How to get him off the boob??!!?

Rosy Posy

My little man is one next week and I'm just about over the breastfeeding now. He's on full solids but has never taken a bottle of anything. With my other two we went straight from boob to cup at around one but my son self weaned because I was pregnant with my daughter, and my daughter was not reliant on breastfeeding to get to sleep so it was easier. He has one to two breastfeeds in the day before his naps, unless we go for a drive in the car or a walk in the buggy, and one big one at bedtime but at night he's a shocker. He's up at least every two hours and is comfort feeding and co-sleeping. I'm not a fan of 'cry it out' or the baby whisperers pick up put down thing. Have tried some of the strategies in the No Cry Sleep Solution but he is just so stubborn and I am so so tired. I really want him not to be reliant on me to get to sleep. I have a weekend trip planned in a month's time and I'm getting scared now that I won't be able to go. Any help would be much appreciated!

littlemissfixit

It might have to be a case of being cruel to be kind to both of you. Is he taking the cup at all? If he is, then really you are just weaning him his comfort since he can get the milk elsewhere.
I would be more for weaning of one thing at a time, as in weaning of the boob while keeping the co-sleeping for a while (even though you probably wont get much sleep for a few nights), rather than go cold turkey on everything. Have a plan, and stick to it, old habits die hard and he will fight you with everything he's got so once you start you must not give in. Be confident that he will get there and wont resent you for it, in fact it will probably be harder on you than him.
If you can first sooth him without the bf and help him learn to fall asleep without it, then you can move him to his cot and room. there will be a lot of tears but he might surprise you. Make sure you can be off, and have help during the day so you can catch on your sleep and be able to keep going if he keeps you awake a few nights.
As for the methods, there are loads out there and it depends on what you are comfortable with. We used a controlled crying one to get my little girl to learn to fall asleep herself and it worked very well very quickly.

liliq

We're around the same age here, and bf/ co sleep as well. Some stages are just so hard!!
I know you've said you're wreaked, but what about giving the No Cry sleep solution a good shot for a week? It might be worth it.
Does he settle for anyone else? My son will settle for my mam nearly quicker than he will for me! He drops off happily enough with his Dad as well with cuddles etc. Maybe getting someone else to settle him would be a start?
Would you consider just night weaning? It might be an easier transition- would he understand "boobies are asleep" or no boobies when it's dark?
At this stage I wouldn't worry about your weekend away, I know of plenty o boob monsters that have coped with mama away for a couple of nights and haven't had too many issues.

Rosy Posy

liliq wrote: »

We're around the same age here, and bf/ co sleep as well. Some stages are just so hard!!
I know you've said you're wreaked, but what about giving the No Cry sleep solution a good shot for a week? It might be worth it.
Does he settle for anyone else? My son will settle for my mam nearly quicker than he will for me! He drops off happily enough with his Dad as well with cuddles etc. Maybe getting someone else to settle him would be a start?
Would you consider just night weaning? It might be an easier transition- would he understand "boobies are asleep" or no boobies when it's dark?
At this stage I wouldn't worry about your weekend away, I know of plenty o boob monsters that have coped with mama away for a couple of nights and haven't had too many issues.

Definitely think that getting someone else to settle him would be a good start. He has just started settling for his Daddy but often wakes up 10mins later looking for boobie. Also Daddy is not as patient as he might be at night time. I think we'll start with the night weaning and everything else will just follow. The difficulty now is the timing- there's never a good time- have been trying to do this for a few months (the night weaning at least) and first he was teething, then we were going away so there was no point in doing it right before that, then we all got sick one after the other! He's quite unwell at the moment so we'll have to put it off until he recovers, the poor mite. Just that time is ticking away...I'd say he'd cope without boobie for a weekend but I'm not sure that Daddy and Granny would cope with him!!

cynder

I resorted to covering my nipples in mustard and telling her milk had gone yucky.

I had no family nearby to take her for the day to wean her off. It would break my heart to hear her cry for me do gave in. But the mustard worked. She accepted she was big and milk had gone yucky.

Rosy Posy

cynder wrote: »

I resorted to covering my nipples in mustard and telling her milk had gone yucky.

I had no family nearby to take her for the day to wean her off. It would break my heart to hear her cry for me do gave in. But the mustard worked. She accepted she was big and milk had gone yucky.

How old was she? I'm not sure my one year old would buy it...