Weaning 12-Month-old

K.,
Way to go AP! I, like you got pregnant while my daughter was still nursing. She was older (a bit over 18 mo), but still nursing through the night and often. I found that sometimes having her sleep between my husband and the wall helped, but not always. I also figured out that she was really hungry in the middle of the night. For about a week I would get up and make her a bowl of oatmeal in the middle of the night and then we started doing it at bed time and, yes, there was some crying (but as an ap mom, I feel there is a difference between a baby crying in your arms and leaving a baby to cry alone). We nursed through the whole pregnancy (and afterward) and by the end she only nursed about a minute every few days. I really am glad that it worked out the way it did, and I think it made new baby transition easier, but I do realize that is not what is right for every nursing couple. I guess you just follow what your child shows she needs and what you need (I know I, for one, needed to not nurse at night at all, evenings were kind of iffy). I also found that getting nursing in when it was okay with me or even just cuddle time and real attention (which I know is harder with two kids) helped with not nursing all night. I really liked the book Adventures in Tandem Nursing, I have no passages for you, but it was like a support group in a book for me!

K.

Does she take a sippy cup? Maybe try giving her some juice or milk in a sippy when she is going to bed and see if that helps. If she is only nursing at night then you should be able to break the habit (that is all it is at this point if she is getting all her other nutrient from other sources). I know it is bad for them to fall asleep with a sippy in their mouth but if it will get her off the breast, you could try it for a little while and then cut back. She will probably fight giving up the breast but it will be better for both of you.

Do you plan to leave her in the bed when the third one arrives? If not, I would recommend starting now so that you can do it in small and easier stages for the both of you. My first recommendation would be to make sure that your last nursing session is not in bed. I would wait for her to fall asleep on the breast and then break the latch for her. Then if she awakens a little, I hold her snuggled in againist you and rock her to sleep without the breast. If she takes a pacifier, you could use that as an alternative. Then I would lay her down in the crib. I have also been taking my shirt off to give him something to grab that smells like me and he seems comforted by that. When he awakens in the crib, I give him some comfort usually by patting his baking, sushing him (Dr Karp style), and letting him hold my finger. Unless I see his eyes wide open, I try not to pick him up. They say that a child may sometimes cry out when they have a sleep disturbance. Therefore, my husband and I are giving him 5 minutes of belly-aching before we go into soothe. We don't let him get into a full out wail because neither of us can handle it.

If you still plan on co-sleeping when the baby arrives, you could try another technique. After she has fallen asleep, turn so that your feet at her head. This allows her to still have a piece of you near her, but not your breast so she can't easily root out and find comfort.

Best of luck! Feel free to shoot me a personal message if any of this was unclear or I can help out with more tips!

Try the Pantley gentle removal method from the book No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. It helps them fall asleep without a nipple in their mouth.

Hi, K.. It sounds like your little girl still needs -or thinks she needs that sucking to relax her to sleep. If you are not against them, I would recommend trying a pacifier that is similar to the breast- I know some say they are more similar than others. If you are against the pacifier, it might be some tough nights, but you will just have to stick to not letting her fall asleep while she is latched on. Start reading to her or get her attention on something else before she goes to sleep. Good Luck!