if your LO doesn't STTN...

cleeksock

I'm trying to slowly wean my daughter from BFing but she still wakes once a night and I nurse her.  We did Ferber a long time ago and have since let her CIO, but she will not go back to sleep without nursing.  She had cried off and on for 2 hours before I give in.

So my question is, If your LO wakes at night, what do you do?  Do you give milk, rock them, water?  Crying is obviously not going to work, so I'm trying to figure out what to do when we're done with nursing.  TIA!

pinksweetpea2

Lily STTN on occasion, but any time she got off her schedule, sick, or was teething she would still wake to nurse.  Last week she weaned for good and has STTN since then.  LOL 

No matter what she will STTN eventually- it just might not be until you wean.  

Edit- I should say that I let her wean on her own.  I am not so sure what I would have done if I had been the one leading the weaning.

GL!  I know it is hard to go without a full night sleep for so long.  

Echowysp

Ds has never STTN and wakes anywhere from 2 times to 6 times when he's teething. 

When he's not teething, I either go in his room and nurse him back down or send dh to pat/rock him back down.  When he's teething, I end up cosleeping part of the night with him and nurse him on demand.  Nothing else seems to work.

I would love to night wean him and might start slowly reducing the time every few days.

afwells

pinksweetpea2:

Lily STTN on occasion, but any time she got off her schedule, sick, or was teething she would still wake to nurse.  Last week she weaned for good and has STTN since then.  LOL 

No matter what she will STTN eventually- it just might not be until you wean.  

Pink, did you take the action to wean, or did she?  I ask because, well, my child is NEVER going to wean the way we're going, it seems.  I was wondering if you worked on it and how.  I'm not in a super hurry to wean entirely, but I'd just like to reduce the nursing sessions.  She asks for it, a LOT, and I often can deter her (during the day when we aren't nursing) with milk in a sippy or water, but not the other times.

To OP, you can see I'm no help because I'm still up at least once to nurse at night.

Hawaii_5_0

DD wakes several times a night - once is for a bottle - I have tried not giving it to her - and letting her cry - but she cries and cries and cries.

The other times she wakes it is for comfort. I have to rock her back to sleep - or if its 4am or later - I stick her in bed with hubby and I.

DD has STTN only 2 times since birth. We pray for the days she will sleep.

MG7

DS is 20 months old and still bfing and getting much closer to STTN. He was getting up 3-4 times a night and it was just to nurse, since I know he doesn't need to nurse at night anymore and this was a habit I had to stop the nighttime nursings. I would offer him a sippy of water and tell him milk was for later in the morning. He was really really upset at first, it was sad when he sat in bed crying and asking "please Mommy milk" - that was heartbreaking. I had to stick to my plan since we were both miserable from getting up so many times each night. After a few nights he stopped asking for milk and is now back to his regular bfing schedule of before bed/nap and when he wakes up in the morning. He will wake up only once now but he won't ask for milk at all and is usually just comforted by someone being next to him so he can fall back to sleep but he will often reach for his cup of water.

cleeksock

ok, i noticed a trend here...5 of the 6 replies are BFers.  sigh, do you think there's a correlation?  i hope not!

we're down to nursing 2x a day and once a night as of this week.  i hope to totally wean her by the end of the year.  she loves cow's milk, so i think she will go for it during the day, but i'm just not sure what to do at night!  oh, and my husband cannot get her back to sleep, pretty much 90% of the time he tries.

Mrs.McLovin

I'm not BFing and DS does not STTN. There seems to be something magical at 10:30pm and 4am. These are common times he wakes up. But just to keep things interesting, he will either get up for other times as well.

He needs rocked back to sleep. I am dying.

cleeksock

you know my mom told me both my brother and i did not sttn until we were 18 months old.  I guess there's something to be said for genetics.  although my MIL claims my husband sttn at 3 weeks, so who knows?

i'm honestly used to getting up, and it doesn't bother me.  i'm just not sure how to soothe her without nursing her.

RHitch

Hawaii_5_0:

DD wakes several times a night - once is for a bottle - I have tried not giving it to her - and letting her cry - but she cries and cries and cries.

The other times she wakes it is for comfort. I have to rock her back to sleep - or if its 4am or later - I stick her in bed with hubby and I.

DD has STTN only 2 times since birth. We pray for the days she will sleep.

 

This is almost EXACTLY what happens in my house.  DD hasprobably STTN 3 or 4 times since birth.  Every other night, she wakes up for a sippy cup of milk.  If I let her CIO, she will keep crying.  She does not cry herself to sleep like most kids.  I just put her in the bed with us if it's after 4 AM.  I don't have to rock her to sleep though.  As long as she has a cup of milk and/or I am next to her, she will go back to sleep.