My baby is one year old and still wakes up to be nursed. I am getting tired of waking up still. I also want to stop breast feeding. Can my body just learn to breast feed at night when she wakes? It would be more difficult to go and heat something up and then she might not fall back to sleep. How long will she still wake up? Will one day be amazing and she will stop? Please tell me of your experiences. Thank you!!!
start helping her to fall back to sleep without eating. at one she is using you at night more for comfort than for food. it may make for a few long nights, but in the long run you will all sleep better once she is night weened.
Do you give her some rice cereal befor bed?? I would try to tap the little darling off as much as I could befor bed time. I didnt breast feed my kids (I have medical reasons why I couldnt), but bottle fed them. I heard some place that formula stays in the belly longer then breast milk, however I am not sure if this is true. Both my kids were sleeping through the night early, my son at just 2 weeks and my daughter at 1 month. Both are happy healthy kids!!
I would give her something (like the Cereal) along with your milk as close to bed time as you can as see what happens!! if it doesnt work than no harm done!!
Good luck hun and try to get some sleep when you can!
M.,
Both of my babies continued to wake past 12 months. Baby #1 woke at 2am for a bottle (he had birth problems and never learned to latch - was fed pumped milk) every night until he was 20 months old. Then magically - he stopped! We didn't do anything different - it was just as though suddenly he could eat enough before bed to make it to the next morning.
Baby #2 is 21 months old last week. He "started" sleeping through the night (sleep from 7pm to 11pm, nurse, then back to bed until 6am) around 8 months of age but would wake an additional time (2ish) when he had growth spurts. We just finished a growth spurt - am pretty sure that is the reason as he was eatting everything in sight (he even broke into the pantry and ate rice krispies out of the box while I answered the phone). It lasted about 2 weeks and now we've had two nights of sleeping from 7pm to 6am. I stopped nursing him at 14 months and would give a bottle of warm milk (my babies didn't like cold milk) to substitute for that nursing session.
If you want to stop breastfeeding, stop one nursing session per day, per week to allow your body to adjust. If you want to night wean from nursing, then offer a bottle at night. Personally, as a nursing mom, it is easier to nurse if you are going to be the person giving the bottle anyway! If baby is only 12 months old - -you've got awhile. Believe it or not, my baby has only been weaned for 7 months and I still miss it! You won't be nursing forever so try to enjoy those quiet moments in the middle of the night.
Hugs, C.
Both my kids still woke at a year.
My son stopped on his own shortly after his first birthday. 14 or so months.
My daughter stopped breastfeeding , early she self weaned just before she started walking at 9 months. Still woke for food at a year or so, then later didn't sleep all night without waking until she as 3 yrs old.
They both were allowed to do it on their own.
Rice making them sleep longer is a myth.
I breast fed both of my kids. I stopped night feedings at about 6 months old. At that age they no longer need to eat at night. By the time they were a year I had stopped all day time feedings as well, and they only breast fed when they woke up and at bedtime. We then dropped the morning feeding, and only nursed at bedtime. They stopped on their own before 18 months. Try giving a bedtime snack if you are concerned she is hungry at night, and teach her how to get back to sleep on her own.
fill the bottle with rice.. it works wonders.. pump and bottle it and put rice in it.. it fills them up and normally they will start sleeping thru. Good Luck!
