Getting a 2&1/2 Year Old off the Breast, and Sleeping Through the Night, in HER

K.-

I have a 3 year old and a 4 month old, but did not breastfeed so my situation is a little different, but I understand how hard it is to be in a new place without a network. Both my kids slept through the night within a couple of months of birth and it has been wonderful for us. Our 3 year old gets up at 6:30am and comes into our room then, but other than that she stays in here room all night. The best advice I can give you is to plan a schedule that will work for you and try to get her on it. We had to endure some crying to get them on the schedule, but not much really. I think they figure out pretty quick what you will tolerate and what you will not. You can e-mail me privately if you want to discuss further.

B.

I have heard if you lay her mattress by your bed and have sleep there for awhile then move her and the mattress into her bedroom then she should stay. Another friend sat next to the childs bed until he feel asleep and moved further away each 3rd day until she was out the door and he no longer came into their bed. As far as needing an adult to talk to during the day. There is a local Huntsville chapter of the MOMS Club it is for stay at home moms. You can find them by going to momsclub.org I know because I am the membership vp for the madison moms club will help keep you sane. Good luck

K., I would say at 2 1/2 years of age it is a habit that she is doing this. My little one is only 15 months but what I did when we quit nursing was to drop one time a night nursing. I would say too that her reason for getting up from her bed is that she has been rewarded with a nursing session when she does it so there has been no reason for her to stop. I would suggest talking to your little girl and explain to her that it is time to give the bobby up at night and time to sleep in her own bed. If she insists she is thirsty or hungry I would offer her a cup of water. When she realizes that she is not going to get what she wants she should stop. And that may take care of her other night wakings as well. If you would like to e-mail me directly, feel free to. Thanks. L.

Hi K.. I'm new to the area too! We live in Madison, about 5 minutes from HWY 72 and Huntsville City limits. I have a 19 month old son, Andrew. We weaned a while back and it was the same way. It was hard the first few days, but I didn't relent and he stopped expecting it. It also helped that my husband put him to bed and addressed his needs for any night wakings those couple of weeks. It will get easier.

I dont really have any advice about the bed situatio since Andrew prefers his own bed and always has. We co-slept the first 6 months or so and then started putting him in his crib after that with no problems.

If you'd like to chat sometime or meet somewhere for lunch or coffee, plese feel free to email me at ____@____.com

Warm Regards,

V.