Stopping breasfeeding to sleep

Hi
Have any of you breastfed your baby to sleep? We started by accident when Jack got his first cold at about 4 months old and it has just continued since then - he is 8 1/2 months now.
I had planned to try and stop as I would like to stop bf at about 1 year, even posted a topic here asking others for their bedtime routines to try and come up with other options to try. However Jack doesn't seem to want to change, although he will sometimes go to sleep with a cuddle, rocking and singing it is always his choice not my trying to do so (he will go to sleep in the car or pushchair as well). Now I just wonder if I should just wait until he decides to stop.
What have other people done? Have you made an effort to change the routine or waited until baby decided to stop themselves? I am very indecisive as to what to do. I have asked hubby for his thoughts and he just says to do whatever I want to do - I think he is just trying to be supportive when really I think I want him to make the decision for me so that I don't have to.
HELP PLEASE!!

If it isnt a problem, I mean if hecan self settle if he wakes during the night, and doesnt need you to have to feed him to sleep everytime he wakes, and you are happy to continue then do. But if he isnt able to settle himself and is waking lots then u might want to stop feeding him to sleep/rocking to sleep etc. You could try feeding him a little earlier so hes not so sleepy, or keep the lights on etc, then after his feed have a story or soemthing, then bed.

I doubt he will decide to stop himself lol you just need to decide when you have had enough of it. You could try feeding him so hes had enough food and is drowsy and put him to bed. As long as hes fed, clean, warm, and dry you can just leave him to cry and maybe go in every 10 mins to check on him. It will be hard at the start but should take a week at the very most.

Another option but will take longer is to feed him until hes drowsy and then put him to bed but when he cries pick him up and feed until drowsy and then put back down, continue this and eventually he will just go to sleep without the boob. It will probably work better at night to start off with when hes really tired.

Good luck

I had the same problem with Alize and when he was 7mths and I was desperate as he couldnt self settle, so I was up all thru thr night. I used the sleep sense method. It worked a treat. It took 2 nights of him crying his eyes out but once he got the message we havent looked beck. He still has his last bfeed and then I put him down awake at 7 and he sleeps thru till seven. Goodluck with your wee one.

Thanks ladies for your suggestions but I can't bear to let him cry hence I haven't tried these sorts of things earlier. Maybe we will just muddle along a while longer and see what happens.

I dont know any mother that finds in easy/can bear to leave their baby to cry. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
But I felt we had no other option left. Isla was a year old, and I was absolutely exhaustedfrom getting up anywhere from 3-6 times a night, and feeding her seveal times a night, (on top of PTSD and PND).
On the advise of our GP, and plunketline, and after having Isla checked out twice that week by GP to make sure she was fully healthy (she has several medical cnditions, and I wanted to be sure there would be no medical reason she would need me in the night),...and with the help of my mil,(she stayed the night to support us)...we didnt go in to her the whole night. She was fed at 6.30pm, then not again til the morning. We planned to not go into her before 6 am, and thats what we did. She woke seveal times, and one time cried for an hour,...but after that she slept through.

Now if she wakes and cries, I can tell if she is going to stop or if there is a problem, then we go in.

I had thought I was being selfish wanting her to sleep through the night. That only DH and I would benefit. But we have both been amazed at the change in Isla since she now sleeps through. She suddenly started eating and drinking so much better since she no longer has any food over night. We leave a non-spil sipper cup of water at the end of her cot if she needs it. She is so so much happier, and slept better in the day too. If I had known she was going to benifit from sleeping through, then I would have done it earlier, and not felt so awful and guilty about letting her cry.

okay - i agree in a sense its only a problem if its a problem to you as you are the one that has to be there till he falls asleep and get up beduring the night too...

BUT it is a longggggg road to go down... (been there with my first born) it started with feeding him to sleep or cuddles. when he went into a 'proper' bed at 2 years he would sneak into my bed so i wouldn't even feel him get in - great to sleep thru BUT not great when they are 4 and still not sleep thru! it was my own fault but i would rather of started how I intended to go on. #2 was not going to be feed to sleep and maybe just luck but she was a great sleeper. so along comes #3 and hes even better (now... us nov babes went thru a not sleeping stage)

Dare I say it but if its the suckling that he likes - maybe give him a dummy.

i can vouch for Kels and that the sleep sense helped with her -yup its horrible hearing your baby cry so you need to be mentally strong for it BUT as kels said it doesn't take long and she hasn't looked back

oh thats right claire but isn't there they talk about - one cry it out and two the one you explained. I never used it myself only because it said to get rid of the dummy and I wasn't ready for that, thats why I said mentally strong (guess I wasn't at my thither although got very close at one stage) Lucky for me Rhyley settled quickly and sleeps at least 12 hours a night. Mind hes like his dad (and his mum for that matter) and loves his sleep LOL..

I think i still have the emailed copy somewhere...

Edited by AnnC

Linzy wrote: Thanks ladies for your suggestions but I can't bear to let him cry hence I haven't tried these sorts of things earlier. Maybe we will just muddle along a while longer and see what happens.

You will know when you are ready if ever at all. I never let my older child cry to sleep at all, I just couldnt handle the crying it really upset me. Number 2 was a perfect sleeper and self settled from a young age all by herself. Number 3 well I just got to the stage when something had to happen. I was working and trying to run the house with 3kids as a single mother and I needed my sleep back and my evenings just to unwind and have some relaxation time.