Night weaning 1 yo

[kyleian]

DD will  be 1 in a week, and 1 is when we said we'd night wean and then move her to her own room. Because of months on the road and then a move to Japan we had been nursing to sleep at BT but she dropped that on her own a few weeks ago and we haven't done that since. I was hoping it would help her sleep longer before waking to feed but it hasn't. She wakes twice, once about 1 AM and then again about 4-4:30. Unfortunately she nurses roughly every 2 hrs during the day and sometimes the day time schedule starts at 4 AM so we're up at 6... when we want it to be 7, but trying to get her back to sleep then is miserable for everyone. Occasionally she will nurse back to sleep but then we're adding a 3rd feeding so I don't want to do that.

I've been trying to night wean using the method of shortening her feed by a minute every 1-2 days. We're down to 3 minutes but it never has been much more than that anyway. She resettles fine afterwards even though I cut her short, but then wakes earlier than usual (3 AM), very upset because she's hungry and getting her back to sleep is awful. What should i be doing then?

I don't know if this affects it at all, but she does nurse to sleep for her naps most of the time, again due to our time traveling, since she needs it dark to sleep and if it's not dark nursing is the only thing that ever works and so we had to rely on it on the road and since her naps have been good lengths then I haven't done anything about it.

I am also still in the room when she falls asleep. I was at the point where I was ready to leave the room but then the last two week something was bothering her and I was lucky if she fell asleep without my hand on her. Now she's back at the point where I will try leaving the room.

Her A times were 3.5-4 hrs before we got to Japan, but since we've been here they've been closer to 3. The last week she seems to want them longer and has been resisting her 2nd nap until closer to 4.

EASY:

A: 6 AM
E: 7 (nursing)
E: 8 (solids)
E/S: 9:30
A: 11
E: 11:30
E: 12 (solids... she just eats when I eat)
E: 2:15 (nursing)
S: 3 (not nursed to sleep, after trying every 15 minutes to get her to sleep she finally went)
A: 4:20
E: 5 (nursing)
E: 6 (solids)
E: 7 (nursing)
S: 7:40
E: 1 AM
A/E: 3:30 AM... tried getting her back to sleep but I was exhausted and couldn't handle any fussing so she nursed.
E: 6 AM
A: 7:30

Definitely one of our worse nights but that's about how it goes. EW has been a problem for us off and on since she was about 2 months old.

[amayzie]

Bumping this one for you!

[kyleian]

Thank you 

[Buntybear]

Hi there,

If it were then I think I would be looking to go cold turkey for the night feed - especially the 1am one. Could your partner deal with that NW so that the habit wth the BF is broken? I would give her a good solid meal before BT so you can be sure it isn't hunger - I used to give Olly a bowl of porridge before BT when he was going through a growth spurt.

At the same time I would be looking to break the habit of feeding to sleep in the day too. You might as well tackle it all as I think it is all related - it is a habit now that needs breaking.

It sounds like you are already working on the GW method which would defiantly be the best way forward to you.

What do you think?

[lauradj]

I agree with PP^^, cold turkey is your best bet.  If DH is able to tackle that, it will likely make a big difference because she won't associate him with breast feeding.  At the same age, DS1 was done with the mid-day bottle and just had one in the morning when he woke, and one before bed.  If it's a comfort issue, you could try to introduce a lovey, and see if she takes to it.  It sounds like there was a lot of change in her world and the BF was a constant.  Now that you're settled in one place, she'll likely be more than ready for a little independent sleeping. 

[kyleian]

Thank you! DH is gone at the moment and in and out a lot right now with work. I've been sleep training while he's gone because then it's easier for me to go to bed earlier if I need to, and also then I don't cut into our time together or keep him up as he doesn't get a lot of sleep when he's away.

We're teething pretty hard as of the past two nights, and it feels like the tooth is close, so I will wait until that's through before I do anything different. I really don't want to go cold turkey because of how much more crying it will be and in the motn crying is like nails on a chalkboard to me (not that it isn't to other people, I just know I have a lower tolerance for it than DH and it really bothers me).

But I will start to work on naps.

I have been trying to up her solids at dinner but she really hasn't been that interested in them at all lately.

[becj86]

Something that might help with that early morning waking is to make that first nap later - that should discourage the early waking and could help push that second nap later (you can then wake her after 45min and still put her to bed for the night at a reasonable hour. You may find she is easier to get to sleep when she's not getting so much day sleep.

3hr A times are reasonable at 6-7 months, not 12.

I really don't want to go cold turkey because of how much more crying it will be and in the motn crying is like nails on a chalkboard to me (not that it isn't to other people, I just know I have a lower tolerance for it than DH and it really bothers me).

It made me leak milk and DS would lick my pyjamas if I was holding him I think if you get the routine more suitable for her, she may drop that 1am feed of her own accord anyway.

[kyleian]

 Thanks! Yesterday day was a bit of a disaster because she fell asleep in the car and it messed up our whole day. But, she went to bed at 7 with me out of the room (2nd night of that! She's done so well!) and woke at 12:30 for some reason, but went right back to sleep until 2:30, ate, back to sleep till 5:40, ate, back to sleep till 7. Yay! She was also eating closer to 2.5-3 hrs apart during the day.

It's 10:20 AM so I'm about to go try to put her down for a nap, but it may be a bit too early still. I had been surprised she was wanting to sleep every 3 hrs since she had been closer to 4 before we moved and I knew it was for younger.