Sleep and Weaning Questions - Almost 1 Yr Old

I would ditch the bottle now before you start to wean. You don't want to take away all her comforts at once.

Once she moves to whole milk she will need about 16-20 of milk per day. You can stagger how much you give her throughout the day so that you can give her a small amount of warm milk in a sippy before bed. But I wouldn't go 8 oz! That would be half of her daily intake.

As to the waking at 5. She probably is hungry! We tend to forget that their little tummies are just that little. She could be going thru a growth spurt. If she's hungry feed her but stay in her room and put her back down in her crib. You will be stuck if you bring her to bed (which is sooo much easier I know!). Just nurse her and put her back down. She's getting what she needs at night but like I said she could be going thru a growth spurt. And around the year mark you will notice sleep disruptions. Perfectly normal. My son who slept 10-13 hours at night all of a sudden started waking around the year mark but it's very normal because they become more aware of what is going on beyond their room and don't want to miss out. Just keep your routine, keep the lights out and put them back to bed.

You didn't mention if you have her on solid foods of any sort. If you haven't I would encourage you to start her on solids at night that way she won't wake you up in the middle of the night. I used to give my kids oatmeal or rice cereal at night so they weren't hungry and slept all night. If she has been taking her sippy cup all day at daycare there shouldn't be any difference at home except that you are allowing it. If you want to wean, then do it , take a way the bottle and the nursing if that is what you want. It may be a few rough days but things will be just fine.

I just weaned my 17mo so I hope I can help. When you get the go ahead from your peditrician about giving cow's milk start by giving it to her in a sippy cup at every sit down meal. It might take some time for her to get used to it, the cow's milk that is. Once she figures that out and drinks the milk regularly that's when I would start the actual weaning. Drop one feeding at a time and replace it with the sippy cup of cow's milk. Give it a few days for the tranisition and then drop another feeding. She will probably get a little cranky because she would rather have the breast. And get rid of the bottles.
As for 'normal' drinking, sorry I don't think I can help there as my daughter was a bit older when I weaned. I can say now that she gets milk at every meal and water/juice/milk at snack times during the day. But I don't keep track of how much she drinks. When I stopped BF her before bed I didn't give her anything to replace that feeding.
And for sleeping, maybe she is having a growth spurt and is hungry? Or is it maybe from daylight savings? Is it brighter in her room that it was before? Good luck!

first of all congratulations for breastfeeding this long! :) i nursed my son for 20 months (then he self weaned) and it was the best thing i ever did. so if you have any ligering doubts about weaning, just know off the top that if you dont want to, if you feel you and your daughter arent ready dont feel pressured to have to wean! :)

moving on!
once you make the decision to not use the bottle, just dont offer it. get rid of them, put them away, whatever you have to do. dont give in and use one, dont let her see one, just erase them. only offer her the sippy. sure she might be upset, but she will just figure out that its over you know ?
one thing that helped with my son when we started milk is to make it chocolate. dont worry, its more important that she get the milk than what kind of milk it is. also; if you are into soy milk almond milk or rice milk, go ahead and try those as well. they are actually healthier anyway (soy especially for women). dont overdo it; only give her milk at meals, water other times, juce at snacks or rare occasions as a treat. water water water! :)

dont worry about "filling her up" before bed; humans dont sleep well on a full stomach; the digestion wakes us up. so dont worry about that. its highly possible that she really is hungry at least once at night, especially during growth spurts. her stomach is only the size of her fist, and thats normal. it empties fast, so you should be sensitive to that. i used to put a sippy cup of water in bed with my son, but sometimes he would wake up and want to nurse at night, usually around 4 am. he stopped doing that between 15-17 months.

one thing; never (or stop) giving a bottle of milk in bed. only give her water in bed. its bad for her teeth, and causes a lot of other messes as well (especially if you want her off the bottle; just eliminate it)

sleep is not even going to be perfect. once you relax and expect things to be up and down, you will be happier and more laid back about her not sleeping. i did the same thing with my son; he woke up around 4, came into bed with me, nursed both of us back to sleep, and was there until we got up 7 8 or even 9. i never cried it out (theres research out there about how harmful it is, and i would rather err on the side of caution, especially when it makes me so uncomfortable; thats a red flag!!) i just always responded to my son treating him like a person with needs. he is one of those spirited types who wont accept substitutes for the real thing! LOL.

anyway, if you want to keep nursing, you can even just nurse at night, or before bed, and no other times. your body will adjust the supply to when and how much you are nursing. if it makes you and your daughter happy, and you dont mind, you can just keep it up as long as its comfortable for both of you. it lasts such a short time, its not a big deal. :) however, if you want to quit, just try cutting one session at a time, distract her with something else, singing, stories, bath time, whatever you've gotta do. sippy cup with water in bed at night, maybe even a soft toy or book or two to keep her occupied if she wakes. my son would sometimes wake up but stay in his bed (which was in our room) and look at books for quite a long time, sometimes even going back to sleep.

anywy, i hope something ive said helps. just do what feels best for you all! :)

You wean when you, she, or both of you are ready. If she is drinking fine from a sippy at daycare, she should be able to at home too. This is how I did it (my son is in daycare 5 days a week). On Saturday, we took his midmorning feeding (the first he would usually have at daycare), and I gave him the sippy. He took it fine. I did it again on Sunday, and he threw a fit! I cried, he cried. I finally, more through frustration, than anything, held the sippy in his mouth so that when he closed his mouth (while crying), he would realize it was there. He did, took a sip, and although he wasn't happy, he did take it. The next weekend, I did the same thing. When he seemed to be okay with that feeding, I went on to the next, leaving the normal morning and evening nursings until last.

As for schedule, I just kept the schedule the same for awhile, I didn't want to change too much at once. I would keep the amount the same too.

If she is just recently waking at 5, you can let her cry it out, or even put her down about 15 minutes early. My son used to do this, and if I left him, he would usually talk to himself for a few minutes, and then fall asleep again...took about 3 days.

I suggest letting her know how big she is getting and it's time to go to the sippy cup. Tell her she is such a big girl at the sitters and how proud you are of her. When are you going to put her on milk? I would say that might be the next move for the sippy cup as well. Again, drinking milk like the big kids.

Is she eating a good evening meal? Does she get a snack before bed? Try that to see if it's hunger or not waking her up at 5 AM.

Good Luck and take care.