Help! 11 month old doesn't sleep through the night/ Nurses for comfort

[nelle]

My son is 11 months old he will be 12 months on the 28th. He doesn't sleep through night. If I'm not laying next to him he will wake up periodically to nurse so I usually lay next to him. When doing this he stays latched on to me almost the whole night. He is very attached to me. He will not go to sleep unless he is latched on to me. Even durning the day when he takes his naps he needs to latch on and suck to fall asleep. He sleeps longer if I take a nap with him because he can stay latched on to me. I dedicated a whole year to my son with exclusively breastfeeding. I don't get to do anything. I can only be away from him for 3 hrs at the most. I really need him to sleep through the night this would help a lot. He nurses for comfort so I don't know what to do. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[PatioGardener]

The Jay Gordon method of night weaning is gentle, but he does not recommend it before 1 year. If you can hold out for another 3 weeks, you may find it useful:
http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

[MeepyCat]

Oh mama, I know how maddening this is. I'm typing this while in bed with my nine month-old, who doesn't sleep more than two hours at a stretch and wants to nurse all night.

I don't have a 100% solution, but here are a few things that help us:
- Pacifier. I let her nurse, and when she switches over to comfort sucking, I gently detach and offer her the pacifier. Sometimes she takes it, sometimes she doesn't.
- High-fat foods. If I feed her yogurt, or mushed up avocado, or baby purees with melted butter in them before bed, I sometimes get some extra time to sleep.
- Teething gel or infant tylenol. She's markedly more demanding when she's cutting teeth.
- I have gotten to the point where I don't offer the breast right away when she wakes. I'll try rubbing her belly before I pick her up, if that doesn't help, we'll try walking and rocking. Unless she's rooting around on my shoulder, no breast. (But if she roots, breast right away.)
- She clearly sleeps better in my bed, even when I'm not there, so I'm experimenting with sleeping with her receiving blankets (to make them smell like me) and see if that helps her sleep longer on her own.

[Lauren31]

I do not have any experience with a 9 month old but my little 5 month old is the same way! She loves to nurse ALL night long. I have had SO many friends tell me I am spoiling her and teaching her that I will be there for her at night (like is that a bad thing or something?! ) ... I just want you to know you are a good mom and the baby probably NEEDS it. Just keep doing what you are doing, I say. Can you take him to bed with you? Does your DH not want him in your bed?