Thanks for all your input everyone, it gives me a lot to muse over.
Just to clarify - at this stage I *think* for her, her night wakings to nurse every 1.5-2hrs are not a nutritional need, nor a physiological or medical problem, its just that she doesn't know how to go back to sleep without the nursing. So the goal of the rocking/patting etc is to teach her other ways of this i guess (just going from the what the Jay Gordon family bed book says on night weaning)
Also - I'm not letting her get TOO worked up. She was a bit angry on and off for the period of awake time, but it was more like a wee grizzle, then awake and happy, then a wee grizzle etc etc. I think if she got really upset and seemed actually hungry I'd just forget the plan and feed her. but it hasnt' got to that point,which does make me think its not so much a hunger thing. And, obviously, she is being offered/given plenty of other forms of comfort at all times.
We did night 2 of it last night, and it was very similar to night 1 - an awake period of about an hour (shorter than previous night,and this time she was awake and happy) before falling back asleep, nursing sometime after midnight, then sleeping a longer stretch to dawn.
It might sound easy enough to just roll over and nurse her every hour or 2 when she wakes, and obviously I've been happy enough to do it for the last 10.5months. But she is quite wriggly while feeding - and often wakes to play after her b/f as well (its a stage I know) and the kicking in my stomach tends to wake me fully, and I've struggled with insomnia, so once I'm awake its difficult to fall back asleep.
When she was younger and just fed quietly and went back to sleep it wasnt' so much of a problem.
So yes, I guess I'm trying to change her behaviour for selfish reasons. But as some of you (not all of you obviously - I notice the 2 most opposed to this method are both getting nice long 7hr stretches of sleep!) will know - its hard to function on small pieces of broken sleep, for nearly a year. My body is still recovering from the the 2 months of 30-60min wakings thru the night that we had when she was younger.
If we don't have some progress in the next few days I think I'll just go back to normal and try again in a few months. But she is sleeping in longer stretches already, (which has been SO nice for me - to get a 3 or 4hr block..)
will let you know how we go in the next few nights.
oh - and for those who asked - she has 2 naps (morning and afternoon), just when she seems tired - it usually works out around 9am and 1pm, for about an hour each time. depending on how late the afternoon sleep is, bedtime sometimes isn't till later. Often (maybe 2 or 3 times a week) not until 8 or 8.30ish. We don't really have a set bedtime, just go with when she seems tired - but I say 7 - 7.30ish because thats probably the most common time.
Just to clarify - at this stage I *think* for her, her night wakings to nurse every 1.5-2hrs are not a nutritional need, nor a physiological or medical problem, its just that she doesn't know how to go back to sleep without the nursing. So the goal of the rocking/patting etc is to teach her other ways of this i guess (just going from the what the Jay Gordon family bed book says on night weaning)
Also - I'm not letting her get TOO worked up. She was a bit angry on and off for the period of awake time, but it was more like a wee grizzle, then awake and happy, then a wee grizzle etc etc. I think if she got really upset and seemed actually hungry I'd just forget the plan and feed her. but it hasnt' got to that point,which does make me think its not so much a hunger thing. And, obviously, she is being offered/given plenty of other forms of comfort at all times.
We did night 2 of it last night, and it was very similar to night 1 - an awake period of about an hour (shorter than previous night,and this time she was awake and happy) before falling back asleep, nursing sometime after midnight, then sleeping a longer stretch to dawn.
It might sound easy enough to just roll over and nurse her every hour or 2 when she wakes, and obviously I've been happy enough to do it for the last 10.5months. But she is quite wriggly while feeding - and often wakes to play after her b/f as well (its a stage I know) and the kicking in my stomach tends to wake me fully, and I've struggled with insomnia, so once I'm awake its difficult to fall back asleep.
When she was younger and just fed quietly and went back to sleep it wasnt' so much of a problem.
So yes, I guess I'm trying to change her behaviour for selfish reasons. But as some of you (not all of you obviously - I notice the 2 most opposed to this method are both getting nice long 7hr stretches of sleep!) will know - its hard to function on small pieces of broken sleep, for nearly a year. My body is still recovering from the the 2 months of 30-60min wakings thru the night that we had when she was younger.
If we don't have some progress in the next few days I think I'll just go back to normal and try again in a few months. But she is sleeping in longer stretches already, (which has been SO nice for me - to get a 3 or 4hr block..)
will let you know how we go in the next few nights.
oh - and for those who asked - she has 2 naps (morning and afternoon), just when she seems tired - it usually works out around 9am and 1pm, for about an hour each time. depending on how late the afternoon sleep is, bedtime sometimes isn't till later. Often (maybe 2 or 3 times a week) not until 8 or 8.30ish. We don't really have a set bedtime, just go with when she seems tired - but I say 7 - 7.30ish because thats probably the most common time.
