Well, my post today was supposed to be an AWESOME video of Olivia...but it wouldn't load. So I'll try again tomorrow.
Instead, shall be the story of the great wean. There once was a girl named Olivia, whose Dad said "we can't name her Olivia, it rhymes with Bolivia!" Okay enough with the rhymes, but that's what Ryan really did say when I proclaimed my love for her name! :)
Seriously though. Olivia will turn 11 months old next week! I can hardly believe it. It is getting close to be time to be done with the boobies. As much as I have loved nursing, I am READY to be done. Someone sucking on your boobs several times every day can be exhausting. Really exhuasting. About a month ago I was afraid that she would never be done nursing, but over the last month we have managed to eliminate 2 of her 4 remaining boob fests. She now only nurses twice a day! Yea! Her remaining fests are early morning (STILL) and bed time. Bed time I think we will be able to eliminate no problem, but the early morning feeding I think may pose some problems.
Some history. Olivia has "slept through the night" since she was 7 weeks old. (Clinically speaking, sleeping through the night is 6 hours straight). We have certainly been blessed! From 7 to 13 weeks, Olivia would go 9 to 10 hours at night without nursing. It was wonderful.... At 13 weeks, she started being ready to go to bed earlier--between 7 and 8 every night--so she started waking up an hour earlier in the morning to eat--between 4 and 5. Thus has been her schedule since 13 weeks. So now it is habit, and STRONG habit! I've tried just putting her back to sleep with the nuk, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...and when it does it's only for about an hour or so. This is going to be a tough habit to break..."crying it out" at 5 am doesn't work so much when she's not quite so tired!!
Here are my questions:
1. Should I eliminate the bedtime nurse first or keep it until after the early morning nurse is done?
(This poses several different problem scenarios: If I eliminate it, will she then wake up earlier...if I don't eliminate bedtime nursing first, after the early morning feeding is done and I work to eliminate the nighttime feeding, will she then start waking up early again?? So many problems, so little time...)
2. Did anyone have the problem of having to eliminate an early morning nurse, or were everyones babes already sleeping ALL the way through the night at this point? (And if they were, don't rub it in too much...salt in the wound...)
3. Am I worrying too much? They say they will just be done when they are ready...I've trusted this so far and it's worked...but this early morning feeding has got me going insane!!
What to do? I need some advice from you mommies! Thanks!!
6 comments:
Ella did not sleep thru the night until she was well over 1 year old...but she was pretty much done nursing by 7 months (on her own). So, whatever she did to nurse before I suplimented a bottle with after she was done nursing. She got one at bedtime, middle of the night for quite sometime (be glad you arent weening THAT one!) and the morning. Will she take a bottle? if so, I would do that! =)
Otherwise...if you think the early morning feeding is just a pacifing thing...like she is really not getting much milk...I would just stop and it will prob. take a week of her crying, but if she really isnt hungry, it wont take her long to go back to sleep. I know it may be a tough transition for a few days, but the biggest thing is that whatever you decide...STICK with it. DONT go back and forth or it will just prolong the process and drive you crazy! =)
My boys had no problems...they slept thru the night almost right away and stopped nursing on their own so no weaning. Just bottles and sleeping! =)
I would agree that it sounds like the early morning feeding for O is a pacifying thing more than anything, so it would make the most sense to try to drop that first.
We dropped Elijah's 4am feeding when he was 9 months old. For a few nights after that, he would wake up just out of habit. I would go into his room, rub his back and tell him to go back to sleep. He cried a little, but after a few nights, he was fine. He has slept ALL through the night ever since. AAAAAahhhhhhhh!!! So nice.
This was EXACTLY the situation I had with Annika! I was so worried about it...she would wake up at 6am and then nurse herself back to sleep until 8 or 9am. (We are NOT morning people, so just letting her get up at 6am was NOT an option for us) Close to a year, I dropped the bedtime feeding and gave her a sippy cup of milk before bed. I continued the 6am feeding until she was just over a year (maybe 13 months); my milk supply was nearly gone, it was totally for her to pacify. Then I just quit cold turkey and it turned out to not be a big deal and she just ended up going back to sleep and after a few days was done with it.
I don't even remember her "crying it out", so it must not have been as big of a deal as I was worried it would be. I know for your sake, you'd like to be completely done, but maybe just hanging on to that morning feeding for a little while longer won't hurt anyone and will be easier to drop like it was for Annika. I hope so!
Thanks guys! I hope it does go smoothly! I am okay with going over a year, as long as I am done by 13 months because we are going on VACA!!
Oh, sounds like 13 months is a great time to wean her--when her schedule is all messed up on vacation anyway! Ha, ha!
Both of my kids were sleeping through the night (12 hours) by the time they were 8.5 months old. Coincidentally, that was also around the time that both of them started to ween themselves. We got to the point where I was only nursing them at bedtime and in the mornings. But honestly, I eliminated their morning feeds first once I realized they were weening. Then, I made sure at night that they NEVER fell asleep at my breast. Rather, I let them eat to their heart's content, and made sure to put them down awake. Then, when they woke up in the middle of the night, I obliged their need to nurse. Gradually, these got less and less. Eventually, I stopped nursing them before bedtime, and stopped automatically nursing them in the middle of the night, and they eventually just stopped waking for it. Take your time. Read their cues. If you nurse her now and then, it's not going to go on forever. But if you think she can go back to sleep with no nursing, give it a try first. Good luck with it. I highly recommend the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Check it out.
Incidentally, I am looking at going back to school for my MA in counseling/therapy, and would love to chat with you (email of course) about your experiences if you're willing. My address is dnforlano@hotmail.com.
Thanks!
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