Night weaning is not the same project as sleep training, though they often get bundled together. This one is about calories and feeding rhythm: moving milk from the night into the day, gradually enough that neither your baby nor your supply gets a shock.
The taper
Cocoon counts it down for you, but the shape is simple. Start from your baby's usual night feed length — say ten minutes — and take about two minutes off each night:
- Nights 1–2: about 10, then 8 minutes.
- Nights 3–5: 6, then 4 minutes.
- Nights 6–8: 2 minutes, then comfort only.
For bottles, drop roughly 20ml a night instead. When the feed reaches zero, settle with whatever comfort you normally use — the same words, the same hand, the dark room.
If you feed more than once a night, taper the easier one first and leave the other at full length until the first is gone. Doing both at once is where most families come unstuck.
During the day
Feed generously. Offer an extra feed or a slightly larger bottle, and make sure solids are iron-rich and regular if your baby is eating them. The calories should move, not vanish — a baby who is genuinely hungry at 2am will tell you, and that is a reason to slow down.
Watch for
- Your supply, if you are breastfeeding. Hand express for comfort if you wake full, and watch for a blocked duct or mastitis in the first week.
- Weight and nappies. Fewer wet nappies, less interest in the day, or a flat weight curve means stop and check in with a clinician.
- Illness, teething or a leap. Pause the taper and hold where you are. You can always restart.
Is it working?
Cocoon tracks your logged nights against the week before you started, so you can see night wakings and the longest unbroken stretch alongside the taper. It is common for wakings to persist for a week or two after the feed has gone — the waking and the feeding are separate habits, and the second one usually fades after the first. If wakings are still frequent once the taper is finished, that is the point to look at a settling approach rather than the feed.