cosleeping and night time breastfeeds for 1yo?

[TwinklingWonderland]

My 1yo dd settles in her cot at 7pm, then usually sleeps until 10pm when she wakes and cries for bf. Due to exhaustion, when she was 10mo I started bringing her into my bed and cosleeping, she feeds at around 10,2 and 5am and wakes at 7am.

The cosleeping works as dd is happy, I get a good nights sleep and don't have to get up at all. However, the hv has told me she won't grow out of bf at night unless I make her, she's also against cosleeping and reckons dd won't grow out of that either...

Ideally I'd like dd to sleep longer in the cot as I'd like to be able to go out in the evening occasionally. Has anyone any experience of bf and cosleeping beyond 1yo? Do toddlers self wean off night feeds? Will it be easier for me to go out in the evening when dd is 1.5/2 and separation anxiety has hopefully gone?

Hi, I can feel your pain with this as am currently spending part of the night co-sleeping with my 15 month old, so I don't have advice there...but my boob monster DD self weaned her night feeds, which I was amazed about! She just started sleeping past the 10pm feed, then the 2am feed until the only one remaining was the one before bed and I knocked it on the head without any bother at 13 months as she wasn't really interested! She would still wake at night, but I wouldn't instantly offer the boob so I could see if she was waking for a feed or just because she's incapable of sleeping through, IYSWIM? I would say that if you're happy co-sleeping and doing night feeds, then ignore your HV, but if you want to change something, go for it.

Hi Conkers, that's great news! Thanks, I hope that dd may stop night feeding in the next few months. The night cuddles are lovely, but I'd rather be more interchangeable with dh, which kind of means less night feeds...

Thanks again!

Your HV sounds bonkers. Of course babies/children eventually self-wean and sleep in their own bed. How many co-sleeping BF teenagers has s/he come across, I wonder.

I co-sleep with my 14 month old and BF him though out the night. It works for us and that is the important thing. It sounds like your sleep arrangement works for you and your DD as well. My advice would be to ignore the HV.

Here is a link to an article about nighttime parenting and night weaning.

Good luck.

www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/8-infant-sleep-facts-every-parent-should-know

www.kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/weaning-night/