Weaning=impossible!

TNgoldengirl

I'm having such a hard time with 16 month old DD. I feel like she still nurses all day and night. It's probably average 5 times in a 24-hour period, more or less. Every time to go to sleep unless we can get her distracted another way, and she co-sleeps. But if day time feedings are the first to go, I guess I need to make it my top priority to get her sleep without nursing. At night she doesn't want anyone but me. DH doesn't want to make her cry by taking her, but if I'm holding her she's obviously going to want to nurse. We don't do CIO. She has a sippy cup but usually doesn't want that. What else can he do at night? How involved were your husbands during the weaning process? 

My plan was that she would wean herself if I got pregnant. That ended in m/c a few months ago and now we are TTC again. I feel it's my only hope, but last time it made no difference to her. Pediatrician has recommended we stop at any time, I think mainly because she said after she brushes her teeth at night she only needs water to drink, not milk. Also, DD is slightly underweight so maybe it would help her eat more food? 

JayandEmm

I had a friend use Jay Gordon's method for night weaning, and it worked great for them.

Also, when nursing, milk doesn't pool in the mouth like it does with a bottle, so there's not much risk of tooth decay.

TiffanyBerry

At 16mo, DD was nursing about 8 times a day.  Yes, 8.  (On wakeup, once midmorning, before nap 1, after nap 1, before nap 2, after nap 2, at bed, and at least once at night.)  Every kid is different.  She was nursing 5 times a day until we stopped the night nursing about a month ago (at 35 months old) - on wakeup, before nap, after nap, at bedtime, and once in the middle of the night.  So really don't feel like she's super unusual.

If you want to push the weaning process and not be nursing at 3 years old, there is likely going to be some crying.  But crying while you are there to hold her and comfort her (or just be present) is not the same as leaving her to cry alone.

We did the Jay Gordon night weaning method, and it was fairly successful.  Then, I talked to her about ending the night weaning for three months or so, and we cut it out.  She's still sometimes upset that she can't nurse in the middle of the night, but she does get past it.

Good luck! 

sucredee

At that age my DD was eating 6-8 x a day still (including 2-3 nighttime feeds. She was doing about 5 x a day up until recently (she is also 35 months like PP's DD). Now there are days where she will only nurse 3 x and other days where she will still nurse 5 x. I never night weaned her but in the past 4-6 months she started STTN more frequently and so she night weaned herself. If she wakes up though she still wants "milky" and I give it to her since it doesn't happen so much anymore now. 

She is also on the small side. I weighed her a week ago and she was not quite 27# yet at almost 3. She is however a good eater now but it took her a while to get there. She wasn't picky, just didn't eat much (we did BLW). 

I am not saying you shouldn't wean her but you should only do so if you really want to do that. I don't think the frequency of your DD nursing is abnormal at all. If you are done with nursing then wean but if you are mostly stopping because everyone else feel that you should then i wouldn't.

So no advice on how to wean gently at that age but I guess I am just letting you know that your kid is not at all abnormal wanting to nurse that frequently still.  

haziedaze

We night weaned at about that age and it worked well and has saved my sanity. We also followed Dr. Jay Gordon's method and actually bed shared more consistently while we were doing it. He's been night weaned since about January and is doing so much better and finally almost sleeping through the night. We do give sips of water at night if he won't settle as sometimes he seems thirsty and that seems to have helped.

 

jeska511

Believe it or not, it will get better!!!...When your LO is ready.

 

My plan was to BF my son till he was atleast 12 months and maybe beyond a few months. Well he full BF till he was about 18 months...more times a day then 5 I believe. The day weaning was easiest, I just got him interested in real cups, sippys, etc by letting him drink from my cup, showing him I can drink from his, and more and he just eventually went with it all. Night weaning was difficult though. He was BF at night till he was 22 months old!!! All because he was a sleepy nurser...he used me as a pacifier and had to BF in order to go to bed, which is why we co-slept (and still do) and anytime he woke up in the middle of the night, which was alot, he would have to latch back on!!! . But earlier in my pregnancy I was having trouble with my hormone levels and knew I needed to night wean him (plus before it was time to BF second one). So one night we just started it.....we would try and keep him distracted long enough till he just passed out....or if that did not work...it was the crying, singing to sleep game. I wont lie, it was very difficult and tiring....but it did get easier and easier. He did one night and then another a few days later and then finally we did it every night....it went successful for one week, 2 week,...and BAM he was completely weaned! At first he cried every night but after the first week or so he only cried sometimes for it and then would give up. One thing that helped was seeing the sign that he was beginning to be ready to try it....some nights he would let go of me before he was fully asleep  or he started to not have to latch on as much through the middle of the night when he woke.

So it might seem impossible at the moment - it did for me (LO was glued to me 24/7) but we got it done eventually!!!  Just try to stay determined and remembrt its not hopeless! Goodluck