Help! My 18 months nurses ALL day and night!!

[mamafever]

He is not sick or coming down with something and this has been going on for a while. I thought maybe it was just a growth spurt, but my 18 month old son would nurse all day if I let him. It is hard to do anything or be on time anywhere and even at night, he nurses allllllllll night! I feel like I am not getting much sleep. I always thought I would never wean him, but this is really getting tiring. Any ideas? Are there some kids that just won't wean themselves and they need guidence?

[JanineRivera]

Hi Mamafever,

I just wanted to let you know that I went through the same thing with my dd. She is now 19 months and we have night weaned and sometimes she still wakes up a lot. The thing is that she has always been an avid nurser, nursing more often than the average, I think. I am not sure that it was anything else but her personality that made it that way??

I just got to the point where I couldn't handle the 45 mins to nurse to sleep and then the constant steam rolling to get to the other side all night long. She now nurses a lot more during the day as a trade off for not nursing at night.

I thought that I would never night wean or at least wait until she was 2 and all her teeth were in but I couldn't wait any longer. I also thought that it would be a nightmare to wean her but she actually did fairly well, crying a little bit but no crazy tantrums, phew!

Do what you need to for your sanity. I also know that there were times when it got so bad that I wanted to run away and then all of sudden it was better and I could handle it; you may be at that point right now and just need to hang on a little longer. Or it may be time to do something else. Best of luck!!

Smiles,
Janine

[mamafever]

thanks!...how did you night wean?

[JanineRivera]

Well let's see I think it all really began with Daddy joining us in bed every night. I would still nurse her to sleep but she knew that Daddy was there and soon wanted and needed him there. I think that is what made the night weaning easier for us.

The night that I decided to start the process was after lying in bed nursing her for 45 mins while she was rolling over me again and again and was just not settling ... and that was it!! I cracked and had it ... so that was the true beginning.

I told her no more milk at night. She cried. I continued to whisper in her ear that I loved her and that she would be fine. I told her that when the moon was out that the milk goes to sleep. She cried ... but not terribly. She at some point rolled away from me to Daddy and cuddled up next to him and fell asleep. It took about 20 mins I think.

I really was resisting weaning for so many reasons and not least of all because I thought that she was going to scream and fight me the whole time making it totally unbearable for everyone but she didn't, go figure. I guess in a way she was ready.

Now, nights are not perfect just because we weaned but I do have a new sense of some freedom that comes along with knowing that I am no longer THE SOLE person who could comfort her at night. She is slowly starting to wake less and resettle more easily but it continues to be a journey.

I have to say that I have read a lot about different strategies for night weaning and have talked to friends about what they did and in the end I just had to trust that I would figure out when and how to do it with my dd. We did it in a way that worked for us and you will have to find a way that will work for you ... trust!!

I hope this helps ... let me know if you have any more questions. I am happy to share and commiserate; it helps to know there are others out there going through similar struggles.

Best wishes,
Janine

[mamafever]

thank you so much Janine!...this was genuinely helpful. I really appreciate your advice. It is so true. I feel like I have reads so many different nightime books and in the end it I always seem to need to listen to my babe. Ill let you know how things go.