When did your CLWd child stop nursing to sleep?

[granola_mom]

I'm curious for those of you who practice child led weaning, when your child stopped *needing* to nurse to sleep at night? At what age did they start being able to fall asleep on their own, even if that meant that sometimes they did nurse to sleep?

I'm just wondering because I've always heard this is the last nursing session to go, and that really worries me because we are a looooong way from getting anywhere near weaning. I'm just wondering if I'm going to have to wait until DD completely weans before she falls asleep on her own!

[katiesk]

not yet! dd is 14 months and nurses all night long...

[gypsyhips26]

hi there:

the nursing to sleep at night was the last nursing session to go for us. and i think it was much harder on me than my DS. I guess we stopped it about 2 months ago and he'll turn 2 in 2 weeks....(i'm also 11 weeks prego.....)

anyway, he still asks for it every once in a while, but then he starts laughing right after he says it, like he's testing me, or something...

But now he's really into reading all of his bedtime stories and turning off the lights & saying goodnight to everyone (and I mean EVERYONE!)

but it seemed to come about naturally, like he would put my breast away and say put away tee-tee mama, all done. so I think it was more child-led than not.....

[Kristin0105]

Well, dd is 3 years 9 months and she says she NEEDS to nurse to fall asleep. On rare occasions she will fall asleep without nursing to sleep but that is usually after she has nursed and then couldn't fall asleep right away. It's okay.

[ChinaDoll]

around 3 years old for DD

about 3.5 years old for DS

[Swandira]

It actually depends on the kid. For my oldest (the only one who's weaned so far), the last nursing session to go was the first-thing-in-the-morning one. He quit nursing to sleep, all on his own, when he was two, but kept nursing occasionally, most often in the morning, until he was almost five.

My middle kid still nurses in the morning, but very rarely nurses to sleep anymore. She's three.

[AAK]

Not yet for us.

Maya is almost 3.5 She nurses right before bed and usually falls asleep that way. If she is tired mid day she nurses to nap too. She also nurses once in the morning. I have started pushing that back to 7 AM because while the early morning nursing used to put her back to sleep, she now is "ready to go" afterwards. And I am NOT ready to go at 5AM! So, she now comes into bed with me at five and I tell her to sleep with momma a bit more before boobies. Thankfully it is working and she wakes again between 6:30 and 7. We nurse and get up for the day.

Amy

[RainbowTurtle]

DD stopped the early morning session when she was 4.5 but the last to go was the nursing-to-sleep one, the week after she turned 5.

[annethcz]

I stopped nursing my kids to sleep long before they turned 2. I generally nursed the baby on the couch and then laid them down in bed while still drowsy.

FWIW, before-bed nursing wasn't the last nursing session to go with any of my CLW kids.

[imagine21]

When DS was 2 1/2 he moved out of our room and into his own and this is when he stopped nursing to sleep. He will be three in July and the only nursing session we have left is the first thing in tne morning. He is ok if he misses it (he gets up too late and we have an early day) but even if he misses it a few days in a row, and I think that he might not go back to the breast he still does.

[_betsy_]

At 16.5 month, DD1 started refusing to nurse in the night. A month later, practically to the day, she started STTN (her longest stretch previously was about 4 hours, occassionally 5. At 17.5 months she began sleeping 10+ hours straight through, most nights)

[MommaShark]

Mine stopped on his own at 3 years 2 months.

[CEVmommy]

My dd stopped nursing to sleep at night just before 1 year, which was hard for me because then I had to find another way to get her to sleep (she'd nurse and then just still be awake!). However, she continued to nurse down for naps for a long time and to nurse during the night until I was pregnant with #2. Now at 3 yo, she doesn't nurse every day, but when she does it tends to be in the morning rather than at night.

[TiredX2]

Around 3.5 years with DS, around 4.5 with DS. Regularily? By 4 with DD and after 5 with DS.

[triscuitsmom]

My son is 3 months older than your DD based on your signature info and last August he started sleeping through the night without nursing (so he was 23 months), but he still nursed to get to sleep.

Then the baby came (when he was 29 months) and he started nursing at night again but he doesn't need to nurse every night to go to sleep. He'll go to sleep for my partner some nights and some nights he'll even turn his back to me and cuddle me facing away from me and go to sleep without nursing. He also is fully capable now of spending the night at my Moms and doesn't even ask for nursing or miss it at all while he's there.

FWIW we are a loooooong way from weaning still too.

[Icequeen_in_ak]

She stopped right at 3. For about 6 months prior to that, she was down to nursing only a few times a week, then one day she just never did again

About 6 months later, she walked up to me and asked to nurse, so I let her... she got her mouth to my breast and she said "milkies all gone" without even attempting to nurse, giggled and walked away. That was the last time she even asked.

[andbabymakes4]

My dd is 4yr 4mos and still nurses to sleep every night.

[granola_mom]

So I guess, judging from the variety of answers, it could happen anytime between tomorrow and oh, three years from now? lol. sigh.

[Peony]

DD1 stopped when she was 3, DD2 right after she turned 2.

[pixiepunk]

OK... well i'm not truly a CLW'er, but when it came to nursing to sleep DS stopped on his own around 20 months and at that point i was still nursing on demand day and night. he just started popping off and rolling over and then snuggling with me to fall asleep. DD2 has hardly ever nursed to sleep unless she's dead tired. she prefers to pop off and suck her thumb and snuggle with me. both did (or do, in the case of DD2) nurse in the bed right before going to sleep, though, just didn't nurse until they were asleep.