Help Weanning My 21 Month Old Baby Boy

My kids all pretty much self-weaned @ 18, 22 & 15 months, the only one I had to "help" along was the 22 month old (& she was only night time at that point). What I did with her is that I just didn't offer it and tried to distract her when she asked for it.
If you are co-sleeping this might be a little more difficult for you. If you plan to continue co-sleeping, try getting a little "bed" (those fold-out foam kid's couches are GREAT) for him to sleep on next to your bed. Get him to sleep like normal and then move him into his little bed. He is still in the room, but not feeling/smelling you all night and "snacks" are not easily accessable. It may make for a rough few nights in the begining, but stick with it for a few days, it might work!
Good-luck!!
~ B.

Dr. Jay Gordon has a great article on night weaning that might help. It sounds like if you had a good night's sleep, you could be more patient with gradually weaning during the day!

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

Kudos for nursing this long, and pooh on anyone who says otherwise!

My son pretty much stopped night nursing around 16 months (he's 19 months now). I read the article by Dr. Jay Gordon (someone else linked to it below), and tried to follow that. What worked for me was just holding him and letting him cry when he wanted it. Of course, I was only bringing him in to bed when he woke up in the night, this might be harder if you are putting him to sleep this way always. Maybe wear a shirt he can't get into, and then cuddle with him, so he still feels close to you.

At 21 months he is old enough to sleep in his own bed. That will stop it - cold turkey. If you really want to co-sleep, have him sleep on your husband's side. There's nothing to nurse with over there!!

But really - consider putting him in his own bed sooner rather than later... the longer you wait the harder it will be.
LBC

Does he have a crib or a bed of his own? Try put him there at night! Maybe start with the daytime first. And my dentist recommends putting tooth paste with fluoride on your finger and rubbing it on there teeth if you do not have time to brush in the middle of the night. If he has 20 teeth or more the size of a pea of toothpaste if less teeth a grain of rice of toothpaste.
My grandson is 28 months he has a bottle twice a day. If she had milk, she would still breast feed him at this age. I live in Canada we have drop ins for parents and caregivers, it is called Family Place most Mothers there breast feed til their child is at least 3 years old some even older, the average age in the world is still about five to quit breast feeding. Good luck, stay patient, one thing about feeding at night you can take him to the potty at the same time and you now he is alright. It is a great way to bond with your son. Yeah I can see though three is a crowd in the family bed though. Yes, I believe in the family bed, just not all the time, Everyone needs a good nights sleep and Mom and Dad need time alone.

I nursed all my boys at age 1. For us it was fairly simple, but they are still very distractable at that age.
My advice would be to give him a sippy cup of water in place of you. Since you are co sleeping (its more of a comfort thing) you can snuggle him while he drinks it.
He may fuss and cry for a few days, but he will adapt quickly. you may be surprised. Good Luck!

We explained all throughout the days to my 23-month old that nursing was "finished." He understands the concept of "all finished" and we transitioned him to his own room with his own big-boy bed (a full bed with toddler rail) which he was excited about. We did that first, for about 3 weeks, still with nursing during the night in OUR bed (he had to wake up, then either cried and I got him, or he learned to wander down the hall to our bed). Then I started putting him down to bed by reading stories instead and when he asked to nurse, I said, "all finished" and gave him his pacifier (which he ONLY uses at bedtime). I'd ask him if he wanted "moo-cow milk" and sometimes he'd say yes, others no. Surprisingly, the first night he went to sleep in his own bed without nursing, he slept clear through the night! It's been almost four weeks now and he has NOT ONCE asked to nurse in the nighttime. When he does wake up, I go and lie down in his bed next to him until he falls asleep, sometimes snuggling, sometimes just letting him know I'm there and "pretending" to sleep until he falls back asleep. He has slept SO WELL since we weaned completely and he hasn't been traumatized at all. He's only asked to nurse twice during the daytime since weaning completely and both times was quite content to hear "all finished." Good luck! Although it was a hassle nursing until 23 months I'm glad that I waited long enough to reason with him, and that he still lets me put him down for naps and sleep without freaking out or begging to nurse.

We were in your exact position. Sharing a family bed, night nursing. I put a sippy cup filled with water right on my bed stand and when our daughter would wake up to nurse, I would just tell her there is no more milk at night time and I would give her a sip of the water if she needed it. Worked like a charm and she stopped waking up altogether. At 21 months, which is when we also stopped nursing completely, your son is old enough to understand if you just explain that once he becomes a big boy (now), mommy's milk goes away because it's for babies.

I was never able to nurse my children for longer than 3 months due to compilations each time. So I give you kudos for being able to go for so long!! If it's the night feeding that he can't stop, try putting him in his own bed. If your boobies aren't there in the middle for him to easily get too. And when he does come into your room, you can just take him back to his bed. I know it all sounds so easy but I'm sure there will be tears and heartbreak for probably both of you. Get your hubby on board too and have him help. Maybe he can be the one that puts your son back in bed at night.

Good luck and stay strong!
S.

I just went through this recently with my 27 month old boy. He was weaned for the day and evening, but still had the habit of waking at between 4-5 in the morning to nurse back to sleep until a later wake-up. He was VERY into this routine. I'd talked to him about how he was a big boy, tried not doing it which just resulted in a lot of crying at 4am. What finally worked was putting Band-Aids on my nipples and telling him my boobs had a "boo-boo" and we couldn't nurse. It was amazing. He didn't like it, but it worked like a charm, with minimal fussing and crying. Good luck!