Weaning My 13-Month Old.

Glad to hear that the crying method worked for the other mother but this isnt the usualy method u should use. Even though I bottle fed mine...weening is all the same. One night I fed him like normal and then he winned for a second bottle...thats when I knew it was time. My son had a pacifier but if thats not for you then try a different rountine. Try giving a bath, maybe reading a book and sitting next to her crib so she doesnt feel abandoned. Naturally she will cry...and if she does just try comforting her maybe even holding her without nursing for a little while and laying her back in the bed. It may take a week or 2 but she will get use to the rountine and adapt.

Hi S., I have a 12 month old that I am trying to wean for the same reason. My pediatrician suggested this. Try letting her cry for 5 minutes before you get her up. And let her cry 5 minutes longer each night after until you get up to 45 minutes and then they just go back to sleep. I have gotten mine to sleep until about 5am now by doing this each night. Let me know if this helps. We all need sleep.

Last night he cried for me around 230. I let him cry for the 5 minutes and within 4 minutes he just went back to sleep until 545.

I have to agree with colleen try just holding her when she wakes up or putting your hand on her back when you go in to see her. Also there is and exellent book called " The no cry sleep solution " cant recall who its by but its very good and shows you ways to get her back to sleep and to sleep allnight without having to resort to letting her cry all night, all CIO does is make everyone stressed out including baby.

S.,

I didn't breast feed my son. That didn't work for me from day 1...Anyway, to wean him from the milk bottle I started making his last bottle the bed time bottle as water instead of milk. I made sure he had plenty to eat at dinner and a small bed time snack of banana or something. He didn't want the water for at first but now he's 2 1/2 and still has a sippy cup of water that he has to have. He usually now holds it on one side and his bear on the other and doesn't even drink it.

Good Luck.

A.

I had a similar problem, only my son was on the bottle. I hated it, but do NOT give in. 3 nights of you both being exhausted, and she'll stop. You'll be tired, you'll be ready to give up, thats why there are 2 parents. :-D When one is ready to quit the other usually isn't. She doesn't need it, it's a habit now. if you get up and explain to her its night night time and lay her down, rub her back, she should start dozing back off. Sure at first she'll fight but by the 3rd night you may still be getting up some but no more feedings.

Good luck!

It is heart breaking and it made me cry when I had to do it but you have to let your baby learn to comfort herself back to sleep. When you nurse you have a bond and as you wean you are changing that bond, she realizes that. Feeding was how my son went to sleep and got back to sleep at night, not good for either one of us. When my son started to wean we had our hands full. We were up all hours, I was a wreak, and so was the house. :o) We talked to our pediatrician and she advised us on what to do. Put her in her bed as usual, comfort her in other ways than feeding i.e. rubbing her back, pacifier (my son would have nothing to do with), stuffed animal, whatever makes her better. Then leave the room. Shut the door if you have to. She will cry. We never let our son cry more than 30 minutes. But after a few nights she will get it and accept it. It has been roses ever since and I have never slept so well. Be strong, I know it hurts, but so does losing sleep and havent you done that long enough.

Hi S.,

Is she nursing to comfort herself back to sleep? If so it can be a hard habit to break, but it's possible using the techniques other respondants have suggested. That may be your best route. However, there are a few different options to consider. You can either try to wean her, or you can switch tactics if you want, and allow her to nurse, but with as little disruption to you as possible.

If you want to try the latter and are comfortable co-sleeping with her, then I'd suggest sleeping facing her, with a top you can either lift up or no top. My daughter was the same, insofar as she required my attentions overnight continually for quite a long time, and eventually my midwife just suggested trying her in bed with us. I thought it was a horrible idea, terribly intrusive (and wasn't I already getting too little sleep?) but what I found was that she could help herself. I'd wake just enough to make sure she was okay, and then doze. I got much, much more sleep that way.

There are some things you can do to make co-sleeping much safer if you're interested. First, get a bed rail. Place her against the bed rail, then you, then your hubby. Your duvet should be draped so that it just covers you, and then the rest hangs off the bed on hubby's side so that it cannot cover her. Likewise, your pillow should be moved over towards your husband, so that it is not a suffocation hazard. She should have her own blankets. Then you sleep either on your side, facing her, or on your stomach, with your head turned towards her. It seems a bit scary at first, but you'll find if you try it for nap time that it actually works quite well.

What we found with co-sleeping is that at about 15 months my daughter was ready to transition entirely to a crib in our room, and then at 18 months she was ready to move into her own room. She didn't hesitate to move, which was a relief. We did the same with my son as well.

Best of luck, and I hope you get some sleep soon!

H.