07/31/2026
If you're wondering how I night weaned without tears, here's exactly what we did. 🤍
I waited much longer to night wean than I originally planned.
Addy was so tiny that I continued overnight feeds because I wanted to make sure she was growing well. After everything we'd been through with her heart surgery and slow weight gain, those feeds gave me peace of mind.
But eventually we got to a place where her weight was doing great... and if I'm being honest, I just couldn't do the night feeds anymore. I was exhausted, and I knew we were both ready.
So we took a really gentle approach.
For about 2 weeks, I layered in other sleep associations every time she woke while nursing - our same music, bum pats, and back rubs. I wanted those things to become just as comforting as nursing.
Then, over the next week, I gradually pushed back the first feed.
✨ Night 1: no feeding before 1:00 a.m.
✨ Night 2: no feeding before 2:00 a.m.
✨ Night 3: no feeding before 3:00 a.m.
If she woke before that time, I comforted her in every other way first. Once the "feed time" arrived, I nursed her like normal.
Eventually... it just clicked.
There were no big battles. No long stretches of crying. It was honestly so much smoother than I expected.
Now, every baby is different. I honestly don't know that this approach would've worked as well with Aubrey—he has a very different personality than Addy. She's always been a little more easygoing, and I think that played a big role.
This isn't the way to night wean. It's simply what worked for our family. If you're considering it, hopefully this gives you another gentle option to think about because for me the hardest part was just committing to starting! And it was way easier than I thought 💗
Also for anyone who's still feeding overnight past 16 months, that's amazing too! There is no perfect timeline. You gotta do what's best for you! We co sleep on and off depending on her needs but I was still able to co sleep and night wean from breastfeeding
