If you have used Dr. Jay Gordon for night weaning c'mon in

SnowflakeBride06 · December 2011

I have been thinking of trying this with our strong willed 15 mo old. She's definitely resised any kind of sleep training thus far (not that I really did anything too drastic)

CIO never worked (she'd puke and I only tried it a few times out of desperation). I did try the Pantley pull-off which works most times now.

I have found that the best solution is to bed share and let her nurse as needed to get through the night. I think she legitimately thinks she 'needs' milk and since I am there its convienent. I know she would adjust to less milk at night and more food during the day.

My questions are:

1. DId you have a high need/strong willed (I know these labels are sort of not pc but ykwim) toddler?

2. How long did it take?

3. Was there a lot of crying involved at first?

4. Do you still nurse during the day?

5. Did you go from your bed to their bed/crib? Did you go from your bed to bed/crib in their room? Or did you do it incrementally?

Thanks Ladies, I need some help!

sacey21 · December 2011

My 18m old is very strong willed and loves to nurse. She even giggles right before latching on. Ii started his program and we had really good success the first 2 nights, but then she got sick and then she cut her premolars and now she is sick. So, we'll have to start all over again. I am planning to try getting her in her own bed in her own room at the same time, but I'm more concerned about the night weaning so that will take priority. I figure that I might as well give it all a shot at once. She hadn't responded well to our gradual changes so I think she needs a little more of a push (w/o CIO even though I know without a doubt that she will be mad and cry).

skyejo · December 2011

I night weaned my strong willed toddler at 12 1/2 months using no method at all and it was so easy.

LO nursed all night. At least three times up to ten or more. We picked a night to stop nursing cold turkey. DH cuddled with LO (we bedshare) and I slept in the spare bedroom for the first couple of nights. The first night LO cried for one minute. The second night 30 seconds. The third night no crying. Then I started cuddling with her at night again and we haven't regressed back to night nursing. She still wakes up multiple times each night but she will take her paci and fall back asleep. Before night weaning she would freak out if I tried to give her the paci instead of nursing her.

I nursed during the day until 13 1/2 month. Cutting out night nursing made my supply drop so I was basically forced to stop nursing.

Good luck!

erinkate23 · December 2011

1. DId you have a high need/strong willed (I know these labels are sort of not pc but ykwim) toddler?

Abso-friggin-lutely. My son is stubborn, and is a "tension increaser".

2. How long did it take?

One week, but only 2-3 days of real upset.

3. Was there a lot of crying involved at first?

Yes. The first few nights of short nursing were tough, but the real challenge came when the na-na did NOT appear. At one point he cried for about 45 minutes. He was crying in our arms and knew we loved him. He was very confused and didn't understand why the Na-na was not being presented. He seemed to think that he wasn't communicating effectively, and became more and more insistent - like "MOM, you don't GET it, I want the NA NA!!!!" It was an angry/confused cry though, not in pain/scared, KWIM? We tried CIO once (FAIL) and I couldn't do it because he was terrified. This was different.

4. Do you still nurse during the day?

We bottle-feed, but yes.

5. Did you go from your bed to their bed/crib? Did you go from your bed to bed/crib in their room? Or did you do it incrementally?

We did it in our bed. A few months later, we used another Jay Gordon technique to move him to his own room:

https://drjaygordon.com/attachment/gentletranstition.html

I won't lie, it was hard. BUT, waking up every 45 minutes was even harder, long-term. He needed to break the nurse-to-sleep habit, and we needed to get some sleep. CIO did not work for us. AT ALL. This did. Now, he goes to sleep in his own bed after bottle/teeth brushing, cuddling with me. If he wakes up, he walks down the hall into our bed. Some nights he starts with us, and it's not a problem. If he wakes, it's a 2-minute process to get him back to sleep, not a half hour. Most importantly, we're all getting the sleep we need to be happy and healthy.

Aloe0l · December 2011

1. I will hesitantly say "yes" because as fast as she snaps into "freak out mode" she can snap out of it. But the fact she can get very upset VERY easily, I would categorize her in this ball-park.

2. We started on November 10 (I remember cuz I had the 11th off work), and well, she's mostly ok with not getting "nursey" at night, and will still ask for it on occasion. We go through waves where she'll sleep well and go back to sleep easy after a short arousal at night, but, she does NOT STTN yet. I just no longer have to nurse her to get her to go back to sleep. Usually a back rub and a snuggle works.

3. The first night of not nursing was the worst. She woke up every 1-2hrs that night and would take up to 30min to fall back asleep.

4. Yes. I nurse on demand until she falls asleep for the night, and then I won't nurse her (unless she's sick) until after I am up for the day - usually around 5:30-6am.

5. She goes down in her room, and then at her first real wake-up, she comes in bed with us. Most of the "weaning" occured while in a family bed. After Christmas, we're probably going to start trying to transition her to her bed full time.

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If you have used Dr. Jay Gordon for night weaning c'mon in

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