DS was almost 14 months when he nightweaned (with encouragement from me!).
Before that, he was waking 4-5 times a night, and nursing for 20 minutes or more each time! I have NEVER been the type who could sleep through nursing(and I have a hard time falling back to sleep after I wake!), so I was losing a lot of sleep!
I didn't really think about "nightweaning" as such...I just knew it was time to change things. But I wanted it to be totally painless for both of us!
So, I started keeping a sippy cup of water next to the bed, and when he'd wake, instead of offering milk, I'd offer a drink of water, then try to comfort him back to sleep (rubbing/patting, rocking, humming, etc.) without nursing. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't....I always TRIED the water first, with every wake-up, but if he fussed and rooted for more than a minute or two, I'd go ahead and nurse (when I did nurse, I tried to use the "gentle removal plan" that Elizabeth Pantley recommends in
The No-Cry Sleep Solution, which I highly recommend!).
It took about 2 weeks of consistent trying (and let me tell you, in those two weeks I was ready to give up several times, because comforting him back to sleep without nursing--even though he wasn't crying--took roughly twice as long as it would have taken to nurse him back to sleep!) but by the third week, he was waking less often, and when he did wake he was satisfied with just water and a few minutes of back-rubbing.
Since that first month, I've only nursed him during the night twice....once when we were visiting relatives and he was out of his element, and once when he was sick.
Now, he often sleeps through the night (or stirs a few times but self-settles) or if he does wake, it only takes maybe five minutes to get him back to sleep.
I think a lot of my "success" was due to HIS personality and the fact that he was ready for this. Quite honestly, I don't really even think of it as a weaning issue. Rather, I see it as a way of helping him learn to sleep better, KWIM? Most babies at 14 months are physically able to go all night without sustenance, so for my son, nursing was a habit...I had to convince him that it was a habit he could live without. Fortunately, he was willing to be convinced!
I honestly think he was even relieved, because once he started sleeping better and longer at night, his naptimes--not to mention his daytime attitude--really improved! Nursing several times a night was robbing BOTH of us of much-needed sleep!
Of course, YMMV....
Also, I have to admit that his day time nursing has picked up, which could be an issue to someone else. I've been blessed with the ability to stay home and raise my bab(ies) full time, but if I had to work out of the home, I'm sure it would be difficult!
I hope this is somehow helpful!
Blessings,
Sarah (SAHM to Elisha (02/28/02) and expecting #2 (EDD 03/25/04)
edited to add: We still mostly nurse to sleep...right now we are working on that. The new goal is to nurse at bedtime, then get him in bed while he's still awake, so he can learn to fall asleep on his own (with me in the chair by the bed, or in the next room, with the door between us open). This week has, so far, been pretty good. 4 of the last 6 nights have gone this way, without so much as a whimper! Hope I didn't jinx it....