Partial Weaning. Any Tips?

At his age, waking 3x a night isn't exactly what I would call normal. You do sound more like a human pacifier... that is exactly what my pediatrician told me when I was going throguh this, I felt like I was nursing a big baby for the vast majority of the day and night and was plain exhausted and drained.

Here is some helpful advice Dr. Sears suggest, especially for the nighttime issues:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/t070800.asp

As for him not eating during the day, he has you trained! He knows you will nurse him soon so he isn't eating. Very smart little guy. Well, spread out the nursing. He'll fight and cry, but he'll get over it and used to the new routine in a week or so.

I nursed both my kids till they were about 16-18 months. Really, one was read to wean, the other wasn't, but I couldn't do it anymore (my sons was also a big biter), and then I just did night nursings. My husband would often have to pry him off of me and he screamed while wildly ripping at my shirt. My husband would take him, cuddle him and play with him, to try and take his mind off of it, because if I tried too, it didn't end without him battling to nurse again.

This age is when nursing slows drastically for a short time - because baby is now a walking toddler and being so easily distracted and active. You'll be lucky if he wants to nurse last thing before bed - which is the norm for many from 13-18 months. His nursing will slow down soon on his own. As for the waking at night... this will be a common occurrence in the next few months because this is when breastfed toddlers make up for missing feedings and meals during the day.

Check out www.kellymom.com and www.drjacknewman.com for more info on this age stage.

Don't feel so resentful - this is such a short lived stage in the life of your child, you will definitely NOT be a "M.'s 24 hour Diner" for long, and when your child is so independent he doesn't even want to give you hugs... then you'll look back at this time fondly and miss it.

had to pipe in after reading the 'don't feel resentful'. this makes me think that the person hadn't been in your situation or perhaps can't relate to someone who needs more personal space. my daughters were quick feeders and i would have gone INSANE if they hung on eating for 45 minutes per feeding like my friend's baby. props to those who can do it but everybody's feelings/situations are different so please don't tell people how to FEEL. *end rant*

that said, i'm guessing a one-year-old won't just up and take a pacifier. can you give him a bottle? you're going to have some tough toddler training on your hands. can you try stretching out the time between feedings by distracting him with something exciting? does he want to do it less when you are out of the house? you might have to get him out of his routine for awhile so he won't miss the feedings. at least the weather's getting better so going outside might be more feasible.

i don't know how people train their kids to nap. i always fed mine to sleep until they quit napping. for one, bedtime wasn't no picnic after weaning but the other goes to bed no problem.

aside from nap and bedtime, can you get away with cuddling him or reading a book? i'm guessing not. sorry i can't be more helpful. good luck mama, you can do it!

I felt the same way as you did when my son was just shy of 13 months. Our family doctor (yes I don't take my kids to a pediatrician we all see the same doctor), suggested that since he was using me as a pacifier that started at the next nursing I should cut it down by a minute. So I started timing each one and reducing the amount of minutes. Eventually he got it and didn't nurse anymore. Maybe this might help you.

Is he walking yet? I agree with Pamela,Raven,&son that as soon as my daughter started walking at 13 months, she also started sleeping all night and was no longer at all interested in nursing. Not all babies are the same, of course, but it's likely that his nursing will slow down on it's own soon.