One of the most common “sleep training tropes” you’ll hear is to avoid feeding your baby to sleep. It creates an association where baby wakes up expecting another feed and can be a hard habit to break.

But today, I want to invite you to look at feeding-to-sleep in a different light.

Benefits of feeding to sleep

Sucking isn’t just about nutrition. For babies, it’s a natural way to calm their nervous system. The vagus nerve, one of the body’s main nerves, runs from the brain through the neck, chest, and abdomen. It plays a key role in controlling heart rate, digestion, and relaxation. The vagus nerve has endings in the mouth, and when it’s stimulated through sucking, it helps turn on the parasympathetic nervous system –  the “rest and digest” state.

This is why nursing, bottles, pacifiers, or thumb-sucking can be so soothing. Sucking helps babies settle, relax, and transition into sleep more easily.

Feeding to sleep is individual

If feeding to sleep works for your family, it can be a normal and beautiful part of bedtime. Many babies naturally move away from it as they grow.

The key is whether it supports your baby’s needs and fits your family’s routine. If it’s causing bedtime to become a drawn out struggle because baby wakes when you put them down, or can’t settle back down without lots of feeds overnight, it might be time to make a change – only you can decide that.

If it’s not working any longer

If feeding to sleep is no longer working, there are so many ways to help babies regulate without abruptly removing the comfort. 

• Rhythmic touch or movement – rocking, patting, swaying. 
• Soft ear rolls to stimulate the vagus nerve (watch how here). 
• Responsive approaches that support settling without feeds, or with fewer feeds

Sucking is a natural way for babies to calm their nervous system. Feeding to sleep can be a helpful and supportive practice. If it works for you and your baby, it’s okay to continue. And when changes are needed, they can be made gently and responsively, with your baby’s need for love and support at the forefront.

What about night feeds?

Often, pediatricians suggest dropping night feeds around six months. While some babies may be physically able to go without a feed, that doesn’t necessarily mean their nervous system is ready.

Many babies still need one or more feedings over night – and even the ones that aren’t necessarily hungry benefit from the act of sucking overnight to help them calm and return to sleep.

This is also why some babies struggle with sleep after night feeds are weaned, even if the mom is confident that the baby can go overnight without a feed. It’s not always about hunger – sometimes it’s about losing a tool their body has relied on for regulation.

How to make changes

If you want to stop feeding to sleep but Cry It Out feels wrong to you, you’re in the right place! Sign up for my free mini course that explains why Cry It Out often backfires—and how you can support your baby toward better sleep without leave them alone to cry. 

In this mini course, you’ll learn:

• Why Cry It Out doesn’t work for so many families
• What you can do instead to get better sleep 
• How to improve sleep in an intuitive, guilt-free way

Join the free mini course here – you deserve peaceful nights and a strong bond with your baby.