Thinking about stopping BFing 12mo - how will I get her to sleep without bedtime feed?!

[missbumpy]

I know it sounds stupid but it's the last part of bedtime routine and she tends to get quite agitated and wound up wanting her bedtime feed and then it calms her right down and usually sends her to sleep when she gets it. I'm thinking about stopping BFing in the next few months but I have no idea how I'd get her to sleep if I wasn't BFing her.

What would I do instead? Offer her a cup of cow's milk?! Help!

[missbumpy]

bump

[Febes]

I think cows milk but I'll be interested in the replies as my DD is 11 months so haven't experienced this yet.

[missbumpy]

It's not so much what kind of milk (already starting to switch from formula to cows milk for daytime feeds), it's more about the comfort factor of BFing to sleep....can't imagine how it will work if I just offer her a cup!!

[RamblingRosa]

Seriously....can't anyone help?! How can I get my baby to sleep if/when I drop bedtime feed?

[sausagemcgrah]

Hi there,
My DD is a little older (15 months) and we hav just dropped her bedtime feed. I was exactly the same as you, and thought DD would never, ever sleep again if not breast fed last thing. It was a huge part of her bedtime routine, and is all her 15 months she has never been put to bed at night by anyone else, or without breast milk. DD also used it as a wind down period and would go into the cot either asleep or definitely dozy.

Anyway - a week ago I decided to stop the feed at night, for numerous reasons. DD doesn't even seem to have noticed!! She has gone to sleep like a dream and I have been so suprised by how easy it was. It seems it was my fears more than real worries. She now has a beaker of milk upstairs where we used to do the breast feed, and a story and a few songs. Then I pop her in the cot and she is as content as could be as goes straight off to sleep.

So - I hope this helps. Honestly - my DD sounds just like yours, and has suprised me in every way with how she was actually ready for it. Good luck.

[northernjess]

I always gave a beaker of cows milk warmed when I stopped bf'ing and was always that dd was not that bothered, we always had a cuddle in the nursery as I fed her as normal, good luck!

[Tapster]

Develop a strong routine for sleep - story, singing etc.. We didn't bother with the milk as my DD doesn't seem to like cows milk. Last week my DH put my DD to bed two nights in a row as I had such bad morning sickness, the next night she didn't demand it, I didn't offer and that was that. She is 23 months though. It was the last feed we cut down. Each feed took about two weeks for her to "forget".

[RamblingRosa]

Maybe I'll be brave and give it a go soon. BTW, I'm the OP...just name changed recently.

sausage, my DD sounds exactly the same. I do wonder how much my fears are real or if it's all in my head that she needs my breast milk in order to sleep!

I suppose there's only one way to find out...! She turns one next week and I've got a week off work so that might be a good time to do it. I don't want to do it when I've got to get up for work in the morning in case it leads to a really bad night's sleep.