Still Feeding During the Night...

Hate to tell you this but my 21 month old daughter still nurses during the night! I have no clue how to break it. I've tried to say no and she throw a fit and she also has a toddler bed so no good there. No reason you should have to explain yourself on why you are continuing to breastfeed. Don't let anyone hassle you about it and it's not their breasts/child anyway! As for accidental bites, I have been there. I tell her she has to be gentle and other time I draw her into my boob and she lets go. Those are two ideas for you. Good luck!

While my daughter dropped hers at around 10 months when she started sleeping completely through the night (and when she started refusing naps) my son kept nursing until I cut him off just before a year. I know there are people who think it's a bad idea to tell your kids when to stop nursing, but that's not to say that you can't soothe them when they wake to nurse. It only took a few days until he got the picture. And if you're concerned about teeth, she may bite but she'll learn not to if you're consistent when (though hopefully to stay an if) she does. I always kept reminding myself that this phase is so fleeting and I'll miss it when it's gone. While I missed their needing me initially, I forgot once I was able to sleep. ;) Good luck whatever road you go! I'm sure you'll make the best decision for you all.

Every child has a different internal rhythm and clock... but most children and most adults too - will NEVER sleep thru the night. At this point to discourage night time nursing will only hurt your child. She's most likely not nursing much during the day due to learning so many new things, distractions and wanting to run run run. She's making up for lost Mommy and me time as well as lost superior nutrition in her night time feedings. This is VERY normal for nursing children.

The possibility of her biting you at this age is greatly lessened - it usually occurs between 7-12 months - so I think you may be in the clear. Just let her know to be gentle to your nipples while eating.

With my son, he weaned himself during the day from nursing, but still woke up at night one or two times. He was 13 months. I decided to try giving him a bottle of milk instead of nursing him. I did this for a few nights and then switched to a sippy cup of milk. He didn't want the sippy cup and the next night when he woke up, i just rubbed his back and said it's time for sleep and it only took a few times and he slept through the night. It's all about breaking the habit. You could maybe try that with breast milk instead of regular milk. Good luck. There is no easy answer.

I just went through this with my now 17 month old so I feel for you. When my son was 14 months he too was getting up every couple hours and wanting to nurse. I realized things had to change when I found myself barely able to take care of my 3 kids during the day. So, I decided to gradually wean him off his night feedings. First, I let him nurse twice during the night and then offered a sippy cup the other times he wanted to feed. He cried a little the first night or 2, but I just held him until he would go back to sleep. When he started taking the sippy cup after 4 or 5 days and fighting to nurse less, I would nurse him just once a night. The once a night nursing went on for a week and when he seemed to adapt, I began to offer the sippy cup until about 5 am and then I would nurse him once. He'd usually go back to sleep for a couple hours after that. Finally 2 weeks later he was no longer begging for night feedings. He didn't really sleep any better after weaning from night nursing, but I felt less worn out in the morning even if he woke every couple hours. I found that sometimes he did need food during the night so I would feed him either cold blueberries or grapes or a Go Gurt which he loved. He'd usually sleep a little longer after that.
Teething is tough for my kids and they never sleep through the night until after the last (20th) tooth is in between 18 months and 2 yrs. My little guy still doesn't sleep more than 3 or 4 hours straight most nights though he has recently slept 7 hours. I'm hopeful that someday I will sleep (and you too). My older 2 kids were exactly the same as my youngest but now at ages 3 and 6 both are sleeping 10-11 hours straight at night.
Keep nursing till you are both ready to quit. Don't worry to much about teeth. My little guy weaned at 16 months and he had 16 teeth and though he did bite once or twice, he learned quickly. When babies/toddlers bite during nursing, I say, "No bite!" firmly and take them off the breast. Then I wait 2 or 3 minutes before putting them back on. If they bite again, I end the nursing.
Hope this helps. Midwife mom of 3