can't seem to night wean

[justmeinlove]

Hoping for help!
i want to night wean my 13 month old but I just don't seem to be managing it!
i want to do jay Gordon but hit the following problems:
1. I still breastfeed, and really worry that going from every 2 hours :-\ to 7 hours is going to give me mastitis.
2. We start trying a minimum of 3 hours between feeds and it works for a night or two, but then she wakes up at 1.5-2 hours again and
...i just kind of seem to automatically assume she must be in pain from teething or something and breastfeed her. And then we are right back at the start :-\

I'm starting to feel trapped breastfeeding, as well as shattered. Please help!

 

[justmeinlove]

Anyone??

 

[LiteBRIGHT33]

Bump. I'm right there with you!

 

[justmeinlove]

Thank goodness it's not just me!

 

[CupcakeBaby]

Has she always need this way? Or is it a rough patch at the minute?

Around 55 weeks babies go through a huge development leap (some people say the most difficult one) which can effect their sleep.

It can last up to 6 weeks but it does pass.

My DD has been a terror at night lately (feeding every 2 hours ish) but the last 2 nights she's only fed once so I'm hoping maybe it's coming to an end.

 

[justmeinlove]

No she's always been like this, sadly

 

[Peppermint25]

I feel the way you do, very trapped and anxious that I'm not ever going to be able to wean her from the boob! Argh. She refuses milk in a bottle or sippy cup and during the night still wakes up demanding feeds. Sometimes we go down to once a night then the next she'll be up loads.

 

[justmeinlove]

So so glad it's not just me!

 

[noon_child]

Have you tried pantly pull off?

https://www.pregnancy.org/article/when-your-baby-wakes-frequently-feed-pantley-pull

 

[angela98661]

I probably wouldnt do this but my friends friend used mustard on her breast so they baby wouldnt like the taste. And gradually you start feeding less and your supply adjusts? I dont know but assume. I know how bad mastitis can be i just fought with it and still on anyibiotics

 

[justmeinlove]

That does seem kind of harsh
And I only want to night wean, not completely

 

[justmeinlove]

re pantley pull off - she does as far as I can tell, generally go down awake. She certainly goes down awake at bedtime. I do let her feed to sleep during the day in nap times :\

 

[staralfur]

As someone who is incredibly prone to mastitis, I didn't run into any problems when making the jump from multiple wakings to STTN. Just make sure you empty your breasts first thing in the morning (if your LO doesn't want to drink it all then pump the rest - you'll have a lot!).

I think you just need to be consistent with not nursing her when she wakes up. That's not to say you should just ignore her, of course, but find another way to soothe her.

I didn't try it myself, but I know lots of people swear by the Jay Gordon method. Stick with it!

 

[sugaree13]

Do you bedshare? If not can your partner comfort LO when she wakes?

We didnt night wean completely, but we have him down to only waking once or twice for 2 solid weeks now (hoping im not jinxing it) but hubby had to help by holding DS when he woke for days (prob a bit over a week) first so that he didnt lunge at my boobs or get more worked up at me holding him but not nursing. IF you cosleep but dont bedshare or have LO in her own room this could work.

I do, also, think it depends on the child. I know of others who EBF whose child night weaned on their own by 6/7 months and my son was in no way going to do that. Just after he turned one i realized he would literally nurse for about a minute when he woke at night so he seemed to be doing it only for comfort, not because he needed milk, so i felt more comfortable weaning him around a year.

As far as the mastitis - im very prone as well - do you have a manual pump or does hand expression work for you? I would keep a lunch bag and a manual pump bedside and if i woke during the night I would pump just a bit - if you empty completely its telling your body you still need _ounces of milk at that time, so I would only pump enough to not be engorged.

Good luck! And you are not alone in this at all!!

 

[noon_child]

Have you tried pantly pull off?

https://www.pregnancy.org/article/when-your-baby-wakes-frequently-feed-pantley-pull

Btw I didn't completely night wean till around 23 months! We were nearly there at 11 months when 'bang' her first tooth cut, then she went to nursery and caught every bug going and had horrendous temperatures etc. I don't know what I would have done to comfort (and hydrate) her during those illnesses/pain if I hadn't had bfing to fall back on. However we weren't on 2hrly wake-ups every night. When she was well it'd usually be 2 wake-ups per night.

The pattern we followed (although not planned) was from when she was about 9 or 10 months if she woke before our own bedtime we'd comfort her back to sleep by shhhhing and patting and music (which was already a sleep association) - usually this worked but if she was ill I'd nurse her. Me and OH shared this, so she got used to OH comforting her. Once we were asleep it was so much easier and quicker to feed her we didn't try anything else till about 18months when I knew I'd be at college one night a week so OH would have to learn to put her to bed without boob, so should also share all night wakings to break association with boob. There was a lot of screaming and I was never sure if I was being cruel or whether giving in to her screams made it worse *shrug*.