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SLEEP => Sleeping For Toddlers => Topic started by: Dawnhawk on February 01, 2016, 17:17:28 pm

Title: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: Dawnhawk on February 01, 2016, 17:17:28 pm
My 1 year old has been breastfed since birth and has never taken a bottle.
At 11 months he was still waking every 2 hours at night to feed, at which point I read the baby whisperer and followed the PUPD method. After 2 nights he slept through 12 hours and has done ever since...about 5 weeks now. Amazing!
However I am still breastfeeding him once a day at bedtime...he falls asleep on my breast and I put him in his cot. I want to drop this last feed.
I have tried the past few nights to follow his usual sleep routine and cues and just skip the breastfeeding part and put him down awake but he is screaming...for like 3.5 hours. I have ended up cuddling/rocking him to sleep.
How can I get him to settle without that feed to fall asleep too as I can't carry on with the 3.5 hours of screaming a night to get him to bed. Help! Thanks x
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: MommyN on February 01, 2016, 17:35:23 pm
Hi,
My DS1 was also EBF and always refused a bottle. I too was nervous about dropping that last feed, but eventually it just phased itself out. I was shocked. I was pregnant and pretty desperate for him to stop and then one day at around 15 months he just went to bed without it and has ever since. How does he fall asleep for naptime if not on the breast? Have you tried milk in a sippy or straw cup?
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: jessmum46 on February 01, 2016, 19:19:58 pm
Have you been trying PUPD at bedtime?

What's his routine?  Perhaps he is OT at bedtime and used the breastfeed to calm himself down - maybe without that he is struggling and a routine tweak may help?
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: MommyN on February 02, 2016, 10:55:39 am
Hi again,
I've been thinking about your post... If he's falling asleep on the breast, I'd think it's a little much to completely take away that feed before he learns how to fall asleep for the night a different way. Perhaps nurse him a little earlier, before he's so exhausted that he falls asleep on you and then do the rest of you bed time routine. Say your routine has always been brush teeth, story/lullaby, nurse, bed, then switch it to: nurse, brush teeth, story/lullaby, bed. Then you can do PU/PD if needed. This way he still has his comforting breast feed but it's separated from sleep. Once he gets used to this new way of going to sleep you can slowly phase out that feed (or maybe it will just disappear like it did with my DS :)). I think that would be easier on all involved than going cold turkey from falling asleep on breast to no breast feed at all.
Just my personal opinion. Hope it gets easier for you.
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: cath~ on February 02, 2016, 10:58:53 am
Perhaps nurse him a little earlier, before he's so exhausted that he falls asleep on you and then do the rest of you bed time routine. Say your routine has always been brush teeth, story/lullaby, nurse, bed, then switch it to: nurse, brush teeth, story/lullaby, bed. Then you can do PU/PD if needed.
^^ I was about to suggest the same thing too, as a first step.

Then like PP said it might be easier to drop the BF when it's not such a part of how he falls asleep.  And/or you could try switching it to a cup of milk?
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: Dawnhawk on February 03, 2016, 11:40:42 am
Thanks all...I did try PUPD for first 2 nights but after 3.5 hours of screaming he was so overtired and was distressed hence why I ended up cuddling him.

His routine is...bath, downstairs for a snack and cup of milk, story, into his bedroom which is dark except night light, white noise, into sleeping bag...

For the past 2 nights I have cuddled him for 20 mins and he has gone to sleep in my arms and i've put him down which is great as I've dropped the breastfeed.  But I don't want to get stuck having to cuddle him to sleep now!  I want him to learn to go in his cot and settle himself to sleep.  Maybe he's too young?? 
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: jessmum46 on February 03, 2016, 15:58:00 pm
Sorry I meant his routine in terms of WU, nap and bedtime :)

Not too young to self-settle - he's already doing it all night - you had great success with PUPD by the sounds of it! Why don't we have a look at your routine and take it from there?
Title: Re: Putting a Breastfed 1 year to bed without a milk feed...
Post by: Dawnhawk on February 03, 2016, 20:05:56 pm
Ah sorry!!
He usually wakes up between 6.30-7.30am, he naps 12-2pm and bedtime...we go up just after 7 and it's usually 7.30pm when he's asleep.
When he was younger he had 2 shorter naps (morning and afternoon) but he was never going to bed at night hence why we moved to one longer nap. My daughter did the same at age 1.

I wonder if now he's cuddling to sleep if I can gradually do it for less time until he's eventually going down awake. Any advice welcome!! Xxx