Breastfeeding and cosleeping with a one year old

[Bleats]

Hi I am looking for a bit of advice in terms of ordering and approaches.

My DD has been ebf and coslept from birth. This has been lovely, but I am kind of keen to move us on a bit. She is a year old in a few weeks and I wasn't planning to get her on to cows milk before slowy removing from breast milk and then into her (beautiful barely used) cot in her nursery. Would this seem to be the right approach? What has worked for you? How does the don't offer, don't refuse work in reality?

Thank you in advance

That's kind of the order I did it. I mixed feeds so they can get used to bottle and formula, then in their own beds. My children never had a problem going from breast to bottle, just as well because I was out of milk! Good luck

My DD wasn't ready at 12 months but I started transitioning her at 16 months and gently night weaned then. She didn't go into her cot (she hated that thing!) but went straight into a bed which was great because it meant me and then eventually DH could lie with her to get her to sleep. It took a couple of months to transition from feeding to sleep and cosleeping to DH putting her to bed in her room and sleeping through because we did it very gradually.

Thanks guys. When it is just me (which tends to be the case) i feed to sleep which doesn't help matters. Teasandbiscuits when did she go into her own bed? I am all about the gradual, in reality she will dictate the timeline, just keen to prompt.

Also with the blue milk was that straight into a beaker? for your help

I've just taken the step of ending the night breastfeeds with my 13 month old DS, and while it's early days it's actually going surprisingly well so far. In our case, it had to happen at the same time as ending co-sleeping as he got upset about not getting milk if he was lying next to me.

When he wakes in the night we're giving him water in a sippy cup instead, and he's mostly been settling back to sleep without too much fuss. I'd already switched him to cow's milk during the day as I went back to work a couple of months ago, and my supply has gone down as a result - I think that's helped ease the transition as he wasn't getting as much in the night anyway.

I think you're right to take it gradually - you'll get a sense of whether DD is ready for each step. Good luck!

Bleats I started cosleeping for her nap in her bed at 16 months, then a week or so later started putting her there for bed. So it went something like this:

16 mo - fed to sleep, I'd escape once asleep and then cosleep in her bed once she woke up

17/18mo - fed to sleep then did some night weaning so DH would go in and lie with her if it was between 10 and 5 (kind of based on Dr Jay Gordon's ideas)

18mo - fed to sleep, DH would go in for any wake up. Then she started sleeping through!

From 21mo (when DS was born) - DH puts her to bed and deals with any night wake ups

I was happy to keep BF though. I eventually stopped that completely at 27mo.

So it suited us and now we don't have to do any 'big bed' transitions!

Wow teaandbiscuits impressive. thanks for sharing x