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Parenting

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How to night wean?

5 replies

LostSleep · 09/03/2023 13:46

That's it really. Any tips on how to night wean a ebf 9 month old. Or at least cut down from every two hours to 1 or 2 feeds a night.

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Seasonofthewitch83 · 09/03/2023 14:39

I think from 1 year is often the advice as they may still need the milk overnight?

DragonbornMum · 09/03/2023 14:47

When baby wakes, don't pick them up. Go and sit by the cot and put your hand on their tummy/back. Pat slowly and rhythmically. I did it in time with Ewan the sheep, and you can shhhh soothingly as well if you want

Give this a good 5 min to see if it works

If no success, pick them up. Hold them in sleeping position, bobbing gently up and down. Again, i did it in time with Ewan

Give it another good 5 min

If still no success, feed

Using the above, mine at 8 mo went from waking minimum 6 times a night to a couple of wakeups over a week or two. It wasn't long before he was sleeping through again

Good luck

ZuliKyanLarsFoz · 09/03/2023 15:14

Over the course of a couple of weeks I gradually cut down the length of feeds and then I started offering a sip of water, then moved to just a cuddle. Took about 2 weeks in total and then he just stopped waking up so much

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MintGreenLife · 09/03/2023 15:22

Mine is a bit older (20 months) and I've recently successfully night weaned him. Much to my amazement, he would resettle with hair stroking or patting. I am however sleeping on a mattress on the floor in his room so I can get to him as soon as he wakes up, as any later and he gets too worked up.

Personally I would advise agaisnt getting into a situation where you're rocking to sleep. Mine would wake every 45-60mins for feeds from 4months, and so we started rocking him to sleep sometimes so that my DH could get up a few times. Fast forward to 16 months and I was still rocking a 2stone toddler for 30+ mins at a time, as he stopped BF back to sleep in the night, despite me still trying to get him back to sleep this way on every wake up. Got to be a bit of a nightmare tbh and my back and arms killed!

lorisparkle · 09/03/2023 15:28

I gradually increased the time between feeds by 15 minutes every 3 days. So initially he was a horrendous sleeper and waking every 1 and a half hours. So I would only feed him after 1hr45. Then 2hrs. Then 2hrs15mins etc. in addition I gradually reduced the support I gave him to go to sleep every 3 days. From holding and rocking (facing away) to just holding, to holding hands etc. it took a while but was effective.

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