Re: 11.5 months - mom needs reassurance!
I never had a problem getting her to eat solids. But she would nurse like she was starving regardless.
So I'm not a whole lot of help there. But I got her night weaned using the Jay Gordon method (I posted a link in one of my earlier replies). She still woke a few times in the night, but not nearly as many. Bear in mind she already had all her teeth by that point, around 21-22 mos old if I remember correctly, and she was very verbal and easy(ish) to reason with. I took down her crib (not that she slept in it much, though she'd usually start the night there) and put a big mattress on her floor with a pretty bedspread and all her stuffed toys. She absolutely LOVED it. I'd lay with her until she was asleep (nursed her to sleep initially, but eventually we stopped doing that too) and then get up. I spent about 2 months getting her used to me not being there by forcing myself to stay awake long enough to get up after I got her back to sleep. It worked pretty well, though we had some setbacks when we potty trained and again after the baby was born and again when we moved...the list goes on to be honest.
That's the thing I think it's important to remember. Getting our kids to certain points with sleep and eating isn't an all or nothing thing. It goes up and down. And it doesn't necessarily have to require a set process (this is something that's easier to see and accept now that I've got two and I know how different they can be as far as what they need and when). If there are certain things you feel like YOU need- a certain number of hours of sleep at night or certain limits set on nursing- then you can usually find a process that will get you there. But how it works is going to be very dependent on your child and your family dynamic. Everything else I am honestly coming to believe will happen in its own time with (often) less effort on the part of mom and dad and less tears on the part of the baby.
“We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.”
--Anonymous