Stop breastfeeding at night according to Gordon
I’m soooo tired and I read Dr Jay Gordon’s article a couple of times thinking about if that’s a way for us.
Tonight I tried it the very first time.
I cannot even tell you what time it is right now as we are laying in our family bed and the room is dark except of a hidden salt lamp in a corner which gives a tiny bit of light for us as orientation.
Rami went to bed with me as usual, we snuggled and then I breastfed him into sleep.
I have no idea how often I fed him since then as he turns around quite often to get soothed and I stopped counting.
Being tired and exhausted due to this lack of sleep seemed almost normal but tonight I gave it s first try and I’m so so so thankful for this advice.
When Rami turned towards me the felt 100th time tonight I started to rub his back instead of feeding him, talking to him, explaining him that it’s still nighttime and that we go back to sleep.
As expected he started to be angry not to say very very angry.
He didn’t expect me to that as he always got exactly what he wanted for the past 13 months and 2 days or better said nights.
I was prepared (by the article and by fellow moms who did it already) and he started to cry, heartbreaking tears on my babies / toddlers cheeks to dry.
I took him up, trying to rock him like we used to when he was younger but my little stubborn child got more angry.
He flipped and turned and cried, a really angry crying as if he wanted to shout at me “how dare you, mommy”.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy but his crying is really hurting me on the core of my soul.
I stay “hard” and hug him and rock him and soothe him and step by step he started to calm down.
Sobbing the way they do after a long cry but he calms down.
We lay down snuggled up, he lays in my arms and I tell him stories of what we did that day and that we go tomorrow to the playground again, that the sun is hopefully shining brightly when we wake up and that we watch out for dogs again like we used to. He will run after the doves again and we walk to the swing, all these things I tell him and he relaxes more and more, holding my hands while listening with wide open eyes to my voice.
His face looks calm now in the bare shadow of the light and I fall head over heels in love with this little boy again, like every day.
I can’t believe that we made it, the first time in the middle of the night where he is calm without breastfeeding and he looks at me as if he wants to say “it’s ok, mommy, I’m fine. Let’s sleep now as long as I am allowed to be close to you”.
He is allowed to be as close to me as he wants and while I sing to him he turns around in my arms having his nose close to mine, yawning and closing his eyes.
He sleeps and I could cry now.
He’s the purest kind of love I’ve ever met and I never thought that this “hard” way will bring us even closer than before.
Breastfeeding is the closest way of being together is what I thought but it’s not true anymore. He’s growing and our relationship is starting to go to another level.
I write it all down not to forget these precious first moments.
For sure we will continue to breastfeed and this was just the very first night of trying to get nights of sleep but during daytime he can drink lots of his milk as well as in the morning after he woke up and at night when we go and sleep.
This wonderful routine won’t stop for another couple of months I assume and that’s OK!
He deserves the best, my little love ❤️
(So far gone already and before I even introduce Rami, my son, to you I write about last night. This is where we are right now but surely you will read more stories how we got here soon!)
For all who are interested in the Dr Jay Gordon method here the link:
http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html
Thanks for sharing. I am really curious if he now stopped asking for milk at night?
I’ve seen improvement after 3 nights already but then he caught a cold and we stopped it.
I strongly believe that it works if you are strict and follow the advise and I will try it again when he’s completely fit again (still has a running nose and what’s better than breastmilk when they don’t feel fine.
Did he got angry every night when you said he couldn’t drink? My daughter is nog 18 months and breastfeeding addicted haha. But in day time she doesnt drink that often anymore. Only when she is tired or when she want to be comfy/cuddling. But at night she still drinks a lot. We also sleep together and that makes it a lot esier. Most of the times i just sleep when she is feeding herself. But simetimes its really exausting. I hope to fullfill 2 years of breastfeeding. But since she is 1.5 atm i think one by one / day by day it would be oke to make the drinking moments less. Thanks for your respons.
The first three nights we tried it he got angry but it was decreasing in the third night already, he was calm faster than the nights before. check the link in my post – there it’s explained how to do it and give it a try. I know one other mom and it worked perfectly for her within a couple of days.