Moms of older babies: nursing schedule

[Stingyshark]

I'm trying to figure out a good nursing schedule for DD now that she is eating more meals & btwn 9-12oz of whole milk per day.

We currently nurse 2-3x a day, which I'm okay with.

I'm mostly curious about night time nursing. Right now I'm nursing DD to bed - I'm ready for this to stop as I think it's contributing to her MOTN wake up problem.

Where should i put the night time nurse?
Before dinner?
After bath but before bed?

Tonight we are doing nurse, dinner, bath, nurse, books & bed.

She had an extra nurse in there bc she was so fussy before dinner.

FTR: I have no real goals for nursing. I would like to continue to nurse past 1 yr, but that's about it.

[disappointedkittens]

We nurse before bath. I read that you are aiming for about a 20-30 minute separation from bedtime to break the nurse to sleep association. It did help a lot with night wakings but he still gets up once.
When I first started he'd root around after lights out for the first few weeks but now he doesn't even try. I usually just cuddle for a minute and say the same thing before a kiss and into the crib.

[anna7602]

When I wanted to stop nursing DD to sleep, I gradually moved back the bedtime nursing session to before bath then to before dinner before dropping it entirely.

Night waking wasn't an issue, but not being able to have anyone but me put her to bed was.

[Deleted]

Generally, I nurse in the morning, after work, and before bed. I don't nurse around naps any more. We night weaned last week (at 15 months). She's never nursed to sleep, so no advice there other than what anna7602 said about moving it earlier.

[vmars]

During the week I give DS any milk I pump + WCM to make up the difference (he gets 3 4oz bottles at DC). He nurses 1x in the morning and 1x before bed. He gets solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He does sometimes have puffs/crunchies as a snack.

On the weekends he is nursing 1x in the morning and once either before or after his morning/afternoon nap and then before bed. I usually offer WCM with dinner/late afternoon too, but he doesn't always take it.

I am hoping by a year he will take WCM during the day and will just nurse morning/night. I am hoping to continue nursing to get him through this cold/flu season, but wouldn't mind weaning earlier too.

[mcfelix]

DS is16 months and I currently nurse most mornings and nights. I don't nurse him to sleep but it is the last thing I do before we put him to bed. But he is always awake when he is put in his crib for bed. He doesn't have any issues with waking up at night. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[purplecow0206]

We broke the nurse-to-sleep habit back when A was around 5 months because I was going to be traveling for work, and we wanted to make sure that she would be able to fall asleep. To do it, we simply started a routine that is:

1a. Nurse
1b. Bath (2-3 times a week)
2. PJs and Sleep Sack
3. 2 stories
4. Into the crib

Right now, we nurse on demand on the weekends, and she gets 1 milk bottle (4 oz) and 1 formula bottle (4 oz) 3 meals and 1 snack. I'm going to stop pumping at work in 3 weeks (17 more days of pumping, but who's counting? ) but hope to still be able to nurse on demand on the weekends. I want to keep BFing at least through the winter, but will drop it when it no longer works for us.

[magpie]

I nurse at bedtime (if she wants to--she often refuses because she wants to go to bed) and first thing in the morning. I don't really nurse her to sleep though. She usually pops off after a couple of minutes and demands "UP!" because she wants me to lay her down in her crib.

[DarcyLongfellow]

DD2 is almost 18 months, but we've had the same schedule for a long, long time. I nurse her before nap, before bed, and whenever she wakes up at night (usually once or twice a night).

I nurse her right before I put her in the bed, but I don't nurse her to sleep unless it's the middle of the night (when usually both of us fall back asleep in the glider).

[AlpineSlide]

I do everything wrong, so don't listen to me. I nurse 4 times/day, sometimes more. He usually STTN but if he wakes up I nurse. He just turned one on Wednesday.

I nurse:
1st thing upon waking up (around 7am)
before 1st nap (around 10)
before 2nd nap (around 3:00)
before bed (7pm)

and often, he will nurse around 1:00. But I'm trying to distract him and offer a snack. We're not doing WCM yet, but we go to his 12 month well baby visit tomorrow, so I'll discuss that replacing BM.

I am so ready to wean, but he is really attached to it. I don't feel like he eats meals (solid foods) that well, so I'd hate to take away the nutrition of BM, but he's huge so I really shouldn't worry - he won't starve.

basically, I have no idea what to do. I need to make a post for step-by-step advice for weaning. As a SAHM I'm with him all day. He pulls down my shirt when he wants milk. I don't want a huge battle every time....