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Sleeping and weaning mixup - is this normal??

1 reply

Octaviapink · 11/03/2010 16:21

10mo DD wasn't sleeping through the night until a couple of weeks ago - she'd wake up maybe twice or three times and would have a two minute BF then go back to sleep. All well and good - I wasn't too fussed about it and we all got lots of sleep. For her daytime naps, I could put her down awake a few minutes after a feed and she'd put herself to sleep.

So a couple of weeks ago I thought a good first step in weaning would be stopping overnight feeds. So we did a sort of high-cuddle version of controlled crying, and after a few nights she slept like a good'un the whole night through. And has continued to do so pretty much ever since.

HOWEVER - she seems to have completely lost the ability to put herself down during the day. For her two naps she's now demanding to be fed to sleep, which she hadn't had for months. Literally it was like someone flipped a switch - as soon as the overnight feeds stopped, the daytime naps went to pot. The oddest thing is that when it's bedtime proper she will still put herself to sleep. Have tried replicating bedtime routine during the day - no good!

Has this happened to anyone else, and does it get better?? I need to wean her because I'm going back to work in 8 weeks - am trying not to stress about it. Every couple of days we have a go at going down without a feed, but she pitches a huge fit every time. My husband's had no success either, so it's not just that she can smell milk on me. Do I need to do CC during the day? She gets so distressed it's horrible to contemplate having to sit it out.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Mouseface · 11/03/2010 17:17

Been there, done that. Have you tried the Ferber method with the crying - leave her for 5, 10, 15 minutes before going in briefly (2-3 mins max without picking her up/feeding/rocking/getting excited etc) to see if she gives in? The more you let her fall alseep all cosy and snuggled in your arms and feeding, the more she'll want to do it. Fair enough, who doesn't like being warm with a full tummy, all snuggled up!!

I had to do this with DD and after day 6 of lots of hard work and me crying because she was crying, she stopped. I did warn the neighbours because for one so small, she had a fab set of lungs on her! You don't have to leave it for those legnths of time, do it to suit you and just increase the time between you going in. I know it's hard to hear your little one cry but you need to break this habbit if you want to go back to work.

Whatever you decide to do, stay strong and stick to your guns. It's hard but you'll get there!

Good luck x

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