As well as weaning a baby. How to wean a baby from breastfeeding? How to properly wean a baby

22.04.2019

Breastfeeding is just a stage in the mother-baby relationship. And one day the day will come when the last latch in your breastfeeding history will take place. Sooner or later every nursing mother asks how to wean her baby from breastfeeding. This usually becomes relevant at the age of a child from 1.5 to 2 years. Whatever the reason for weaning, if thoughts of ending breastfeeding are beginning to pop into your head, then this article will be helpful to you.

How to wean a baby and how to stop lactation is discussed in this article. You will learn what to do categorically not to allow breast problems, and not to break the emotional connection with the baby.

So, once you've made the decision to finish breastfeeding your baby, be patient and determined to act. Let's get started!

The reason for raising the question of weaning is most often the oppressive public opinion that feeding after a year is not normal. Upon learning that the baby is still receiving breast milk, strangers, and sometimes close people exclaim: “How? Are you still feeding? He's so big already! " or "Milk loses its beneficial properties after a year." In fact, all these arguments are relics of the past. Throughout the post-Soviet space, early completion of GV was practiced, and the transfer of infants to feeding with formula and cereals. All because young mothers had to return to their jobs early after the birth of a child, the party dictated its own rules. And almost no one managed to feed their babies even up to a year. Times have sunk into oblivion, and public opinion has taken root in the minds of the older generation.

As for the usefulness of breast milk after a year of feeding, the answer is unequivocal. It is important to understand the mechanism of milk production in order to believe that it does not lose its beneficial qualities over time. Milk is produced according to the principle “demand creates supply”, that is, the baby sucks on the breast, stimulating the release of prolactin into the bloodstream, milk comes in response to sucking. This happens in the first months of feeding and after a year, and after two years. Therefore, it cannot disappear, turn sour or lose its beneficial properties. Milk is made from the mother's blood and lymph. The vitamins that the mother receives, the child also receives. The number of immune cells is the same at the beginning of feeding and a year later.

Quite often, it also happens that the mother is physically and mentally tired of frequent feedings, from hanging on her chest, waking up for sucking at night. It happens that the baby is very capricious, arranges public tantrums, demanding breast. And it seems to mom that after the completion of GW, the child will become calmer, sleep better, wake up less often at night. But here it should be borne in mind that weaning is unlikely to correct mistakes in raising a child. The fact that a child, demanding breast in front of everyone, crawls under her jacket, screams and stomps his feet - this is already a mistake of the mother, who did not set clear boundaries of what is allowed in the child's behavior. You should always remember that in a couple, mom and baby are in charge - mom. It is the mother who sets the boundaries within which the child can act. Do not want tantrums - do not give breast in response to the cry of the baby, let him calm down first.

As for frequent waking up at night, this is, in fact, the norm for young children. And this is due to the cycles of infant sleep.

Optimal age of the child for completing hepatitis B

One of the popular questions for breastfeeding counselors is: how to wean a one-year-old baby from breastfeeding? Apparently, it is at this age of the baby that mothers are most often ready to complete feedings. How the process of weaning from breastfeeding will take place depends on the age of the child.

For the first 6 months after birth, breastfeeding is recommended. If at this age there is a need for weaning, each feeding is replaced by feeding with an adapted formula. To satisfy the sucking reflex, you will need to offer the baby a pacifier.

Scheme of switching to feeding with adapted formula

From the age of 9 months, some feedings can already be replaced with complementary foods. But supplementary feeding with the mixture will still be required. The sucking reflex is still highly developed. You need a dummy.

Weaning a baby under one year old is highly undesirable. This is, first of all, the strongest stress for the child. And besides, the mother, being at the peak of lactation, exposes herself to a high risk of lactostasis and mastitis.

When the baby has reached the age of one and a half years and older, it is no longer necessary to replace feeding with a mixture. At this age, almost all children already eat regular food, and the breast is no longer the main source of nutrition. The sucking reflex can persist, or it can come to naught, so you can use a pacifier at the discretion of the mother.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for up to 2 years or more if the mother and baby want it.

According to experts, this age is optimal for completing breastfeeding. The child is already strong enough both physically and psychologically. He receives food from a common table. The sucking reflex begins to fade. There was an active interest in the knowledge of the surrounding world.

In any case, each baby is ready for weaning in due course. It depends on his temperament, family relationships and other circumstances. That is why in the matter of weaning, a mother should be guided only by her baby. His willingness to say goodbye to his mother's breast will not be difficult to determine. If the child reacts calmly enough to mom's distractions, then the time has come. If no games and activities can divert his attention from the breast, if the baby starts crying and “hangs” on the breast even more actively, it is better to postpone weaning, the child is not ready yet.

What happens to the breast after the end of hepatitis B

You can often hear the recommendation to end breastfeeding until the stage of involution. The involution of the mammary gland directly depends on the number of attachments, which naturally decrease as the child grows up. With a gradual decrease in the number of applications, the amount of milk also decreases. The stage of breast involution occurs in the period from 2 to 4 years of feeding. It is characterized by the death of the alveoli, small blood vessels. Gradually, the glandular tissue is replaced by fatty tissue, the cells die off and lactation stops.

After completing hepatitis B, the breasts return to their pre-pregnant size. Sometimes, within a year or more after the last feeding, a few drops of milk may come out of the breast. This is a variant of the norm, and should not scare a woman.

Breast structure

Stages of weaning a baby from breastfeeding

Competent experts in the field of breastfeeding recommend adhering to the principles of a gradual decrease in lactation, and a gradual reduction in the number of attachments.

We offer the following step-by-step algorithm of actions. It is this sequence of decreasing attachments that is the mildest way of weaning:

We remove feedings during the day (attachments out of boredom, if you miss your mom, hit or get scared)
We remove feeding after dreams.
We remove feedings for daytime sleep.
We remove feedings for a night's sleep and during the night.

The duration of each stage takes from two weeks to a month. Thus, the final weaning of the baby from breastfeeding occurs after 3-4 months, sometimes a little longer. No need to rush. Such a gentle one will help the child break with the stress-free habit.

During the day, try to distract the child from the desire to kiss the breast as much as possible: switch your attention to a book, a toy, interesting activities and walks. Try not to provoke the child: wear clothes at home that cover the chest well.

Plan a month to start weaning. During this time, prepare yourself mentally and put things in order in the feeding rituals.

Set up a designated feeding area and explain that the baby will only breastfeed here. Let only this place be associated with his chest.

If the baby is used to falling asleep with the breast, you will have to slightly change the ritual of going to bed. You can add a book reading and a lullaby after sucking. Gradually, he will get used to falling asleep to the monotonous reading of his mother and the sound of her voice. It would be nice to connect a sleepy toy to the laying process. The baby's favorite toy, which will be associated with falling asleep.

The last stage of weaning is to go to bed without breast. Introduce the spit toy into the ritual in advance.

After all, move more. A seated mother is often associated with breastfeeding in a child.

Emergency termination of breastfeeding

Sometimes it happens that there is an urgent need to stop breastfeeding urgently. The reason may be a serious illness of the mother, taking drugs incompatible with lactation, purulent mastitis or surgery. How to stop lactation in case of urgent need, you should consult with your gynecologist. Your doctor will prescribe medications that stop milk production. Only a specialist can choose the correct dosage of such medicines. Self-medication often has side effects. We have written about a pill for stopping milk production. If the mother wishes to continue feeding after treatment, the attending physician should be informed about this. He will pick up more gentle drugs. During therapy, you will need to express a little breast to maintain lactation.

What not to do when weaning

How to wean a child from the breast without injuring his psyche? Take on board the following guidelines:

Don't use the "grandmother's" weaning method. To leave for a few days, leaving the child to relatives is, to put it mildly, irresponsible. The stress that a little man will experience, having lost not only the habitual breastfeeding, but also contact with his mother, is difficult to imagine. And the consequences after such "shock therapy" can be very sad.
Medicated termination of lactation is a dangerous and ineffective method of weaning. Often, to suppress lactation, mothers are ready to drink a miracle pill that lowers prolactin levels. Firstly, taking hormonal drugs will negatively affect not only the woman's current health, but also subsequent pregnancies and lactation. Secondly, without weaning the child from the habit of kissing the breast, there is no point in extinguishing lactation at the same time. Milk will be produced again in response to sucking. It is possible to stop lactation without pills.
Do not smear your breasts with mustard, wasabi, brilliant green, etc. Not only can you spoil the baby's stomach, but also scare. A beloved tit, a stronghold of spiritual comfort and warmth, suddenly scares the baby so much - for him this is a real betrayal.
Tugging or bandaging your breasts is a highly unsafe weaning method. Burning milk is a real lactostasis. The lactiferous ducts are clamped and milk stagnation forms, this can lead to serious consequences, including mastitis.
You can not limit food and drink to extinct lactation. Reducing food and water within reasonable limits will not in any way affect the amount of milk. But dehydration of the body and poor health may well provide.
Do not substitute compote or sugary water for night feeds. This is a direct path to the development of caries in a child.
Do not be angry with the child if the weaning process is delayed. It is unlikely that you will be able to wean your baby quickly. The principle of "one step forward, two steps back" is often used in this matter. Calmly and systematically move towards the goal. Show your child your confidence. Caress and pay more attention to your baby during this difficult period for him. Mom's attitude is the most important thing in the process of completing the GW.
Observe the rule of prohibitions. If mom said no, then this is the final decision. Otherwise, the authority of the mother's word for the child will not mean anything.
Postpone weaning if your baby is sick, teething, or is about to move, travel, or start kindergarten. In short, any significant changes in the life of the family are stressful for the child. You should not complete the GW in anticipation of such events.

Video: details on completing breastfeeding.

So how to end breastfeeding as gently as possible for mom and baby? It is better to eradicate the habit gradually, without causing stress to the little person who is so heavily dependent on the mother's breast. Mom's confidence and calmness is the main principle in the process of completing breastfeeding. Show your baby with all your looks that everything is in order, mom knows what she is doing. Pay more attention to the baby during weaning, caress and provide tactile contact, then it will be possible to complete lactation safely and without stress.

Breastfeeding should end sooner or later, and then the question arises of how to wean the baby from the breast. This can be done in different ways. It all depends on the reasons why the baby needs to be weaned, his willingness to stop sucking and the mother's personal preferences.

Let's talk about what Soviet-trained pediatricians and experienced women advise about weaning from breastfeeding, what to do with the breast and whether it is necessary to pull over, what the famous children's doctor Komarovsky and the World Health Organization (WHO) think about this. These opinions have similarities and some differences.

How and when is it better to wean a baby - traditional opinion

According to traditional pediatric norms from the Soviet times, but used by many of our pediatricians, complementary feeding of children begins at 4 months. And this is regardless of whether the child is on artificial nutrition or exclusively breastfeeding. Thus, a child already at 7-8 months has a full three meals a day, and by 9 months and four meals a day. If the child eats his entire norm, then it is allowed not to give the breast. You can give water to drink. Thus, by the age of 9 months, some women give breasts 1-2 times a day. And by the age of one, the baby easily stops sucking on his own. A woman's milk gradually and painlessly burns out.

Following these recommendations, women sincerely wonder how, after a year, a sharp weaning from breastfeeding can provoke lactostasis in the mother and psychological trauma in the child. This does not happen if the child, after the introduction of complementary foods, receives breast approximately according to the schedule, not according to the first squeak, or just like that. Feeding on demand is good. But it often happens that women give a baby a breast to a child who does not express a desire to suck it at the moment. For example, if they want to put him to bed as soon as possible or instead of drinking.

Those who adhere to this point of view believe that weaning is not a problem at all, as long as you try to feed on schedule and do not delay the introduction of complementary foods. And from the very first months of life, do not try to keep the baby at the breast all the time.

How to stop breastfeeding correctly and quickly according to Komarovsky

So, the doctor advises, with a clear intention to interrupt breastfeeding, simply not to breastfeed the baby. Replace her mixture, water, etc. Depending on the age and needs of the child. And this is not, in his opinion, a mockery of the baby. He will cry for 1-2 days, and he will get used to it. Breast separation will not be a terrible stress for a child.

But what can really undermine his psyche is if you do not give the breast when he wants to suck it, but after 10-20 minutes of his crying, give up and still give. Such methods of weaning a baby from the breast are the most traumatic and time consuming. If you have already decided to end, then you need to firmly adhere to your position and not give in. Usually, babies quickly forget about their breasts if they are not reminded of them.

What WHO says about natural completion of lactation

Breastfeeding is recommended according to modern standards for at least two years. This is according to WHO. But many supporters of evidence-based medicine are inclined to believe that the minimum should be one year. And after a year, the mother's milk becomes just a drink for the child, which can successfully replace any other, but not sweet.

But if a mother and child live in conditions where there is no constant access to clean drinking water, it is advisable to extend the period of hepatitis B. In this case, weaning from breastfeeding in the summer is undesirable; this cannot be done because of the high risk of getting an intestinal infection.

In addition, you do not need to breastfeed your baby if you:

do not like his "excessive" attachment to you;
the baby often wakes up at night.

Breast deprivation will not help the cause. The child often wakes up, most likely due to superficial sleep. Usually, by 1.5-2 years, sleep will normalize on its own. Well, attachment to the mother arises regardless of the presence or absence of breastfeeding.

So what time to wean the baby and how? WHO recommends gradual, consistent and gentle termination of breastfeeding. Its stages are approximately as follows.

1. Remove daytime feedings that are not related to sleep.

2. Remove daily feedings before bedtime. Replace the breast with a bottle or sippy cup of water.

3. Remove or, for starters, reduce the number and duration of nighttime breastfeeding.

If the child is naughty, bites the breast and constantly hangs on it, then you are in too much haste. This is how an urgently weaned child behaves, until he is ready for this. If you have lactostasis, this is a sign of the same.

Will Dostinex or another anti-lactation drug help in this case? Getting rid of milk - yes, it will help. After you strain lactostasis. But the child is unlikely to give up even an empty breast. It will suck it, which is very painful and not productive.

smear nipples with brilliant green, pepper, mustard and other products and substances that are potentially hazardous to the health of the mother and child;
leaving the baby for a few days so that he “weaned” from the breast, the baby will have a double psychological trauma - neither mother, nor breast;
pulling the chest - this will lead to lactostasis.

Is it possible to wean a child from breastfeeding in the heat, while away in another country according to WHO? Quite. Especially if the child is already over two years old, that is, not so susceptible to intestinal infections. If a woman and a child live in the city, drink good water and eat right, then there is no difference - the mother gradually weaned from the breast in summer or winter. It is completely safe.

But when the baby is sick or he was vaccinated, it is better to wait a little with weaning.

Several recommendations on how to painlessly wean a baby from breastfeeding at 1.5-2 years

1. Agree with the baby. At this age, children already understand a lot. Instead of sucking on the breast, you can promise interesting toys, an extraordinary walk to your grandmother, reading a book, a game, etc.

2. Switch his attention away from the chest. Do not wear open clothes, do not change clothes with him and do not remind of your chest.

3. Do not go to bed next to the child. Even if the dream is joint, let the husband lie next to him, and at night, if the baby wakes up, he will rock him, give him water from a bottle or a sippy cup.

4. In the daytime, be busy all the time so that he does not have a desire to suck on the breast. In this way, you can well reduce the number of daily breastfeeding. And without harming the child's psyche.

Weaning from breastfeeding is an important stage in the life of mom and baby. The World Health Organization recommends feeding children up to 1.5-2 years old. But longer feeding is not considered something seditious if it suits the mother and child. Until one year old, babies are not advised to wean, during this period they really need their mother's milk. It is also one of the main sources of nutrition, even if the baby is already eating all types of complementary foods.

Weaning a baby in an emergency

Weaning children under one year of age from the mother's breast is permitted only on strict indications. These include:

Purulent mastitis or inflammation of the mammary glands
Open forms of tuberculosis
Syphilis
Cancer pathologies requiring immediate therapy
Decompensation of chronic diseases of the kidneys, liver, or cardiovascular system, in which breastfeeding can threaten the life and health of the mother
Diabetes.

Breastfeeding should not be started with HIV infection, as the virus is transmitted through milk. Emergency weaning can be temporary or permanent. If the mother is acutely ill, cannot feed the child because of the drugs taken or the danger of infecting him, during the period of illness, you can express milk. Expressing will allow you to maintain lactation and resume feeding later. It also reduces milk stagnation, serves to prevent mastitis and lactostasis.

To reduce lactation during emergency weaning, doctors recommend that mothers limit their drinking to 500-700 grams per day, if this does not harm their health. For many infections, fluid should not be restricted as it helps flush toxins from the body. If the mother is not going to resume breastfeeding, it is not necessary to express milk completely, only in order to remove tension in the breast. It is not advised to tie the breast, it disrupts blood circulation, leads to stagnation of milk, increases the risk of inflammation.

If it was not possible to stop lactation by natural methods, special drugs are prescribed. After all, gradual excommunication in an emergency is unacceptable. Before weaning your baby from breastfeeding for urgent reasons, consult your doctor. Ask, "Can I resume feeding, or should I give it up completely." In many cases, there is a chance to maintain lactation. The main thing is to make the right decision together with the doctor, which will benefit the baby.

Natural weaning rules

Many moms are wondering how to wean their baby from breastfeeding after a year or two. There are debates on the net whether it should be done abruptly, or better gradually. Will weaning from the mother's breast be stressful for the baby, or will he bear it calmly. For example, Dr. Komarovsky advises to excommunicate children abruptly, without delaying the process for several months. To many moms, this seems cruel. For some women, the process of abrupt weaning seems difficult also because milk stagnates in their breasts, which causes discomfort.

If the mother decides to wean the baby from breast gradually, the number of feedings should be systematically reduced. The process can be broken down into several stages:

Removing sleep-independent daytime feeding
Removing feeding after a nap
Removing feeding before bedtime
Removing feeding before bedtime
We remove feeding after a night's sleep.

For weaning to be correct, and not to drag on for many months, each stage should be short. It is most difficult to remove daytime feedings, especially when the baby is used to settling down near the mother's breast. This period can take 1 to 2 weeks, depending on what age to start weaning. The rest of the steps can be completed in a few days. If the breast feels full, milk can be expressed.

How to stop your baby from sucking during the day

For many mothers, it becomes a problem how to wean a baby from breastfeeding at 1 year old, since he often asks for breast during the day. If there is no special indication to wean your baby urgently, you can continue to breastfeed him. After a year, gradually teach your baby that milk is food, you should not ask for a breast for any reason. At this age, it is easy to distract the child with an interesting activity, game, conversation or song. Communication with him should be more varied. Then the baby will no longer be so dependent on the breast, further weaning will be painless.

You can try to wean your baby from daily feeds quickly. Decide one day that the baby eats milk only before and after bedtime. If the child asks for breast, try to distract him with play, conversation. Show that you are busy, you do not have time to feed the baby. Many children after a year and a half easily forget about their requirements and are distracted. If the child insists on his own, try to be firm. It is advisable that the baby does not go into hysterics, then it will be difficult to calm him down.

Issue 7. HOW TO WEAN A BABY? Breast-feeding

Weaning - Dr. Komarovsky, Ksenia Solovey

Issue 8. What should not be done when weaning? Breast-feeding

Weaning. SIMPLY AND EASILY!!!

Try to walk with your baby more, teach that you do not feed him on the street. Take your child's favorite treats with you - cookies, fruits, juice or compote in a bottle. On a walk, the baby is more impressed, because he is more easily distracted. Some mothers practice leaving for a few days or leaving home. For children who willingly stay with dads and grandmothers, this method is quite suitable. They gradually unlearn the idea that for any reason they need to run to their mother and ask for a breast. But babies, who are rarely without a mother, will be difficult to experience separation. After returning, they will become even more attached to the chest, because they calm down near it.

If you manage to distract the baby several times a day and the baby forgets about his request, then you are close to success. Soon, the child will stop asking for breast during the day, be satisfied only with milk before bedtime. And there is not far off and complete self-exclusion. If difficulties arise, postpone weaning for a while, do not reduce the number of feedings. Perhaps your baby is not yet fully ready to part with the breast. Abrupt excommunication will upset him, it will take several weeks to listen to his tantrums.

Weaning before and after daytime sleep

A month has passed, and your baby no longer asks for breast during the day. But he cannot fall asleep without her. How to wean your baby from breastfeeding before bedtime? Try other ways to sprinkle on the crumb. Read a book to him, turn on the music or sing a song yourself, watch the video together. If your baby's desire to suckle is caused only by your presence, leave him for a while. Say that you urgently need to do something, you will be back in a couple of minutes. At first, the absences should be short so that the baby does not have time to cry. Then the time is lengthened. One day the mother will return and find her baby sleeping peacefully.

Many children wake up with tears, calm down only when they suckle their breasts. You can try to immediately pick up the crumb in your arms, bring it to the kitchen. It is advisable that the mother does not lie next to the child when he opens his eyes. It's okay if he whimpers and mom comes to his call. Hungry children can be offered to eat or drink milk from a bottle right after a nap. Some babies sleep well outside in the summer. If they wake up while walking, they manage to be distracted by looking at the surroundings. Try to get your child to sleep for a walk at least once a day. This method of weaning after a nap is also acceptable.

Weaning at night

It is most difficult to wean a baby from mother's milk at night. Children from one to two years old still often wake up. Many women find it easier to feed and calm them than to look for ways to wean them from this habit. As a result, children eat at night until 2-3 years old. If it doesn't bother anyone, don't worry. But often mothers are overworked, night feedings become torture for them. A radical way of weaning is to leave the baby with dad or grandmother for a few nights, and sleep in another room. But most moms prefer milder weaning. You can distract your child at night and sleep with water, milk, or consistent infant formula.

So that the baby does not ask for mother's milk before bedtime, you can replace it with a bottle of infant formula or water. It is best if dad gives it, because mom is associated with breasts. Be sure to read a book to your baby before going to bed, wear it on your hands. When children fall asleep poorly, it is advised not to play too actively with them in the afternoon. In the evening, it's good to bathe a baby in a warm bath with chamomile and lemon balm, which have a calming effect on the nervous system. A short walk contributes to sound sleep.

For the longest time, children eat their mother's milk in the morning, immediately after dusting. If you have passed all the other steps, do not rush to remove this feeding. Let the baby better adapt to the new conditions of his life. Another month will pass, and he will already show less interest in sucking. If you are determined to wean off, try to caress the crumbs in the morning, wear them on handles, give them milk. Perhaps he is just a morning person and does not like to sleep for a long time. Then you can wake up with him, feed porridge in the kitchen and start the game. The child is likely to fall asleep closer to noon. Sleep with him to rest.

What not to do when weaning a baby

Among the many tips on how to wean from breastfeeding at 2 years of age or earlier, you can hear frankly stupid ones. For example, lubricate the nipples with brilliant green, mustard or pepper. This will not only upset the baby, burn his mouth, but also hurt his mother. Do not bandage tight breasts. Doctors have long agreed that such a manipulation only increases the likelihood of lactostasis, without affecting the amount of milk at all. You should not complete breastfeeding for up to a year, if there is no clear medical indication for this.

Is it right to wean a baby in summer? There is an established opinion that during this period the risk of intestinal infections increases, and mother's milk protects the baby from them. If the baby is less than two years old, this situation is relevant. After all, maternal antibodies will not reach the child if the milk is replaced with a mixture. The immune system of older children is already well formed and the timing of gradual weaning does not play such a big role.

Do not stop breastfeeding when your baby is sick. Health problems in themselves are stressful for the child; you should not expose him to additional worries. In addition, maternal antibodies will help the baby to cope with the disease faster. Also, it is not recommended to stop feeding when moving, on vacation or in the country. Children in infancy feel insecure in a new environment, motherly warmth helps them cope with an unusual situation.

A few words in conclusion

There are many guidelines for weaning babies from breastfeeding. Each mom should choose her own way. Before taking such a step, you need to listen to yourself and understand whether mom and baby need it. After all, women often decide to excommunicate at the insistence of relatives and friends, who assure that the baby is already too big. First of all, you need to listen to yourself and do as you see fit. There is no single rule for how many years or months a baby can be breastfed. Every mother should say to herself: "I can feed the child as much as I and he want."

It happens that it is time for mom to go to work. In this regard, she is worried about how to wean the baby from breastfeeding. Do not worry, a grown-up baby will do without milk during the day, and night feedings will help him better adapt to the absence of his mother for a long time. Some mothers feel tired and associate this with breastfeeding. Try to just relax, sleep with your child during the day. You cannot redo all the chores at home, and the moments of intimacy with the baby that breastfeeding gives are no longer repeated. It is about them that you will remember many years later, when the child grows up.

Even extensive experience does not always give answers to questions of interest. A mother of four tells how to end breastfeeding and.

For me now, every day begins the same: I tell myself that today I must stop breastfeeding.

There is only one problem - I don't know how to do it.

I raised four children and each time it happened differently. To be honest, they are not the only ones who decide how much we will breastfeed them. My personal capacity, tolerance and a million other factors in my life affect the duration of breastfeeding. I really believe that every mom, first of all, should develop the traits of a good mom. But your personal factors must also be taken into account when considering weaning.

With the first child, I successfully continued breastfeeding for a year and a half until I became pregnant with her sister. I felt painful and uncomfortable to feed because of the playing hormones. The rest of the children weaned from breastfeeding at the age of one.

But this time, it seems to me, the baby agrees that I feed it forever. At least that's how I feel. She likes to swing together in our chair when I feed her, and she even learned to point her finger at her chest, asking for food. I find it weird sometimes because the other kids didn't do it, but I'm happy to keep going as long as we both enjoy it.

My milk supply can't keep up with her appetite, there are more things to do, and because of the specifics of my job, I have to travel a lot, so I really made plans to stop breastfeeding.

Here are some tips on how best to end breastfeeding.

Do not start the weaning process before six months

There is no specific date to stop breastfeeding

Breastfeeding can be as long as it is comfortable for the mother and baby. If you're not ready, don't worry. No negative effects of prolonged lactation have yet been found, so choose what's best for you and your baby.

Eliminate one feed at a time

If you are ready to wean, try skipping one feed at a time rather than abruptly. The easiest place to start is by skipping feeds during daytime sleep and at night when you are both tired and sleepy. Cultivate the habit of reading books and rocking around during this time instead of feeding, which will help him calm down without milk and facilitate subsequent feedings.

It is not necessary to switch from breast milk to cow's milk

If the baby is over a year old, many parents start giving cow's milk instead of breast milk, but this is not necessary at all. My son refused cow's milk, and I was so worried about the inadequacy of his diet. But our pediatrician assured us that if he gets enough vitamins and calcium from other dairy products, cheese or vegetables, then everything is fine. He doesn't really like milk even now, so sometimes it's just a matter of taste.

Think about a sippy cup

If you don't want to have to wean your baby from the breast and then immediately from the bottle, try starting sippy cup feeding after you stop breastfeeding. This will give you a head start.

Get partner support

The hardest part about weaning is how easy it is to breastfeed. If the baby is crying and I am tired and want to calm him down quickly and simply, the prospect of breastfeeding is too tempting. But if there is a goal to wean the child from this, you need to ask your husband to help calm the baby, especially at night, when the child wakes up and is looking for a mother.

Weaning from breastfeeding happens differently with every single mom and every single baby, but if you are determined, take your time, be patient, and judge what is good for both of you.

Because breastfeeding is a two-way road.

Breastfeeding a baby is a very touching moment of the unity of mother and child. The importance of this process can be talked about endlessly, but sooner or later, the moment comes when it is time to stop breastfeeding. It is very important for both the mother and the baby to correctly complete the lactation process. What options exist and how to make the right choice - you will find out by reading our article.

Possible ways of weaning

If you decide that it is time to stop lactation and wean your baby, there are three ways to do this:

"Soft" weaning- this method is based on the gradual reduction of breastfeeding until complete cessation. Requires patience from mom and some time for smooth weaning.
Taking hormonal drugs - after taking special pills in the body, the production of the hormone prolactin, which is necessary for the formation of breast milk, stops. This method is not suitable for all women, has many side effects and requires consultation with a gynecologist.
"Babushkin" or folk method- you leave home for a while, and leave the baby with a close family member. This method can scare your baby and put him into a state of stress.

The best way: how to wean a baby naturally

In recent years, more and more modern mothers choose “soft” and gradual weaning from breastfeeding.
This is not surprising at all, because it is this method that allows you to maximally smooth out the stress state in a baby without a mother's breast, and for the female body to reduce the appearance of mastitis and lactostasis to zero. Let's find out what the essence of this method is.

How long does weaning take in a "soft" way?

It takes a month and a half to wean a baby from the breast in a natural way - about one week at each stage. Let's consider them in more detail.

Main steps

Breastfeeding consultants have divided the soft weaning process into four stages:

At the very beginning, you should exclude all attachments of the baby to your breast without the purpose of further falling asleep. If during the day the child tries to crawl under the shirt on his own, you should in every possible way distract him from this activity. Go to a visit, to the park, look at colorful illustrations in books, draw - think of any activities that will distract the "lover of mother's sissy".
The next step is to replace feeding after waking up from a nap. At this stage, you will again come to the rescue of the distraction of the child's attention.
Keep an interesting book or toy close at hand that will appeal to him. Remind your child that he is going to have fun adventures and start the program immediately after he wakes up. Starting from the age of one and a half, you can try to negotiate with children.
Explain that you will not breastfeed. Do not raise your voices, do not hit on the hands and do not punish the baby for trying to get his mother's breast so familiar to him. Gently, but persistently, refuse him, take the children's hands away from your shirt and switch the child's attention to other things.
The next step is to teach your baby to fall asleep without breast assistance. Here you will be helped by creating rituals for the night and the help of loved ones. Creating bedtime rituals is a daily repetitive activity that will precede falling asleep in the evening.
This can be reading a book together, bathing in the bath, watching a cartoon - in general, any quiet and calm actions, after which the baby will know that he will soon be sleeping.
The creation of such rituals has a calming effect on the children's nervous system, because the baby is already consciously preparing for the actions that he has already mastered well. It is the routine performance of actions at the same time that develops a feeling of habit in the baby.

As an option for falling asleep without a breast - help from loved ones. Dad or grandmothers can prepare him for bed - to bathe, change into pajamas, sing a lullaby and stay close until the baby is overshadowed by sleep. Not seeing his mother, he will not be nervous because of the lack of breasts before bedtime, so falling asleep should be more relaxed.

If falling asleep is possible only with the mother, then lie down next to the child, kiss, stroke, hug - let him feel that the absence of a breast does not mean that the mother is not there. Remember to wear tight T-shirts or even golf when weaning you from breastfeeding - such clothing will not provoke additional interest in your breast.
The final stage is to remove night feedings. If your child is used to waking up several times at night to drink his mother's milk, now the most important thing for you is not to breastfeed.
Take the awakened baby in your arms or put it next to you and put him back to bed. A bottle of water or milk sometimes helps to replace breasts at night, but control the amount of fluid you drink at night.
Over time, as soon as the baby wakes up, do not rush to immediately put a bottle of drink in his hands - try to give him the opportunity to learn how to fall asleep on his own. If you cannot immediately completely remove breastfeeding at night, do not despair.

Gradually shorten the time the baby stays under the breast, replace this process with drinking water, or have daddy come up to him at night. As a rule, after 2-3 nights, the baby will stop demanding mom's breast at night, and each time his sleep becomes calmer and stronger - to the delight of his parents.

Important! Do not give your baby sugary drinks, compotes and other goodies in a bottle as a substitute for night breastfeeding. The child will like their taste and he will specially wake up at night in order to drink them, in addition, do not forget that sugar destroys the thin tooth enamel in children.

Video: how to wean a baby

The benefits and harms of the fashion for mom and child

Using the “soft” weaning method is difficult to find cons. The gradual decrease in the number of lactations to the breast triggers a decrease in the level of prolactin to the blood, which leads to the natural extinction of lactation.

For the baby, this process is also painless - interest in the mother's breast is replaced by other interesting things, gradually and gently, mother's milk first fades into the background, and then disappears altogether.

The only drawback is that not every mother is able to resist the cry of her baby. But don't give up, especially if you've noticed progress in this matter. If a quick result is important to you and you do not have time to organize a gradual weaning from the breast, then there is another way - with the help of hormonal drugs to stop lactation.

Did you know? After the completion of lactation, a minimum amount of milk can be stored in the female breast for six months, this is due to the restructuring of the body. In this case, the most important thing is not to express it, so as not to provoke the production of new portions of breast milk.

Can a baby be weaned from the breast with medication?

Medical termination of lactation should be used in rare cases when it is necessary to abruptly stop the production of milk by the female body.

Medicines should be prescribed exclusively by obstetricians and gynecologists and only after personal consultation. It is important to understand that this method is based on interference with the woman's hormonal system, which carries certain risks.

Basic principles

The action of drugs that suppress lactation is based on slowing down and stopping the production of certain hormones, among which the hormone prolactin plays a special role - it is he who is responsible for the quantity and quality of milk produced.

Bromocriptine and cabergoline are active substances that can make such serious changes in the work of the hormonal system of a nursing woman.

Potential risks and side effects

First of all, you should familiarize yourself with the contraindications to the use of these drugs:

cardiovascular insufficiency;
high blood pressure;
ulcers of the stomach and duodenum;
renal failure;
raynaud's syndrome;
postpartum psychosis;
individual intolerance to the components contained in the preparations.

Taking medications based on bromocriptine or cabergoline very often causes side effects, including: nausea, dizziness, sudden surges in blood pressure, abdominal cramps, convulsions, vomiting, headaches, decreased vision, heart rhythm disturbances, irritability, lethargy, etc. sleepiness.

It should be noted that the simultaneous intake of alcohol, as well as some antibiotics and drugs to suppress lactation, can increase the manifestation of adverse reactions.
Interference with hormone production in the body can lead to hormonal disruption after lactation stops. Often, after taking bromocriptine-containing drugs, women complained of breast lumps, which soon turned into mastitis or even mastopathy.

Important! If your baby does not want to calm down and constantly cries without your breast, then perhaps his nervous system is not yet ready for weaning. If possible, postpone the cessation of lactation for several months. Thus, you will not injure the baby's psyche, and also save your nerves.

How to wean a baby in the "grandmother's way"

A few decades ago, this method of weaning was considered the norm, and nursing mothers saw no other way but to leave home and leave the baby with someone close.

Video: folk ways to stop lactation

The essence of the separation method

You will have to leave home for a while so that the baby does not see you and does not ask you to suck on the breast. Over time, he will lose the habit of this need and forget about his mother's sis. When mom gets home, he will no longer crawl under the shirt.

Should you use the method: advantages and disadvantages

This method can be called the most stressful for the child. Not seeing mom and her breasts with delicious milk, the baby is unlikely to think about something else. The period without a mom will be very stressed. The consequences of a long separation from the closest person can remind of themselves for a long time.

For a nursing mother, this method is no less difficult and dangerous - on the one hand, the experiences and stress of separation from the baby, on the other hand, the breast overflowing with milk, which can be very painful. This method of weaning often causes lactostasis.

When to wean a child: should we wait for involution?

Involution of lactation (involution of the mammary gland) is a natural process in the body of a nursing mother, when with a decrease in the number of attachments to the breast or with a complete cessation of breastfeeding, the glandular tissues are converted into fatty tissues in the mammary glands.
In other words, the breast is "rebuilt" in its previous form. Most often, the involution of lactation occurs in the period from 2 to 3 years. At this age, children no longer need their mother's milk so badly, their diet is diverse, and the range of interests expands significantly.

The amount of milk produced by the female body becomes less and less, and gradually this process stops. Some mothers believe that after a year of breastfeeding, there is nothing useful in milk, they say, milk becomes like water.

But this is not at all the case. The composition and appearance of breast milk does change over time - at the very beginning it is sweeter and fattier, and closer to two years old it is more watery. Such changes are due to the adaptation of milk to provide the growing body with the necessary nutrients.
It has been proven that after a year it contains significantly more immunoglobulins, fats, trace elements and other active components necessary for the full development of the nervous system and intelligence in a child. Such completion of breastfeeding, according to modern pediatricians and mammologists, is the most correct for both the baby and the female body as a whole.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) unanimously declare that in the first six months of a baby's life, his only food is exclusively breast milk. Continue breastfeeding, but taking into account the timely introduction of complementary foods and with a gradual expansion of the diet - it is recommended up to two years.

Above this age - at the request and ability of the mother. A long period of lactation has several undoubted advantages - a stronger immune system in the child and the prevention of breast cancer and hormonal imbalances in his mother.

Mom's opinion

And what about long-term breastfeeding of a mother? In fact, feeding for up to two or more years is not easy. Cessation of lactation is often associated with reasons that are beyond the control of a nursing mother.

Taking antibiotics and hormonal drugs, health problems, the need to send the baby to a nursery, repeated pregnancy - all these factors significantly reduce the possibility of prolonged lactation. Do not forget that this process affects the skeletal system, the condition of the hair and nails in a woman.

Many mothers find that over time they start to get tired of breastfeeding. The once touching process of oneness with the baby begins to be inappropriate, annoying and only annoying. Such a reaction can be a signal from the body that it is time to complete breastfeeding, and how to know if the baby is ready for weaning - you can find out later in our article.

Video: when to wean a baby

How to understand that a baby does not need a breast: clear signs

Observing the behavior of her child, an attentive mother may notice some signs by which it becomes clear that lactation can be stopped:

The teeth erupted, and the baby learned to chew solid food.
The baby does not suck on his fingers, bottom sponge or other objects.
There is at least one feeding, an "adult" meal adapted for the baby.
If the baby wants mom's breast, it is easy to distract him with a book, toy or other action.
Your baby may fall asleep without your breast or her presence nearby.
The kid easily tolerates separation from his mother.
Waking up at night, the child can fall asleep again without attachment.
You breastfeed no more than three times a day.

In order for a mother to make such an important decision to stop lactation, it is important to listen to your own inner feelings and emotions.
If you have doubts about the correctness of the decision, do not rush, try to return to this question in a month or two, because only a mother, like no one else, knows what exactly will be useful and necessary for her baby.

Weaning from breastfeeding: the opinion of Dr. Komarovsky

If you turn this question to the main expert on child health, Dr. Komarovsky, then his advice on stopping breastfeeding is extremely simple. He invites his mother to leave for a few days, and entrust her grandmother or husband with taking care of the child.

Thus, having lived two or three nights without mother's milk, the baby will forget about his need for it. It is possible that after the mother returns home, the baby may try to crawl under the clothes in search of breasts, so it is very important to immediately stop these attempts and divert his attention to other interesting things.

Video: how to wean a baby from breastfeeding In order to stop the production of milk in the female body, you can take special pills, which will help the attending gynecologist to help you.

Did you know? There are folk remedies available to reduce milk production. For example, drinking sage tea - it contains phytoestrogen, which affects the production of prolactin, but is much "milder" than its medicinal counterparts.

When choosing a method of weaning from breastfeeding, do not forget about the psychological comfort for your baby. Abrupt cessation of lactation will negatively affect the baby's nervous system and may also harm your health. Follow your intuition and the recommendations of modern doctors, and this process will be smooth and painless.