So, DS is nearly 9 months. Always been a dire sleeper and woken up multiple times in the night. Average of every 1.5 to 2 hours and always bf or bottle of milk to sleep.
Otherwise a healthy contented baby - 3 hearty meals a day plus milk and pretty much self settles when put in cot at night.
I know that I had created a suck to sleep habit at night and that I was going to have to gently train him off it. I would always jump up and give him a boob/bottle too quickly. I started giving him smaller amounts of milk at each night feed and also offered water. He just kept waking though as wanted to suck and would immediately go back to sleep after each night feed.
My main step was to really mentally commit to the night weaning. I found I kept making excuses. So (as my mother would say) I girded my loins and said - "right, it is time".
Once that decision was made, it wasn´t too hard. I am not into cc or cio or any of those techniques. When he woke the 1st night at 1am, I set up camp on the arm chair in his nursery and just shooshed and patted and picked him up a couple times on and on, kept patting and putting in the dummy, rubbing his back etc
He didn´t cry really, just moaned and grumbled on and off for a couple of hours. Woke up once again at around 5.30am I gave him a bf and he went back down until 8am.
The next night stayed asleep until 3am and again I repeated all the steps but this time for around 30 minutes. woke up for bf at 6am.
Now just wakes up at 5.30/6am for quick bf (he goes to bed at 7.15pm and I will drop this soon too or just push it to 7am.)
It hasn´t been awful, just time consuming and I found that once I was ready to set up camp in the room and not lose confidence or patience - it flowed.
I genuinely think babies pick up on parents confidence more than anything.
Anyway, that is my story - I really hope it gives hope to other exhausted parents out there - you can do it! x