moving back into the bed after nightweaning

[Mama_Meme]

Hi there!

So, we are night weaning (night 4 last night) and it seems to be going well. We have chosen the "mom sleeps in another room" method of night weaning. My daughter, is learning that there is no milk at night but is not quite there. We think that I'll be moving back into the bed in a week or so. My question is, for those of you who have nightweaned, what was it like moving back in the bed? did your lo want it again when you moved back into bed? do you have any tips for the transition back?

I am so glad I nightweaned. My entire family seems more sane now and I actually don't wake up feeling exhausted every morning, which is SOOOO great!!

[canadian Jess]

Hi there,
I have no advice for you as I am trying to figure out the whole night weaning thing myself. My DS is 19 months and I think I'll have to night wean cuz I'm loosing my mind with being awake all night long......minimum wake ups is 8...horrible. How did the first nights go for you?? Whad did daddy do when your LO woke?? Was there alot of tears ...for you and for LO?? How old was yours??

thanks.

[mom2lucy]

Here's my story: I nightweaned DD at 17 mo. by sleeping in the other room. I had all intentions of going back into our bed, but we had to all sleep together in a hotel during that time (about 2 weeks into the process, and she was doing great with just DH at night), and she wanted me ALL night. It was horrible and I realized how much I loved the uninterrupted slep and being able to move into whatever position I liked. So we got a double mattress on the floor of her room, and she's doing great in there. DH still is in charge at night and will go in and lay with her if she wakes (sometimes once, sometimes not at all). I do go in there in the morning (like 6:00 and will nurse her and sleep with her until about 8:00 or so). This is working great for us. I realize that some are able to continue the family bed after nightweaning, but it would have never happened with my DD. Good luck to you!

[etsdtm99]

we nightweaned DD without me leaving the bed.. (18 months) i just told her the milk was nite-nite and DH took over the comforting (she was mad at me and wanted him) in our bed.. after 3-4 nights she would come to our bed (from her bed the first time she woke up) and not even cry, she just went back to sleep between us.. very cute.. after a week or so she would sometimes sttn in her bed, sometimes move to our room before morning, either way, it was much much easier than i thought it would be.. we also did the mattress on the floor in her room thing a pp mentioned.. her room was so close to ours that it may as well have been another mattress on the floor in our room..

[mom61508]

Wonderful! We also night weaned about 2 weeks ago now and wow it's been marvelous I finally get to remember what sleep is

Canadian jess-
I NW DD n our bed. The first 4 nights I would nurse whenever she wanted but JUST for about 5 minutes or before she fell asleep on the breast I only limited her time nursing from 11-6. I would then un-latch DD and say Kinsley go night night and surprisingly she caught on very quickly. On Night 5 and beyond she was not allowed to nurse from 11-6 and yes there was some protesting but only 1 night and I stayed there to comfort her. I did give in a few times that night but again I Only let her nurse for 5 minutes and told her she had to go NIght NIght Now she sleeps from 9-6:30/7 to nurse then goes back to sleep for another hour or two!!!! I honestly thought NW would be the hardest thing in the world but it's was so much easier than I ever thought. Consistency is key.

Maybe start by just limiting nursing time at night?

[canadian Jess]

hey Mom 61508,
Thank you so much for your words and insight as to how it all worked for you. I really like the idea of starting out my just limiting the time of each session. That way DS will start to learn how to fall asleep on his own with me there to help him. WOW, I'm really excited. I really didn't know what or how I was going to do it but I really feel like this will be our way. I've read of so many different ways, but each family is so different and this is the first idea that I feel will really work for us. thank you thank you thank you thank you.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by canadian Jess

hey Mom 61508,
Thank you so much for your words and insight as to how it all worked for you. I really like the idea of starting out my just limiting the time of each session. That way DS will start to learn how to fall asleep on his own with me there to help him. WOW, I'm really excited. I really didn't know what or how I was going to do it but I really feel like this will be our way. I've read of so many different ways, but each family is so different and this is the first idea that I feel will really work for us. thank you thank you thank you thank you.

I'm glad I could help. It worked well for DD. She does nurse longer when she wakes at 630am but who cares right, lol she's sleeping 7+ now without waking. Plus i'm sure she's hungry. i hope it helps you. Keep us posted!!!!

[Mama_Meme]

Well,this is what we did: I got to the ABSOLUTE end of the rope with night nursing, her waking up like 10 times a night and then screaming/kicking/punching/clawing me if I didn't want to give her milk all of those times. She's 22 months.
THen I moved a futon mattress onto the floor and stuck earplugs in. DH took over the night parenting. i nursed the last time at 10:30 and told her no more until morning, when it is light out.
the first night she screamed for about 30 mins. I prayed and sent reiki to her the entire time and just kept faith in my partner to comfort her. The next night, it was only 10 mins.

Last night, my mom stayed with us, so she slept on the futon and I decided trying to move back into bed with her. We cuddled all night and she asked for milk once at 4:30 or so, and I said no, she put up a fuss for about 30 secs and then went back to sleep, cuddling with me. All this progress within 8 days!

Honestly, I thought nightweaning would be a horrible thing for all of us for a while, but it's really been a wonderful experiece for all of us. AND dd sleeps WAY more soundly and sleeps longer and is less of a handful during the day. ALl in all, the extreme short term interruption was worth it.

Good luck CDN Jess!!