Am I just a big "ween"er?

I need sleep. The last week has been terrible. Up and down throughout the night responding to loud demands for milk (and I mean loud!).

What's changed? He was sleeping through the night and now he's back to this again -- getting up often and wanting to nurse. When he wants milk it means none of us sleep. Is this just a phase that will come and go like the rest of them?

Last night I tried to ween him off the nursing in the night routine. When he started yelling "Ott!" (his word for milk) I explained to him that mommy was sleeping and that when the radio came on in the morning he could have some ott. Given how groggy he was I thought he'd just roll over and fall back to sleep. Wrong!

He started howling "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" and clung to me like crazy glue. I tried other strategies to get him to fall asleep, knowing that that's the only reason he was asking to nurse. I dished out back rubs, sang songs, offered sips of water. "No, no, no!" was his reply. You see, breast milk is like Nytol -- it helps you get your ZZZZs. He figured that out on day 1, so my attempts to introduce new back to sleep techniques come across as quite lame. Exhausted and defeated, I caved in. Baby boy soon drifted off to sleep, but I tossed and turned with guilt. I've always been an advocate for nursing on demand (although he normally only chooses to nurse twice a day now, before bed and first thing in the morning).

Part of me feels like a terrible mom. The other part of me feels as though something has got to give. I can't live in a constant state of sleep deprivation plus work full time. Do any moms out there have some words of wisdom for me?