Still breast feeding my nearly 2yr old to sleep

[Cinnabunbun]

My youngest is nearly 2 and I’ve never broken the habit of breastfeeding him to sleep. It works like a dream and he is still sleeping in our double bed with us. I’m really not interested in any controlled crying type solutions to this but I’d also really like my marital bed back and some evenings off bedtime duty. Any advice from people who co-slept or bf toddlers? Does self weaning ever really happpen? Have I missed the window of being able to change this without major tears?

Have I missed the window of being able to change this without major tears?. I don’t think you have no. Have you seen Dr Jay Gordon’s night Weaning technique?

I just decided on a night I'd stop, told DS2 that instead of "oby", we'd sit on DD's bed and I'd read him a story. I was a bit upset that he just said "OK", and didn't seem to ever miss that part of his routine! 😭

I did this with both of mine
The approach i took was to start with daytime feeds and say
' first we have boobie, then we cuddle the boobie'
Which got them used to the idea of coming off by themselves.
It gradually progresed to naptimes and then bedtime.
No problems at all with number two and they stopped by themselves within a few weeks once they realised they didn't need the breast to sleep.
Good luck

Don't worry about it. Like you say, it works and it won't be forever. Maybe move on to holding his hand.

I think it can be easier when they are old enough to understand actually. We don't do milk from 7pm to 7am and we use the gro clock to back this up. So at precisely 7am I usually hear 'mummy! Take you boobie out, it milky morning!'

In my experience it happens naturally between 2 and 3. Closer to 3 to be honest with you. But can be encouraged. Look at Dr Jay Gordon if you’re keen.
My fourth and final child self
Weaned around 2 yrs 7/8 months and asked for his own room by 3. We missed him more than he did us!

Enjoy it while you can 💕

DS was 19 mths when he decided he wasn’t interested in BF anymore, thought the same would happen with DD but I sadly had to take the lead when she was nearly 3, I just said the fairies had taken my milk away and from now on she would just get a story and a cuddle, she accepted this, despite BF to sleep from a new born she has always been really good at going to bed and sleeping all the way through but she was also a thumb sucker so took comfort from that which has been a harder habit to break, but age 9 I think we’ve cracked it!

I’m in the same boat! No idea how to stop, but I’m hoping it will happen naturally by the time she’s 3, and I’m not worrying about it too much.

Same here.

No signs at all of wanting to give up...

I decided I wanted to stop when ds was 2. I started to need my personal space. I night weaned first for a couple of months. I explained and swapped bf for cuddling to sleep. There were some tears but not more than 45 mins in total and the longest stretch was 20 mins long.

I was still breastfeeding DS2 to sleep when he was 2 and really wanted to stop.

One week DH and I had two consecutive nights when we had to go out. Each set of grandparents did a night of babysitting and he settled down fine with them so I just never went back to it and he wasn't distressed. It sort of broke the habit.

Thanks for the advice. It’s funny but thinking through the practicalities about how to stop breastfeeding have made me feel more inclined to keep going. Not because they sound upsetting for him but because ugh they just grow up so fast and he’ll be running off doing his own thing soon enough. It’s strange knowing that breast feeding days will be over