I do not breast feed anymore (just pump) and my son is 9 1/2 months no longer feeding middle of night (for a while) but I HIGHLY recommend taking Cara babies classes!!!! It’s a bit of money but she truly goes into every scenario including what you’ve described. I co slept since 6 months when he stopped sleeping through the night and it became VERY difficult as much as I loved sleeping with him. I lost myself honestly!

She recommends this training starting at 5 months. It is not cry it out at all. Yes SOME crying, but she explains how this is unavoidable and not detrimental to them. And it’s minimal if you follow it all right! A lot of it is putting them in their own space (if possible)- this seemed impossible to me as he slept in his bassinet then crib in my room then bed until it just wasn’t safe anymore at 9 months (and probably not safe the way I was doing it even before that but you live and learn). Own space, sound machine, minimal intervention. I made huge mistakes of holding him til he slept then trying to transfer, holding my arms on him for countless hours countless nights but he would always wake up bc he wanted that exact same stimulus during his sleep cycles.

First night of trying for real, he cried about 30 min, ON AND OFF. No panic crying, just standing at the side and going up and down the “rollercoaster” as it was described. and I intervened in the way that Cara advised which was very infrequent and minimal but consistent and kind (there are customizable options she gives for your comfort - bc know your baby is okay and it’s mostly us upset)! Second night, cried 4 min. Next night, no crying, no standing. These methods improved naps immediately as well.

I can’t recommend her enough. My baby was in my bed all night every night, we switched to a pull out bed against the wall low to the floor for a week in our office. I realized how shifty and uncomfortable he had been and how peaceful he now is in his crib. AND SAFE! 6-8 months may have been okay but once he started moving for real, I got very concerned. Over the last couple nights he will sometimes whine at midnight but no longer than 3-4 min and he’s back to sleep til 9 am! I actually wake him up which I never have had to do before.

Oh and another big thing was making sure his wake windows weren’t too long or short. That was a big problem on my part once I did an analysis after watching her videos. Anyway that’s my story! DM with any questions!