New parents are tired, always. As a breastfeeding mother, you may be finding the exhaustion even more of a struggle. After all, you’re likely to be the one awake with a hungry baby at 3am. Your baby probably goes through periods of frequent night wakings, and during these phases, you’re likely to feel like a zombie. It’s no wonder that so many parents are attracted to the idea of night weaning. When you start feeling bone-achingly sleep-deprived, you’ll probably be willing to do absolutely anything to get just a few more hours of sleep each night. Here are five tips to help you get to grips with night weaning:

1. Set realistic expectations

I know, you wanted a baby who would sleep through from day 1 and that is certainly not what you got. It’s important to remember, however, that young babies aren’t really designed to sleep through the night. In fact, there are plenty of benefits to night feeds, though it may not seem that way at 2am. As your baby grows older, however, he may be ready to sleep for longer stretches during the night. Don’t forget, though, night weaning doesn’t necessarily guarantee that your child will wake less frequently, it just means you won’t be able to boob her back to sleep if she does wake.

2. Be gentle

Night weaning doesn’t need to be a difficult transition for your baby, there are ways to stop night feeds without your child becoming upset. To achieve this, you’ll need to take your time and tread gently. Follow your child’s cues and look out for signs that things are moving too quickly for her.

3. Provide other sleep cues

To prepare your child for night weaning, you’ll need to create other cues to help your child fall asleep each night. This could be a piece of music played softly in the background or the presence of a particular toy or comforter. You’ll need to introduce it at bedtime for a month or so before you plan to start night weaning. This will help your child associate the new cue with sleep, so that when you stop breastfeeding, your child will still have a sleep aid at her disposal. After four weeks, you can try guiding your child back to sleep with the sleep aid instead of the breast.

4. Keep feeding in the day

Keep breastfeeding on demand during the day, this will help to ensure your child continues to get enough breast milk. You may find that your baby wants to feed more often during the day when you begin night weaning, this is normal and should settle down as your child adjusts to the change.

5. Expect setbacks

This is one thing parents always have to be prepared for. No matter what stage your child is at, there will always be moments of regression. Regression is a normal part of child development. If your child is feeling unwell or about to take a huge developmental leap, you may find that the night wakings increase. Unfortunately, this is something you can’t avoid. These regressions won’t last forever, though. In just a couple of days or weeks, your child will be back to her usual self and you’ll be able to get some sleep again.

Are you thinking of night weaning your baby?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

There is nothing worse than sleep deprivation. The complete and utter exhaustion of new parenthood is unlike anything else. You’re so tired your hair hurts, your teeth ache and you can’t remember the last time you had a decent conversation. Your most searched for term on Google is ‘when will my baby sleep through the night?’ You fantasize about getting to enjoy eight hours of uninterrupted blissful slumber. Put simply, you’re desperate for sleep. So desperate, in fact, you’d do anything. So, should you leave your baby to cry it out?

The cry it out method

The cry it out method does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Instead of going in to soothe your baby, you simply leave her to cry it out. When following the method, parents are advised to leave their baby to cry for slowly increasing periods of time before going into the room. It’s not for everybody, but some parents swear by it as a way of getting a decent night’s sleep. Cry it out is not advised for babies aged under six months.

There are different versions of the cry it out sleep method. While some may be quite harsh and advise parents not to comfort their crying infants, other take a gentler approach to sleep training. The idea behind the cry it out method is that it will teach your baby how to soothe himself to sleep, thus saving you a job in the middle of the night and, hopefully, allowing you to get a better night’s sleep.

Why wouldn’t I do it?

If it works, why would a parent choose not utilize cry it out to grab a few extra hours sleep each night? Well, your baby’s cries are her early attempt at communication. Some parents simply don’t feel comfortable ignoring their baby’s cries and prefer instead to respond quickly to their baby’s needs. The argument behind cry it out is that it teaches babies to self-soothe, but some experts feel that babies are too young to learn how to self-soothe. Some parents fear that, far from teaching your child to self-soothe, you are instead teaching her that nobody will come when she cries.

How you raise your child is a deeply personal decision and one that only you and your partner can make together.

Do you feel comfortable with the idea of the cry it out method and are you planning to try it when your baby is six months old?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.