnight.Problem is Owen still nurses to sleep and will have woken once or twice before midnight too (and would usually nurse back to sleep)
As he is older and isnt relying on the milk for food,just comfort,and his dad is willing to try settling him without,do you think its awful if I went?
He will have supper and will drink cows milk too,its just the habit/comfort thing.

I'm completely pro-BF and fully intend to BF for as long as I can, hopefully until 2yrs. However, we need not martyr ourselves for the sake of BF. We want to be there for our children as much as we possibly can but we have to do things for ourselves as well otherwise what good are we to them? You should start considering a lot more time for yourself and not feel at all guilty about it. He's not a newborn, he will survive without you for a few hours. Children are a lot more resilient than what we give them credit for. Besides, his father will be there, don't you trust that he can settle baby? If not, isn't it time he starts learning to?

One thing that I read in "The Womanly Art of BF" that has stuck with me is that although daddy can't BF he can offer comfort apart from comfort sucking. And that's something important that a baby learns to do, being comforted by something other than boob. It's certainly something that we've learned to incorporate in raising our son, hubby very frequently lends a hand in settling baby and it works. So have fun, don't think about baby for a couple of hours and go connect with your girlfriends. I promise that it is as envigorating to do as a full night's sleep and the next morning when your LO sees your face you'll both be so happy to see eachother

 

[Cat_pj]

I have a little monkey that nurses to sleep too, but I've managed to have two whole nights away from her, and loads of evenings, it's good to get out sometimes!

 

[kerrie24]

Thankyou Palestrina,oh can get him to sleep during the day and does so,its just at bedtime as weve always coslept and bf.Im sure he can cope as a one-off though.

 

[kerrie24]

cat for some reason you dont have a thanks button...so thanks!

 

[Mummy2Asher]

I'd go...he may surprise you! I normally do a few hours on a Sunday morning but last week the ward desparately needed someone in the evening and I was so worried about Tristan but infact he played in bed with OH and went to sleep cuddling him after 20mins! It's improved his sleeping a bit and OH loves some bonding time.
Have a lovely time!