At present, quite a lot has been said about the benefits of natural feeding. However, there comes a time when the child grows up, gradually switching to adult food, but at the same time continues to demand from the mother a breast. And then many women begin to worry if they have too long dragged on this process. When should weaning be started, and how to do it?
Almost all pediatricians and specialists in this field say that you need to breast-feed at least one year. According to WHO, it is advisable to extend this time to two years. However, you should not look at the calendar and focus on someone's advice. Each baby is individual, for some, weaning from breastfeeding is easy at the age of one and a half years, others will be able to transfer it painlessly only at 3-4 years. One of the main tips of GV consultants and child psychologists is to not rush into this process.
There is a myth that after a year, a woman’s milk not only does not contain any beneficial substances, but is also harmful to the baby. No doubt this version is absolutely absurd. From the fact that the child celebrates his first birthday, the quality of the milk produced by the woman’s body cannot decrease. To determine how much the child is ready for excommunication, you can on several grounds.
When a mother starts weaning, and her son or daughter behaves uneasily, is naughty, looks for breasts from strangers or other relatives, sucks fingers or other objects, all this suggests that while you should wait. Most children from 1.5 to 2.5 behave this way. There are babies who have refused breasts for up to a year. However, this happened, in most cases, due to the incorrect introduction of complementary foods, poorly organized natural feeding, the introduction of bottles and soothers (which it is then much more difficult to wean them later).
Timely weaning from breastfeeding, most often, coincides with the involution of lactation in the mother, that is, the natural process of ending milk production. Bandaging the mammary glands, as has been done since Soviet times, is absolutely contraindicated, since it threatens the occurrence of mastitis. The use of drugs to suppress lactation is also not recommended (unless there are special indications). The main recommendations that experts give for this period are to reduce the fluid intake to a minimum and, if necessary, cold compresses.
It is not advised to start weaning the baby from breastfeeding in the hot season, after preventive vaccinations, during illness, when entering kindergarten or other situations that cause stress.
Also, the way when a woman leaves for a while, “until the baby gets used to it,” is not effective. In most cases, a child after a year needs a breast, not like eating or drinking, but a means of sedation, comfort, psychological closeness with his mother. If he is deprived of this, and there is no closest person nearby, then the stress that he already gets is intensified.
A properly organized process, how to wean a baby from breastfeeding, can take no more than 10 days. It is important that both parties are ready. Most often, during the period from a year to a half, feeding remains before daytime and nighttime sleep. If a woman has decided that the time has come (and she should not doubt it, since the excitement and insecurity are transmitted to the baby), at first it is worth moving away from daytime attachments to the chest. In this case, it is necessary to carefully monitor the reaction of the baby. If he persistently searches for a breast, try to distract him, develop a certain ritual of going to bed.
After that, night feeding is removed. At this time, you should be especially attentive to the child, show him that his mother continues to love him and give him time, and their relationship just goes to a new level.