How Much Longer? - Wheaton,IL

Try reading Weisbluth's book, you can get at library. It seems by 6 months (at least w/ my 2 boys) they were able to go all night w/o waking for feedings. My daughter was (and still is) very small and skinny and I give her food whenever she wants (she's 3 now and sleeps thru the night since 12 mos).

If i were you, id try the crying for a little while, and go visit in 5 mins, then 10 mins, then 15 -- it's a bit of ferber method in there, but by 9 months they should be able to sleep thru night by comforting themselves. It seems HORRID and really sad to listen to, it's hard to do, believe me, it has caused arguments between my husband and me, but when you think about the broken sleep you both are getting, it makes it harder for you to do your mom job the next day, and she's not benefiting from waking during the night either. Or from not learning how to comfort herself. Good luck. Weisbluth worked for us, it's a gentler ferber technique, and worked in 3 nights. Even my 4 month old sleeps better because of it, though I think he's just a really good sleeper naturally...

It does sound like you are getting close and I remember it took until about 10 months before my first son was sleeping through the night (12 hours straight). I've heard similar timelines from other nursing moms and although it's difficult it seems that just when you get to the end of your rope then that's when things happen. However, I will also say that lots of things will disrupt her sleep patterns once she does eliminate nighttime feedings...illness, developmental milestones, change in routine, new foods, potty training, etc. Congrats on being such a responsive parent thus far!

PS. Before I was a parent I believed that once a baby was sleeping through the night that you never had to get up for them again...WRONG.

How is crying the same as self-soothing? I'll never understand this. I find that crying is the least soothing thing that I do so I can't imagine that my children feel any differently about it. I would keep responding to her and slowly cut out the nursing and she'll just stop getting up for it. My daughter was night-weaned at 15 months and it was an easy transition.

It all depends on what your parenting philosophies are and what you want to do/what you think is best for your child.

At 9 months (and with the 1-3 minute feedings) she isn't waking because she's hungry; she's waking because she wants your comfort to go back to sleep. She does not 'need' the food; she 'wants' you. If you keep going in, she'll keep expecting the quickie nursing sessions.

She should be able to soothe herself to sleep at 9 months and if you're ready and willing to allow her to learn to self-soothe, then let her cry. A good reference is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.

At 9 months, most children should be able to sleep uninterrupted through the night. For 9 months she has learned one pattern, so if you decide to make a change you have to understand that she isn't going to respond favorably right away. No matter what you decide, be consistent with your decision.

Only you know your family best, and only you can make the decision as to what's best for your child. If you're looking for a different solution that is effective and will work, it might be worth a try to delay going to her when she cries and give her the chance to soothe herself back to sleep. If that goes against your parenting philosophies and you're not comfortable with it, then try another technique or just wait it out and know that hopefully, eventually it will end.