Cutting down bf (more of an AP issue though)

[Rainbowbrite]

How do I go about cutting back on the bf at night?

MJ is feeding every hour at night & its more for comfort than anything. If i just try to cuddle her she screams till i give in & bf her. She falls straight to sleep then :banghead:

I'm still wanting to bf for as long as possible but i'm just so sore all the time & feeling very empty too :(

Please help :fingerscrossed:

[willsmum]

Hey there! I don't have an answer for you, just wanted to let you know I'm stuck too.

Charli is 20months old and breast feeds to sleep. Wakes up once or twice a night and will scream and carry on for hours but if I feed her, 2 mins and she's asleep. :banghead:

SO I give in for peace and sleep's sake. Other than full scale warfare I have less than no idea how to stop.

So I'm glad you posted your question. Maybe I can pick up some help too. Good luck - I'll be thinking of you in the wee small hours when I'm up feeding.

[TLCC]

Hi Ladies,

I'm sorry to hear your both having such a hard time.

I didn't have the exact same problems but was feeding to sleep for the last feed of the day when DD was younger. Eventually we worked out we were just putting her down too late and she was overtired and looking for comfort. Not sure if that helps but we put her down earlier and then she started to stop associating night time sleep with a feed.

As for night time feeds, they usually get into the pattern of waking and needing the feed to go back to sleep as they can't settle themselves (they think!). Maybe if you could try a bottle (or sipper cup or something they are used to) with some water in it. Try practicing during the day so they know what to do with the bottle (if they haven't had one much before) and then at night give them the water if they want a drink. It's going to be hard for the first couple of nights, but then they might realise they aren't going to get a milk hit and might be encouraged to simply go back to sleep.

I really hope this might help.