Did nightweaning help with frequent waking? - Page 2

[lessmith23]

I just wanted to say 'thank you' to all those who responded and shared their experiences.

Things seem to be improving (slowly) on their own. DD went 3 hours for her first initial stretch of sleep the other night which she hasn't done in a very long time as well she's been napping much better.

I think we're going to wait until she's 1 year and re-evaluate where we're at in terms of sleep and move forward from there.

We do co-sleep and DH made the suggestion that once she's 1 year perhaps he could start sleeping with her at night to see if me not being there will help her sleep longer.

I think we're going to try things like that before we go down the nightweaning path.

Thanks again ladies!

[mamadebug]

Yes! It helped a lot. We did it when DS was around 9 months. It took about a week and was hard, but well worth it. He had been waking up multiple times a night and had basically gotten to where he wanted to just sleep with the boob in his mouth. DH had to get up with him and get him back to sleep that entire week. If I tried to comfort him, but not nurse him, he would totally freak out. DH could get him back to sleep. I am not going to lie - there was definitely crying involved (never left alone to cry, though, always with DH). Once we got through that week, we were so glad we had done it. I went from being a total zombie (really, scaring myself with some of the things I did due to sleep deprivation) to a much more normal sleep pattern. Also, DH always offered him sippy cups of water or formula or pumped breast milk so that he wouldn't go hungry. DS never took them.

[Niblett]

Gosh what an interesting (and demoralising) thread.

I am thinking of night weaning my 11 month old.

He wakes me virtually hourly all night to feed but I am convinced it is for comfort not hunger. I am so exhausted I just can't function properly anymore and I think it is affecting my ability to be a great Mum during the day. I constantly coming down with colds and tummy bugs, I've lost a stone in weight (about 6kgs). The idea of waiting until he is 1.5 or 2 fills me with dread..... I don't know how I'll cope for another 6-12 months of this.

Do you guys think it is worth a try at least? He wakes like 8-15 times a night at the moment. If he woke even 3 times a night I would consider that a luxury!

[LadyCatherine185]

YES. We waited until DS was 18 months, and started a slower process of the Jay Gordon Method. We took about a month, rather than 10 days. He is also very verbal, and was finished getting all of his teeth in (minus the two year molars, which are coming in now!). The timing was right, there were very few tears, just a little fussing. After getting him down to nursing only 2-3 times a night (from nursing 5-10+ plus times a night and sometimes for hours at a time) we moved him to his own bed and had DH take over nighttime. He started waking only 1-2 times a night and has even slept all the way through a handful of times!

For us, it was a much needed dramatic change. But the timing was right, and we took it slow.

[mamadebug]

Originally Posted by Niblett

He wakes me virtually hourly all night to feed but I am convinced it is for comfort not hunger. I am so exhausted I just can't function properly anymore and I think it is affecting my ability to be a great Mum during the day. I constantly coming down with colds and tummy bugs, I've lost a stone in weight (about 6kgs). The idea of waiting until he is 1.5 or 2 fills me with dread..... I don't know how I'll cope for another 6-12 months of this.

Do you guys think it is worth a try at least? He wakes like 8-15 times a night at the moment. If he woke even 3 times a night I would consider that a luxury!

I was in a similar situation, and I would say that it is worth a try. Being that sleep deprived isn't good for you or your family in a number of ways.