Looking at night weaning to get more sleep....advice please

[onthefly]

Oh, it's tough, isn't it?

I have one question - if she's not feeding, will someone else be getting up to resettle her when she wakes? Cause there are no guarantees that even if you can night wean that she'll stop waking so much. And if it's still you getting up.... well, you see where I'm heading.

Try by all means, but if you meet very stiff resistence, maybe allow for the possibility that she really isn't ready. She *might* still need it nutritionally - DS switched from milk to bananas (they're just handy) from 14 till 18 months. Obviously that's not typical, but I'm just making that point.

But I would give it a good crack, say 1-2 weeks, because they can be ever so stubborn. The first few nights will be hardest most likely, but hopefully will get easier from there.

Really hope you find a way to get some more sleep

[MantaRay]

hun, that can be such a difficult age What people don't tell you is that one in 2 babies is still waking in the night at 12 months. It is more normal than you think. Some babies still do need a drink to get through the night and many are unable to settle themselves back to sleep at that age.

At your DD's night weaning might not be successful, however there are ways to gently try it which might be a good place for you to start. I am not familiar with Jay Gordan's method, but it certainly sounds like something worth looking into. I can also recommend the books "The no cry sleep solution" by Elizabeth Pantley and Pinky Mackay's "Sleeping like a baby".

Some other things that you might try are explaining to her that milk is for day time and water is for night. I know she seems young for this but babies at that age do understand more than we realise. Then try offering water at night instead of bfs. This works even better if your partner offers it. Sometimes a snack before bed can help too. Also if you become aware that she is stirring, you could try patting her back to sleep before she has fully woken up.

Hopefully something that you try will work for you. In the meantime, it's ok to rest during the day when your DD is asleep. Often when are babies are older we feel like getting things done is more important - but looking after you is still more important.