You decided to breastfeed your baby and now he is a toddler who is still taking 2-3 feedings at night. You are tired of those 2 a.m. wake up calls. Your other girlfriends who have toddlers of same age are now getting 7-8 hrs of shut-eye and you are still on 4 hrs.

Sure, there are babies who sleep all night at an early age, but for the mother of a nursing toddler who is “on call” all night long, life can be exhausting. Those nightly nursing marathons can be complicated by other factors, such as pregnancy.

If you think night weaning might be the solution for you, read on for some tips for success.

• Consider that hunger may be an important factor in night nursing, especially if your toddler is closer to one than two or three. Some one-year-olds are getting a significant amount of their nutrition during nightly feedings, so you will need to plan to either nurse more often during the day (if possible) or increase your child’s intake of other foods and drinks.

• Talk up your plans with your toddler first. Let him or her know that the “nursies” will be sleeping at night and not available.
• Plan other strategies with your toddler. Like: you could give him a sippy cup of water, rub his back, cuddle him and let him pick which of those he wanted.
• Give a little more during the day. Give your toddler some long, relaxed nursing sessions in the evening after work. And remind him then that you wouldn’t be nursing during the night.
• Enlist any help you can get.
• Watch your child’s reaction. Night weaning is going to be more work and trouble than continuing to nurse. Your toddler won’t be ready for it at any cost. But don’t give up.
• Remember that your feelings matter too. You can believe in the value of breastfeeding, yet still feel exhausted and frustrated by night-nursing marathons. You need to listen to your body, and if it says ‘get some sleep’ and ‘nursing is not comfortable,’ it means its time for night weaning.
• Be prepared for setbacks. Don’t assume that just because your toddler stops nursing at night, he’ll sleep longer. He would still wake up and want a drink of water or a cuddle. Some toddlers get stomach flu or fever, start losing weight, become lazy etc.

Night weaning may not be magic, but it’s one option that can help tired moms get through a potentially challenging stage.

Night moves

Other alternatives for mothers of night-nursing toddlers:

• If night nursing doesn’t bother you too much, don’t worry about it. Your child will eventually stop nursing during the night.
• Bring her into your bed, or at least into your room, if she’s not already there. It will help you get more sleep — which is the most important point.
• Check on other factors that might be causing the wakefulness. Teething, bladder infections and daytime stresses can be other causes.