Nursing to Sleep and Weaning

HI

I nursed my son to sleep up to 11 1/2 months and we didn't have any problems. I started to wean him at 10 1/2 months because he was too busy to nurse during the day. Giving him a bottle was a much easier way to get him to eat, I did use formula 1-2 times during the day and very slowly increased the amount through out the month. He really led his weaning so it was very easy. Now we're weaning to cows milk, hopefuly it will be just as smooth of a process. He does use a bottle to sleep most nights.

Wean slow and be prepared for ups and downs and I think t will be fine.

Good Luck,
L.

A.

My daughter also nursed to sleep at night. At almost one year I started her on half breast milk and half whole milk in the bottle and gradually added one more bottle feeding at each of her regular nursing times. By her birthday she was taking the bottle with all whole milk and going to bed. Getting her off the milk at bed routing is a bit more challenging, but yes, she will eventually be fine with not nursing at bed time.

Hang in there - you're doing just fine!
S.

From my experience...my son nursed every two to three hours until he was about 8 months old and I nursed him to sleep everytime. He started getting a lot more active and slowly lost interest in nursing after that. He couldn't focus for that long and would squirm the whole time which became less of a pleasant experience for both of us. He was weaned to a sippy cup by 11 months and to whole milk by 12. He started taking a pacifier at 9 months which REALLY helped the whole sleeping thing. I also stopped nursing him at naptime and would bounce/rock him to sleep then nurse when he woke up to wean him off of nursing to sleep. Then finally I just stopped the rocking and put him in bed and left sometimes i had to go in once or twice but it didn't take him long to go to sleep on his own.

Once they are crawling/walking they get so tired so it is a lot easier to get them to sleep.

Give it some time and see if she starts to wean herself, if not then take the lead a little at a time. As she becomes more independent she'll be just fine with it:)

I work fulltime so weaning during the day was easy. AS for the morning and nigth feeding I first stop the morning feeding. when she get's up in the morning I make sure to keep her busy until I can get her dress and downstair for breakfast however, there are days when she can't wait and then I give her a bottle which is not often. I still nurse her @ nigth this is our quite time and it does relax her so that she goes to sleep without a fight. I plan on contuining the night feeds until she about 15 or 16 months. She's 13 months now. Also you will find out once they become more active and stay up longer they want to nurse less because they are too busy to stop and nurse. Just follow your baby's que.

Hi,
I have nursed all three of my boys from day one. Instead of lettig someone tell me when it was time to wean them, I let them tell me. I feel that it was much more of a gentle transition for both of us. My oldest, 8, weaned himself when he was about 2 because he knew that his little brother was coming and would need that milk, and that he was a "big boy" now and didn't need it, he just needed mommy to snuggle with him at night. My second son, 5, weaned himself at about 1 and a half when he decided he wanted to be like his big brother and not do that any more. My youngest is 2 and has chosen to only nurse once or twice for about 5 minutes a day, and when he is sick. This works for me. I've never been engorged or sore because my body was given time to adjust to the idea of less milk slowly. I hope this helps and you don't let anyone talk you into weaning before you are both ready.

My son at that age would pretty much only go to sleep after nursing. By 9 months, he would drink from the bottle at all other feedings. We felt this was his way of starting to self wean and decided to try having Dad give him a bottle at the bed-time feeding every night and occasionally I would do the same at nap times, randomly. Wthin a week, he was completely weaned from the breast, although I pumped and kept him on breast milk for close to 6 months after that.
His teeth started coming in shortly there after, I think maybe that had made the change easier, since he occasionally would "teethe" on the silicone nipples when he was particularly fussy.
As a first time and SAHM, I second guess myself a lot, but in the end, I think your daughter will let you know when she's ready.
The best advice I have had, from my sister in law and mother of five (whew) is to do what seems right for yourself and your child. Keep in touch with your pediatrician, listen to all the advice you are given, and read and research as much as possible, but don't let yourself be pressured by books, the media, or even other Moms, to do (or not do) something unless it feels right. hope this helps

There is no real way to predict when or if your daughter will "self-wean". I breastfed my son for 9 months. He loved the breast, didn't care much at all for the bottle. I worked one day a week and on that day he would refuse a bottle from my husband, so I just knew that he would be very hard to wean. Much to my surprise, this wasn't the case. At around 8 months, he gradually started to lose interest in breast-feeding, i.e. playing alot during feedings, looking around instead of really nursing. So, I just dropped one nursing session every few days and he was just fine with this. I personally know of other children who were still nursing at 2 years old, so each child is different. Only time will tell how your situation will unfold. Having said that, I do think that it is wise for you to teach your daughter now how to fall asleep on her own. Children develop sleep associations, whether it be nursing, a paci, a bottle, a special lovey, etc... I am a firm believer that children learn how to fall asleep by themselves, so that if they wake up for any reason, they will be able to put themselves back to sleep too!
Ultimately, you have to do what works and feels right for you and your baby. Pediatricians recommend that we nurse at least until 12 months of age, but this is no magic number; there isn't going to be a switch that goes off in your daughter's head when she turns one that says "I don't want to nurse anymore." She may stop before then or she may want to do it a lot longer. The rule of thumb is to stop nursing when either you OR your baby loses interest. Hope this helps!

Hi, I know how you feel. I nursed my son to sleep and wondered how he'd ever sleep once I stop nursing. I'm still nursing - he's 13 1/2 months old. Now he nurses when he wakes up, before his morning nap and before bed. I put him down awake though - this way he learns to fall asleep on his own. For his afternoon nap it's stories and then to the crib - it takes him a little longer to go to sleep, but he has learned to do it. Good luck!

No clue about the breastfeeding issue; I didn't breastfeed my kids that long. I just wanted to give you a huge "thank you" for your self-description--no "love of my life," no "three marvelous kids" and no "amazingly happy marriage" to a "soul mate" etc.

It's great if you have those things (I do, most days). But I think it would take some unspoken pressure off all of us if we could just say who we are instead of trying to make ourselves sound like the Total Woman. Heck, most days I am the TotalED Woman.I will shut up now.

I nursed my son 24/7 - about every two hours - until 14 months old, at which point I was just so tired and he never stopped wanting to nurse or even nurse less on his own. For 4 nights his dad slept with him and I slept in the other room - we co-slept at the time. This did the trick and he only cried for about 15 minutes the first night, 5 minutes the second night, and slept fine without night feedings after that.
At that point I was down to 3 times a day, morning, noon, and before bed. Morning was easy and I just stopped and we went for a walk with a sippy cup instead. At 16 months I took nap feedings (noon) away. I used classical music and just rocked him and it worked after a couple of days with no fussing. Three weeks later I weaned him from bedtime feedings the same way, music and rocking. I took everything slowly and only changesd one thing at a time. He is now sleeping in his own bed all night, and we did this slowly as well. He is so happy and has never asked or gestured to nurse again.
Every child is different. Some wean themselves, others would nurse for as long as you let them, so if your daughter doesn't wean herself, you have to decide when you want to stop and go from there. I have read many times that at least one year is the best for your child so I took it there and went a little past that as I wasn't ready to stop yet. 16 months felt just right and it was pretty easy to do and my son went along with it without too much fuss. Again, after a few days, he never even seemed to remember having done it and I missed it more than him. Good luck!

It sounds like you and your daughter are pretty happy about how things are going. I wouldn't change anything yet. She will learn how to go to sleep on her own. she is still just 8 months. I weaned both my kids at 12 months, my daughter weaned beautifully and quickly learned how to put herself to sleep. I followed Pantley's book, The No-Cry Discipline Solution. Don't be in a hurry to wean if you are enjoying the time with your daughter. Good luck
Megan

Hi there. Congrats for hanging in there with breast feeding. I have a 13 month old and still has one more fedding than your baby. I think you are doing great to only have 3 feedings. I think your pace is perfect. Yes you can cut the moning feeding when that nap is cut out and as for self weaning (this is my second son) I think evry baby is different. My first son bf until 18 mos. My 2nd refuses any bottle, but will drink from a straw sippy. In my opinion you are enjoying your chid by soothing her to sleep with bf, and I was told soon you will barely get to hold them still once they are mobile so enjoy while you can. It is good if she is awake when you place her in the crib so she can some what learn to self soothe. I made that mistake with my last son and he was very difficult to get to sleep up until right befor eout last son was born. Good luck.

I would not worry so much about when she will "not need you as much". That time will come all too quickly. Enjoy this time with your baby, they are only little for such a short time!! My daughter is 16 months old and I still nurse her 2-3 times a day, more if she wants it. I believe in breastfeeding as long as needed. It continues to be the best nutrition for the baby even in the second year and beyond. My daughter is very independant and is NOT dependant on the breastfeeding at all. She does it when she needs it and normally only nurses for a few minutes at a time. She nurses first thing in the morning, sometimes before nap/sometimes after nap/sometimes not at all, and she nurses in the evening before bed. Unless it is way past her bedtime, she doesn't fall asleep at the breast. She just drinks her milk and when she is ready she points to her crib and waves good bye to me. She always goes to sleep on her own and we have NEVER had to do anything drastic like "CIO". If my husband and I have to go somewhere then she is completely content to go to bed with out it when someone is watching her. She NEVER took a bottle so when we are not here she just drinks other liquids in her cup and eats her regular food. Like I said she is not dependant on it. just to be clear, she does each like any other 16 month old. The nursing does not effect that. She nurses in the am and then still immediatley wants her juice/water and breakfast. The same goes for the rest of the day. I do it because she still enjoys it, it is a source of comfort for her if she is hurt our upset during the day, and it is still giving her a wealth of immunities and nutrition that other foods and artificial milk or even cows milk can not provide. Do some research on the benefits of EBF (Extended Breastfeeding). There is no reason that 12 months has to be the magic number that your baby is suddenly not a baby anymore and therefore doesn't need your milk anymore. Their bodies are still growing and developing at a very rapid pace and they need that milk. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends breastfeeding atleast to age 2 and longer if mutually desired by mother and child. There nervous system is not fully devolped until after age 2. The immunities your milk will provide her with are just as important during the second year as they were in the first!

I have five children (two sets of twins) and nurse them all for over a year. This was the only way I got through the night for a while with the twins. For me it was too much energy to pump enough bottles for later so they rarely had bottles. I would sleep on my side while one nursed and if the other needed nursing I would put them on the other side. Yes they did sleep with me for a while and I had no issues when it was time for their own crib.

They had sippy cups as soon as they could hold them.

To answer your question she will probaly self wean. I honestly can't recall the weaning process it just happened. As their activity and food intake increased they didn't nurse as much. The longest I nursed was the oldest one at 15 months.

Don't worry you'll will own your body again one day!!!!!!!

I nursed both of my children for 13 months. When both of them were about 11 1/5 months I started replacing the breast with a sippy cup of whole milk. I would start your baby on a sippy now if you have not already. It was difficult to wean both of my children. I would have my husband start putting them to bed so they would not want me to feed them. He would rock them. I hope this helps.

I have a 18 month old daughter. I nursed her until she was 9 months old. I think all of the advice about how you should do what feels right is great. I originally thought I would nurse her until she was 6 months and that just didn't feel right. 9 months was perfect for us. That said, life got much easier to handle when I stopped nursing her to sleep and let her go to sleep on her own. She stopped waking up in the middle of the night (at least that I could hear). And that was the first time I got a good nights sleep - which is so important! I never had a problem weaning because she always took a bottle, but she wasn't fully off the bottle until this past weekend. Bottle to sippy cup was much harder. Just remember, this stage and all stages pass much more quickly than it seems like they will at the time. Good luck!