Speaking to a mum the other day, she described how she's in the 'bad habit' of feeding her little one to sleep...

My response? There is nothing bad about that habit at all. In fact, it is the most natural way of getting a young breastfed infant to sleep. Why? 

The breastmilk your body produces changes throughout the day and night, adapting to what baby needs and also responding to you grown-up, fully developed Circadian Rhythm. You may have heard of Melatonin - the hormone our body produces to trigger sleepiness in the evening and overnight. This is the hormone that makes us sleepy as it gets dark and increases to a peak in the first half of the night. Babies don't produce their own Melatonin supplies until around 12 weeks so, when you breastfeed your baby in the evening and the night, you are sharing your supply of that sleepy trigger with them.

Additionally, breastmilk will provide tryptophan, a precursor to Melatonin on the same kind of cycle, peaking between midnight and 3am. 

What's more, we know that sucking induces sleepiness in babies, that feeding and being held close to a loving caregiver triggers a wave of oxytocin (which also induces sleepiness)...Many parents breastfeeding their baby to sleep will safely bedshare or co-sleep to minimise the disturbance that feeding in the middle of the night might otherwise cause. Instead of getting up, having to go and make a bottle etc., the option is there for you to stay in bed, or at least in the dark in your room, until your little one is finished. 

Breastfeeding is the most natural way our bodies know how to calm and regulate our young so, when you feed to sleep, you are simply doing what nature intended. If it's working for you...keep going.

It only becomes a bad habit when it no longer feels right, or is working, for you and your baby. At that point, you can make changes. Until then, use that superpower!