Tips for weaning 2yo?

WYEngTeacher

My 2yo DD2 is extremely attached to me. My hair and boobs are literally her securities! Although I bf DD1 for 19 months, I never thought I'd still be bf'ing DD2 this long! I was 3 months pregnant with DD2 when I weaned DD1, and while I love that bond.. I'm just ready for a break! I also am almost embarrassed to admit that I STILL let her nurse during the night (we co-sleep half the night). It wasn't even necessarily a conscious decision... in fact, I unsuccessfully tried to night wean her (and get her into a crib all night) like two times over a year ago. Actually I did it, but then she almost immediately started teething or got sick or something, so I felt bad and gave in both times, finding myself quickly back to square 1. Since then, I guess I've just been too tired or lazy to face the beast that is night-weaning/sleep training a toddler! It's been pretty much easier to just keep co-sleeping and giving her the boob when she wants it. :-/ 

But... I am tired. She's getting so old and verbal. She doesn't nurse much during the day - really just before nap and before bed - but I have no idea how to get her off the boob at this point! I feel almost worse than I think I would have weaning her a year ago since she is soooooo attached to it now. Help! 

Still free to be me

I haven't completely weaned my 3 year old (actually, she was hardly nursing, but then I had the new baby and now she is nursing way more...)  However, we did night wean a few months ago...My technique was to let her nurse for "just a minute."  Every time she nursed, I would end the nursing session after a shorter amount of time.  Eventually, she was only nursing for about ten seconds at a time...Then, she started skipping sessions occasionally...If I had been serious about completely weaning, I would have just continued along that path...Now that the baby is born, she is nursing before bed most nights...I'm okay with it.  We will probably wean completely in a couple months...

WYEngTeacher

Excellent tip! Now that I think about it, I remember using that approach a bit with DD1...I'd totally forgotten. See, they've sucked the brain cells right outta my head! ;-) Thank you!

Angela814

I started weaning DD1 when she was 34 months, and I just stopped offering at the usual times. She was nursing 3x a day at that point - after work, before bed, and morning. (I night weaned her at 26 months.) After work was pretty easy because we just ate dinner sooner. Before bed I stopped offering, and sometimes she would remember to ask, sometimes she wouldn't. Morning was the one she was most attached to, but eventually we just started getting up and getting breakfast right away instead of nursing. It took 4 months to wean her completely.

DD2 is still nursing mainly before nap, before bed, a 1-2x at night, and in the morning. She'll randomly ask to nurse during the day if she's tired or bored. She's fine without nursing during the day if we're busy. I'd like to start night weaning her soon, but I'm just not looking forward to all the crying that will be involved. Plus night weaning DD1 didn't help her STTN, so night weaning DD2 may just make it harder to get her back to sleep when she wakes.