I've had enough - someone tell me night weaning is ok

[IcouldstillbeJoseph]

DD is 1 in a few days.

Last night was an all time low with her feeding every 90 minutes.

She eats really well in day and has 3-4 good breastfeeds.

She can self-settle and I don't feed to sleep.

I have tried co-sleeping for months on and off but I'm fed up with her standing on my head, crawling over me etc in the night.

She has slept 12 hours 3 times in her life.

What do I do? Go cold turkey? Offer water in a cup (she won't drink in day so I'm not hopeful for overnight at all - I've tried all cups, lids, bottles, juice, milk, ebm)? Someone tell me it will be ok...please
I'm back to work soon and cannot function anymore (have a 3yr old DS). I need to do this.

Bump

Yes, night weaning is okay. If she can self-settle, you sound in a much better position than I was with DS2 (who I night weaned at 16 months because he was just messing about).

No Cry Sleep Solution really worked for us (it took a month, but I was feeding to sleep, and sleep was a general issue). No substitute drinks, just helping them go back to sleep.

DS2 is 4 now and sleeps really well - although still doesn't like going to sleep by himself (hurrah for bunk beds!).

I need some sort of iron bra that I can lock and swallow the key

We nightweaned at 14 months. We did the dr jay Gordon method. It's quite gentle and my dd responded well. However she still doesn't sleep through. She's 16 months now. It's worth it though, as she sleeps much better and when she wakes she can be settled quickly (couple of minutes) by dh or me. Whereas before I would have to feed her endlessly.

drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

This link explains what the method is.

Good luck!!

Just to add. Dh basically did the hard work the first few nights without milk. But after 14 months doing it all myself it was his turn!

Yes I'm planning on roping DH in! In a large way. I just can't bear the crying and end up giving in.
I've tried 4 times before - finding this harder than giving up smoking years ago

We night weaned just after 6 months when DS was on 3 meals a day. He was at that point having 2 feeds during the night. First night when he woke, DH went in with a bottle of water and once he had a drink we left him. Then I fed him the second time he woke. Following night we did the same and the 3rd night he only woke at the second time where DH gave him water and that was that. I hope next DC will be as easy! Good luck. A full night asleep is amazing although as currently pregnant I have forgotten what that is like!

yes night weaning is ok.
the way we did it (with the help of a sleep specialist) was to reduce feeds gradually. we made a diary of night wakings and what we did about them (i.e. when i fed and for how long). any night feeds that were under 8 mins did not need to be weaned gradually, we just cut those out. any night feeds over 8 mins we gradually reduced for example if there was a regular 20 min feed at midnight then we reduced this feed by 2 mins per night until we were down to 8 mins, then we ditched it. if you just stop a big feed then your baby won't be able to sleep because she'll be too hungry. no need to give water or anything else. what we did was to cuddle and rock to soothe instead of feeding, but it sounds like you might not need to do that. if you find she has trouble settling after a feed that you have cut short, you could try getting dad to cuddle for a bit, we found that helped.
hope that makes sense.
good luck.

Night weaning is Fine!

I weaned DS at 11 months as he just wouldn't drop the feeds himself and hourly wakings for 11 months was enough for me!

Personally I felt a million times better for it and on balance was a much better parent after getting a decent amount of sleep so I felt that was of more benefit to him then the milk would be.

Charlie - did you go cold turkey?

Icing - all feeds are short. I have a huge milk supply and she hasn't really ever fed for more than about 10mins

We night weaned at 13m and should have done it sooner. DH did all the wakes and after a few days all was well. She now sleeps really well, better than average if say.

5m old DS seems to need a push in that direction as is waking / feeding 2hrly since the dreaded 4m sleep regression. Going to try to get him down to 2 feeds or less again once we're over these colds...

I could have written your post OP. I was going to start tonight but it has been awful so far so chickened out.

Icould - DS was a ten minute feeder too.

I did go cold turkey. I'm a lone parent so I didn't have someone else to take him so I just had to be brutal.

I put DS in his own room that night and that helped alot. He slept better without me disturbing him and I didn't jump up and get him at the smallest grumble. I'd been getting him and feeding him on autopilot when I wasn't even awake most nights so I was a big part of the problem too.

I went and comforted him but I gave him 5 minutes first and 8/10 times he just settled himself.

By that stage he was only having a morning and evening feed anyway and he actually dropped those about a month later by himself.

Yes it's ok. DH did it at 12 months with cows milk in a tippee cup, after 3 nights she stopped waking for it, although every now and again it was useful to settle her in the night. I also ended up dropping the morning feed after she just wanted it earlier and earlier until it became a night feed over again.

Do it! Sleep is good

Well, I did it.

DD has glue ear (like DS, sigh) and I think her ears must wake her a fair bit. When she woke I gave some water from a cup, some Nurofen, a rather long cuddle and then she slept later than normal - with no milk!

So, that's that. No more milk feeds overnight. I do not, by any means think I've 'cracked it' though. Tonight will be the acid test

Good luck and well done!

Tonight is not going to go well, barely fed before bed
Sigh

did a combination of Dr Jay Gordon and this www.mumsnet.com/Talk/sleep/a1394888-What-worked-for-us-Hope-this-helps when DS was about 13mo. He sounds like your DD, and I'd had enough. We didn't co sleep as a rule but in the lead up to nightweaning he was coming into our bed and sleeping on my head and driving us all crazy.

It was a LOT easier than I expected and had I known I'd have done it months earlier. I won't lie - DS still wakes up once every so often, and still needs some help falling asleep at bedtime - he falls asleep by himself but one of us is still in the room with him - but mostly he sleeps through now, often doing 10/11 hrs without a peep.

DrMcDreamysWife makes a good point about sending DP in - my DP goes in now if he wakes, as DS still lives in hope that I'll bfeed him (I still do at bedtime only) so it takes longer for me to resettle. DP often moans about this but I did it for 14mo 3/4 times a night so i HAVE NO SYMPATHY!!

nightweaning changed our lives. DO IT!!!!

Well done! I hope tonight isn't as bad as you fear.