When did you night wean? - Page 2

[rzberrymom]

I nightweaned my DD at about 18 months. It took 2 nights, was incredibly easy, and so I knew she could handle it. If she had resisted, I would have waited another month or two and tried again.

I mainly waited until her molars and incisors came in all the way--they were so incredibly painful for her that I didn't think it was fair to try to nightwean her while they were coming in. At 18 months, she was also able to understand pretty well that mama just needed some more sleep at night. She was starting to develop some empathy by that age and could begin to understand why I felt I needed to nightwean her (something I don't think she could have done at a younger age).

[echoecho1528]

Originally Posted by Lilly Milly

The thing is we never really DID anything but move her to a crib (she prefers it to cosleeping, honest, and we never CIO or anything). We moved her to the crib and BAM she slept through the night and didn't need (or even want) to nurse from 10pm to at least 5. She still occassionally will want/need to and I let her, but don't think that all babies HAVE to nurse at night up to 18 months. My 5 mo old usually doesn't and it is HER choice. FWIW.

I think the recent trends in parenting sometimes underestimate childrens capacity to learn. Why is it considered detrimental for a child to learn to eat more during the day and less at night? As long as you aren't using any harmful methods? They learn other things and it's a good thing. Maybe it's not right for a lot of babies, but I think it is for plenty.

HA! If only my child would LEARN to just eat more during the day and sleep at night. No offense, but it is hard to hear this from a woman who is lucky enough to have a child who basically STTN at 5 months. Do you have any other children? A baby who STTN at 5 months on their own accord, without being forced to CIO, is very rare. A child who STTN at 5 months on their own accord probably has a very easy-going temperament. I may just be very sensitive to the subject because my 22 mo is up every 1-3 hours at night to nurse, but just like you didn't do anything to HELP your child STTN at or before 5 months, there are many of us out there with toddlers who feel like we didn't do anything INHIBIT their sleep in any way. I think in this case it is personality, and until you have a child with a more "spirited" temperament, you won't understand the flip-side of the coin.
- stepping down.

[AlishaB]

I nightweaned my first at 18 mos, or should I say "started" to nightwean, he finished nursing at night by 20 mos. (I used the Jay Gordon approach), as for this one I night weaned at 20 mos pretty much in 3 days because I am preggo, and the nursing feels like he is ripping me to bits... I am unsure if he is fully weaned, we may start up again.

[MelW]

With my oldest I tried nightweaning at 20ish months during a bad bout of thrush and cracked nipples. I didn't nurse at night for two weeks, managed to get my postpartum period back and rarely slept at night the entire time!! As soon as it was morning, she would nurse and pass out and we would all go back to bed. Clearly she wasn't ready to sleep without night-nursing, and we went back to nursing 3-12x a night after that.

Shortly after she turned two, I bought her "magic pajamas" that would help her sleep through the night without nursing. The next night we nursed, brushed teeth, put on the pajamas and I rocked her to sleep. When she woke up and asked to nurse, I reminded her of the magic pajamas, she asked for a sip of water and some rocking and went back to sleep!! We woke up and rocked a few times a night for several tiring weeks, and after than usually just hugs or back rubs were enough to get her back to sleep. She was obviously ready and it only took a small "nudge" to nightwean, whereas my previous attempt was very frustrating for all of us.

I think that different kids are "ready" to sleep without nursing at different ages, and that when they are ready it can take very little effort to night-wean.

[funkymamajoy]

Originally Posted by almadianna

Nightweaning before a year is not a good idea IMO. Babies tummies are not really meant to not eat for 8 hours straight until they are older than a year. I dont nightwean until they are ready to, my oldest nightweaned at 2 or so, dont remember. My 16 month old is still going strong. I will not push it but I also refuse to nightwean before 12-15 months.

I have to disagree. Like Lilly Milly, we recently stopped co-sleeping and the baby stopped waking at night. If his tummy wasn't ready to go all night, then he would wake up and I would feed him. But, most of the time, he doesn't. And we all have that one friend whose 6-week old sleeps all night.

Some babies don't need to nurse all night and sometimes night nursing is just a habit.

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by funkymamajoy

I have to disagree. Like Lilly Milly, we recently stopped co-sleeping and the baby stopped waking at night. If his tummy wasn't ready to go all night, then he would wake up and I would feed him. But, most of the time, he doesn't. And we all have that one friend whose 6-week old sleeps all night.

Some babies don't need to nurse all night and sometimes night nursing is just a habit.

Yes we all do have that friend, this is usually the same friend (at least in my case) who ends up having issues with their supply with their baby needing to be supplemented for some reason...

So no, not all babies wake up to nurse when they are hungry. Mine did not. I had to wake her up to nurse or she would just sleep. While many children wake up when hungry many others do not. Currently I am helping a mama who thought the same thing until her daughter started falling off of the charts. Her supply was low and I am pumping her for child as well as mine while I am at work. I do not believe that weaning a child before a year is a good idea.

[almadianna]

Putting my mod hat on here

The Family Bed and Nighttime parenting is a forum where we support each other during what is sometimes the most difficult part of parenting.

Please keep in mind the purpose of the forum:

When a parent posts here to discuss struggles with co-sleeping and asks for advice members should post with suggestions to ease problems and encouragement to support co-sleeping, not to advise against it. Posts of that nature are not appropriate. If parents come to a decision that their child sleeps better in his or her own space, discussions here can be in support of how to best parent such a child at night in a nurturing way.

I also wanted to add that if you have any specific issues with the way that someone has posted in a thread that made you feel uncomfortable please report them to a moderator. While we do not strive to make anyone feel bad or to alienate anyone; our mission at MDC is to support parents in a way that is not against their ideals as attached parents while staying gentle to the children involved.

Please remember:

Mothering.com is the website of natural family living and advocates natural solutions to parenting challenges. We host discussion of nighttime parenting, loving discipline, gentle weaning, natural birth, homebirth, successful breastfeeding, alternative and complementary home remedies, informed consent and many other topics from a natural point of view. We are not interested, however, in hosting discussions on the merits of crying it out, harsh sleep training, physical punishment, formula feeding, elective cesarean section, routine infant medical circumcision, or mandatory vaccinations.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

-Alma

[LadyCatherine185]

Originally Posted by Lilly Milly

The PP gave me the courage to post. So, Thanks! My LO is mostly nightweaned already and she's almost 5 months. The thing is we never really DID anything but move her to a crib (she prefers it to cosleeping, honest, and we never CIO or anything). We moved her to the crib and BAM she slept through the night and didn't need (or even want) to nurse from 10pm to at least 5. She still occassionally will want/need to and I let her, but don't think that all babies HAVE to nurse at night up to 18 months. My 5 mo old usually doesn't and it is HER choice. FWIW.

I think the recent trends in parenting sometimes underestimate childrens capacity to learn. Why is it considered detrimental for a child to learn to eat more during the day and less at night? As long as you aren't using any harmful methods? They learn other things and it's a good thing. Maybe it's not right for a lot of babies, but I think it is for plenty.

Sounds to me like you just lucked out with a good sleeper.

I have many friends whose babies STTN from early on. They were just good sleepers. Nothing Mom or Dad did, like you. Just remember, you are lucky that your child is a good sleeper.. and your next child (if you are planning to have more) may not be such a good sleeper.

FWIW, we tried everything to get DS to sleep better-- in a crib, a bed alone, etc and what works is him sleeping in bed with us. He still wakes frequently at 16 months, but we are starting to see improvements, and at least I don't have to get up out of bed when he does wake!

[funkymamajoy]

Originally Posted by almadianna

So no, not all babies wake up to nurse when they are hungry. Mine did not. I had to wake her up to nurse or she would just sleep. While many children wake up when hungry many others do not.

I never said all babies wake up when hungry. I said some babies don't need to eat at night. I also never said that my baby CIO or that I implemented harsh sleep training. I said we stopped co-sleeping and as a result he stopped nursing constantly at night.

If you want the details: we moved his bed, where he always started out the night, into his sibilings' room. Our routine of nursing/rocking to sleep is still the same, he just goes into another room once he's asleep. I never CIO and I never refused to nurse him at night. Since he usually wakes up around 3 am to nurse (about 6 hour stretch), I feel like I can assume that he wakes when hungry (he comes back to our bed at this point). He used to wake as soon as I went to bed, then stayed latched on until morning.

I've tried the Gordon night weaning method with another child and hated rocking and comforting a baby but refusing to nurse her. For us, it works better to start the night separately since it the problem was sleep, not nursing.

[mrskingred]

Night weaned at 18 months due to a child in living circumstances. DS coslept with Dad (in his old childhood room) while I slept on sofa. DS is still nursing at almost 3.5 y and starts his day with mummy milk at 6am. (He usually wakes and comes through to us before then, but for the sake of my sleep he doesn't get milk until then).

[SparklingGemini]

I didn't nightwean but DD stopped waking up to nurse(for the most part) right around her second birthday.

There are still times when she will wake one or two times a night. But they are few and far between now.

I truly believe it'll happen for ALL kids when they are ready. Of course, some might need some gentle persuasion, and some mamas might NEED them to sleep instead of nurse. Goodness knows I had my moments of irritation and exhaustion!

[Monkey Keeper]

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

We night-weaned at 15 months [snip]

My daughter was waking up every 2-3 hours to breastfeed even at 14 months. I was literally losing my mind from lack of sleep.

This. In our case, however, nightweaning led to complete weaning within a month or 6 weeks. She was reverse cycling and pretty much only nursing at night, with about 2 nursings during the day. Those were short to begin with, and she just lost interest.

[InstinctiveMom]

With my first, I gently night weaned at 14 months old over the course of a month or so because was pregnant with my second.
He nursed again for 2 months without restrictions after my second son was born, and then we night-weaned again (nursing 2 at night was VERY tiresome).
He eventually weaned at 37 months, and I continued to nurse my second until he was almost 3. I didn't purposefully night wean my second, but he cut back on his night nursing when he was a little over 2 or so, I think.

Night weaning hadn't been my "plan", but getting pregnant unexpectedly kinda forced the situation. In the end, it worked out very well for us.

[chiara]

she had just turned 4. she still gets a little nursy in the morning when we are both awake, though.

[MommaShark]

38 months

self night weaned at 38 mo.

[lonegirl]

I didn't night wean until he was weaned. I day weaned first so I could get on with my day...and also to stop listening to people comment that I was still nursing a 2+y/o.
He weaned fully at 2.5 years (child led) (when we moved to a new house)

[JorgieGirl]

Around 11-12mo. Didn't take long. We used the Jay Gordon and DD took to it right away. I don't feel like it did her any injustice as she still nurses during the day and barely made a peep of complaint during the process.

[anotherpeanut]

13 months. I couldn't take it anymore, I was exhausted and starting to get resentful and it was impacting his sleep...he was waking just to nurse and didn't need to be. We sent my husband in for less than 5 days and he was fine, very few tears. I have zero regrets about night weaning him then!