I really want to stop BF

[NormaStanleyFletcher]

DD is going to be 2 next month, and I just don't want to do it anymore.

She has a bf right before bed and then comes to join me in bed in the morning.

So how do I get her to go to bed without BF (to clarify, she is put in her cot awake. She will feed for a few minutes and then point at ther cot, so in she goes)

I will have to face the fact that there will be no dozing after the 5.30 wake up call though I guess.

Any thoughts, experience, advice?

Does she ask for the bedtime feed? What would happen if you just had a cuddle and a story, ie have you tried?

she asks

What time do you put her to bed? Could you do it a little later so she won't wake so early? Do you give a dream feed?

A friend of mine had success with the bedtime fairy. Lots of talk for a couple of weeks about how the bedtime fairy comes to big girls who go to bed without a breast feed, and brings a special present for the girl. She kept talking about it every day and explaining about how there is no going back to breast feeding after the bedtime fairy has brought her present. After a couple of weeks her daughter asked for the bedtime fairy to come, she went to sleep without a feed in anticipation of the present that would be at the bottom of the bed in the morning - and it was fine. She was about 2.6 I think.

If your DD is a bit young for that you could try counting down on the feed so it gets shorter every time, eg start counting down from 20 slowly and then speed it up/start at 15, so she knows that when she gets to 54321 the feed is over.

she goes to bed between 7.30 and 8.00 (which is the point she is going into meltdown). No dreamfeed. I don't think she would go any later as she is really tired at that point.

Might try sending DH with a bottle of cows milk. Only problem with that is he is only here 3 nights of the week, and away Monday to Friday evening.

Can someone else put her to bed for a week ? Think that is how I broke the bedtime feed with mine about this age. and for the morning you just have to have something else to offer - ds1 got a carton of soya milk sitting on the bed (so I could stay asleep!) with the other 2 I think I got up and did breakfast. Then once the feed was forgotten worked at getting breakfast at a sensible time!

Could you try moving the feed a bit earlier and move it downstairs to remove the bf/sleep associations. My guess is that once it becomes removed from bedtime routine it will be that much easier to drop.

good ideas

Keep em coming

My friend, with a 17 month girl who absolutely loooves bf, simply started saying "no". This little girl is also an earlybird, so she hoped that denying her the milk would stop her from getting up at 5:30, as the bf would be a prize for getting up. They have just started, so she still asks for the breast, but she actually axept that she won't get any (mind you, this is a very stubborn and strong minded little girl).

I dropped the morning feed (DS was waking earlie and earlier and feeding for ages) and you do have to get up earlier. I'd try droping one feed at a time - IME the morning one was the easiest, but some people prefer the snuggly morning time. I just said milk was for nighttime and stopped feeding at other times. DS was a bit upset but soon forgot about it (he was about 18 mo?)