Nightweaning questions

[chipper26]

I posted this in the breastfeeding beyond infancy, too but thought it might fit better here b/c I've seen so many of these threads in this section.

I'm thinking about nightweaning my dd in a few months, when she's around 18 months old. I'm concerned about her being hungry at night b/c she doesn't eat as much as she should during the day and relies on nursing at night.

Believe me, I try to get food into her, but many times she just prefers the booby. Maybe that will change a bit in the next couple of months but anyway, here's my question.

I am thinking of offering her either my milk or cow's milk in a sippy cup at night just to get her off the breast, but at the same time making sure she has something at night to get her through ... especially at the beginning when she is learning to fill up during the day instead of at night. Is this a good idea?

Do I just decide this is what I will do throughout the whole night, or do I try to replace one feeding with the cup to start? It seems like replacing one feeding won't work, especially since she still nurses about 4-5 times a night.

I have read the Jay Gordon method but it seems confusing. How does the baby know when the 6 or 8 hours are up? The sun isn't up yet. I do, however, think his idea about not nursing them to sleep at night is a good one, if you can make it work. But, my dd is half asleep when crying for me and it would be torture to keep her awake to nurse.

I think this is going to be difficult no matter what we do. I just want to make it as painless as possible and I don't want her to get too hungry and suffer.

I know that I need to work towards getting more sleep. Thanks.

[Quaniliaz]

I'm wondering, too!

[alegna]

What does her night look like now? How many wakings? When?

-Angela

[Bodhimama]

I night weaned at around that age. She was simply just nuring too much for either of us to get enough sleep at night. I knew that she was nursing for comfort so I simply just gave her comfort in other ways.

At first I wouldn't off her the breast right when she started fussing for it. Instead I would rub her back, or snuggle with her. If that didn't work I would nurse her. After about a month she wasn't trying to nurse so much, and eventually she just stopped.

[Rubber Ducky]

Not as bad as it sounds

I'm in the process of nightweaning DS (1 year) now and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. This is the 2nd attempt however. I started by not feeding between 10pm-4am and DH would comfort him... walk, pat, etc... The first night actually went really well. The 2nd and 3rd nights were horrible because he was really genuinely hungry. DH ended up giving him food.

That's when I realized that perhaps he wasn't getting enough nutrition during the day because he was so busy playing. He was making it up at night. I started making sure that he did eat enough and his diet was balanced with enough fruit, veg and meat rather than just carbs. From the 4th night onwards (tonight will be night number 9), he has done one 5-hour stretch each night. I know, you've said that giving more food hasn't helped and many mothers attest to that. For me, it was the nutrition and not the amount that mattered more I think. Although I suppose the variety may have helped DS to actually wanted to eat more. I also wonder whether he knew he wasn't going to be fed as much at night

This may not be the same with your LO but my DS refused both cup and bottle whether there was milk or water in them. What I also did was give him the breast for like 30 seconds, say "just a little bit" and pull off after that. Like Pantley Pull Off except I don't wait until his suck lessens. He usually fusses and whines a bit. So far I have only had to repeat the process twice before he would give up, roll over and sleep.

I have also worked very hard to make sure he naps enough and naps around the same times. I haven't done it very well but having some sort of routine has made a difference.

So it has actually not been all too bad. He seems to be slowly learning that night time is for sleeping now. But like I said, we're only into night 9 so we'll have to see how things progress from here on.

Now, I also have a question... I chose 10pm-4am as my no feeding slot with the assumption that DS would usually go down around 7pm and wake 2-3 times to feed from then until 10pm. What if (and this has happened), he sleeps from 7pm to 1am? Do I feed him then just because he has gone 5 hours without? Or do I still stick it out until 4am? What have you other mamas done?