Breastfeeding is just a stage in the life of mother and baby. And sooner or later it will end. Just like the crawling period is replaced by the baby’s desire to run and open new horizons.
The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for up to two years. This is the most natural nutrition for the child, and a strong emotional connection with the mother.
At what age to begin completing lactation, each mother decides for herself based on the circumstances and her attitude towards breastfeeding.
Weaning occurs differently at each age. This depends on the psychological maturity and individual characteristics of the child. To reduce the stress of this event for mother and child, you need to follow a certain sequence of actions and move gradually.
Basic rules for weaning
Regardless of the age at which a child is weaned, lactation consultants advise following the basic rules for ending lactation:
- Reduce the number of applications gradually. This will not be very stressful for the child. And mom will avoid breast problems: lactostasis, mastitis, etc.
- Act softly, confidently and consistently. The baby reads the mother’s uncertainty and doubts instantly and will “put pressure on pity.” Then the weaning process will drag on indefinitely. The decision to end lactation must be final.
- Maintain close skin-to-skin contact with your baby during weaning. Weaning is not only a loss of habitual nutrition, but also a means of calm, a sense of security, and a close emotional connection with the mother. Hugs, kisses and carrying in your arms will help both you and your baby get through this difficult period easier.
- One step forward two steps back. If the child strongly resists, is capricious, and refuses to eat, then perhaps his need for breast milk is still high. Then it is worth slowing down the pace of the weaning process. This may also be indicated by an increase in the number of applications at night.
How to wean your baby off breastfeeding after one year
The time comes when the mother decides that it is time to end lactation. It is necessary to find out in advance how to wean a child from breastfeeding one year and after. Then this process will be painless for both parties. The main questions: how to understand that the time has come, what to replace milk with, what to feed the child at night, what mistakes to watch out for.
- When to stop
- How to do it
- When not to wean
- How to stop milk production
- What not to do
- How to replace breast milk
- What to feed your baby at night
When to stop
Pediatrician Komarovsky believes that breastfeeding a child for up to a year is quite enough. After 12 months, the baby no longer needs breast milk as much.
If he has his first teeth, he eats fairly thick food, enjoys using different types of complementary foods, it’s time to stop lactation.
In addition, it is time for the mother to return to her social functions: calmly go about her business away from home, devote time to study, work, and communication.
By stopping breastfeeding, a woman can safely be treated with the necessary medications if she becomes ill.
The doctor notes that mother’s milk will not become harmful even after a year or after three, but there will be practically no benefit from it.
How to do it
It is best to reduce the number of breastfeedings gradually. It’s good if by the age of one year the child drinks mother’s milk only before bedtime and early in the morning.
Then it will be easier for him psychologically to wean himself off his mother’s breast. It may not replace dietary changes at all. And the mother will not have problems with excess milk.
When the number of milk feedings is greater and weaning is more abrupt, you will have to be patient.
If a child is accustomed to regular attachments, he will fight to the last. Screams, hysterics, tears... You have to go through it.
Once you start the process, you cannot show weakness. Otherwise, it may drag on for months and years.
And milk production will not stop if the baby suckles from time to time.
The mother can reassure herself that the baby does not need the breast for food. He has a psychological addiction that needs to be dealt with quickly.
At the same time, pediatricians do not consider weaning to be a great stress and lifelong trauma for the baby. If you act clearly and decisively, he will quickly forget about his worries.
An effective way is separation from the mother. 5-7 days are enough for the baby to no longer need his mother’s breast.
If, after seeing his mother, he again tries to beg for breast milk, under no circumstances should he be led on his lead.
If there is no opportunity or desire to leave, and all other methods have proven useless, the taste of the milk or nipple can worsen.
To do this, mom needs to include garlic in her menu or spread mustard on her chest.
The baby is unlikely to like such a treat. Although there are exceptions to this rule. There are children who like their mother’s milk with any “additives.”
When not to wean
It doesn't depend on the time of year. There is a stereotype that you should not stop breastfeeding in the summer. It originated several centuries ago, when children often suffered from intestinal infections after stopping lactation.
Now this is irrelevant. If hygiene rules are followed at home, there is nothing to fear. What is more important is not the time of year, but the condition of the baby itself.
Useful tips for mothers: BREASTFEEDING
It is better to postpone weaning if:
• Child is sick. There is no need to worry and upset him again.
• He is teething. Antibodies from breast milk will help protect your baby from infections. And inflamed gums will not be injured by additional solid food.
• A change in situation has occurred or is planned. Moving or going on vacation is a bad time to change your diet.
It is better to conduct it in a calm and familiar environment for the child.
How to stop milk production
There are several ways to reduce and then stop lactation.
• Drink herbal infusions based on mint, sage, linden.
• Take special pills that suppress the production of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for lactation. But it is better to discuss this method with your doctor.
• Drink as little water and other liquids as possible.
• Do not express large volumes of milk. If your breasts begin to harden, you can express a little to avoid lactostasis. And intensive pumping will serve to maintain lactation.
• Sweat more. To do this, do physical exercise or sports: run, go to aerobics, dance, exercise equipment. Choose what suits you best. Excessive sweating reduces milk supply.
• Cover your chest with sheets. It is better to learn from your doctor how to do this correctly.
What not to do
Thinking that without breast milk the baby’s immunity will weaken, many mothers make a common mistake.
They stuff the child with immunostimulants and antiviral drugs for prevention. The body does not need this, just like unnecessary chemicals.
Up to 6 months, the child is protected by the mother’s innate immunity, and then by its own. By the age of one year, it is quite capable of resisting various viruses and microbes.
How to replace breast milk
It depends on what share it occupied in the diet.
If significant, you can give your child a special formula for children from 12 months for some time. It contains milk, vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances.
Some doctors strongly do not recommend giving regular cow's milk to children after one year of age.
However, if the baby does not have allergies and enjoys drinking adult milk, you can ignore this recommendation. Don't forget to boil the product.
If the child actively eats all complementary foods, you can do without formula.
What to feed your baby at night
It is better to stop night feedings before the baby is 12 months old. But if this does not happen, you need to prepare a replacement for your milk. After finishing breastfeeding, you can treat your baby at night:
- kefir;
- adapted mixture;
- a small amount of water.
Perhaps the baby woke up not for food, but for a pleasant sleep near his mother’s breast. And weaning will allow him and the whole family to sleep without awakening until the morning.
By feeding a child up to a year with her own milk, the mother can be calm that she has fulfilled her biological duty.
Now it is important to overcome the baby’s psychological dependence on the breast and begin to live a full life.
Determination and stress resistance will help you do this quickly and without consequences.
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Arina Nagovitsyna
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JOURNALIST Higher education: Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communications
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Weaning up to 1 year
For a child under 1 year of age, breast milk is the main source of nutrition. Even if the mother began to introduce the baby to the usual food in the prescribed time frame (6 months), then, most likely, not all basic products have been introduced yet. And such a diet cannot yet fully replace breast milk. If weaning before the age of 1 year, the child will need to be supplemented with an adapted formula or expressed milk.
At this age, attachment to the mother's breast is still poorly formed. Therefore, it will not be difficult to accustom your child to a bottle.
According to WHO recommendations, it is extremely important that the baby’s main food for the first six months is breast milk. It gives the baby good nutrition, a large number of immune defense factors and forms a healthy psyche.
Where to begin:
- Replace breastfeeding with bottle feeding once every 3 days. Perhaps the process of getting used to the bottle by the baby will take a long time. Change nipples, bottles and feeding positions.
- Choose an adapted mixture. Some of them can cause allergies or intestinal disorders in the baby.
- Until the baby’s intestines learn to calmly digest the formula, keep lactation at a minimum level.
Gradual cessation of breastfeeding
It is more physiological and correct to stop feeding gradually, as lactation decreases and the baby weans from the breast. This situation is only possible if the child is instilled with the correct nutritional system from the first year of life. From the moment complementary feeding is introduced (5-6 months), the baby is transferred to five feedings a day:
- The first feeding immediately after waking up in the morning.
- 2-4 feedings form breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- 5 feeding - at night, before bedtime.
Read also:
Why does a baby cry after or during feeding?
In this case, the diagram of the painless process of weaning a child from breastfeeding is as follows:
| Age | First feeding | Second meal | Third meal | Fourth meal | Fifth feeding |
| 5-6 months | Mother's milk | Porridge + supplementary feeding with breast milk | Vegetable puree + breast milk supplementation | Mother's milk | Mother's milk |
| 7 months | Same | Porridge + fruit puree | Vegetable puree + fruit juice | Mother's milk | Same |
| 8 months | Mother's milk | Porridge + fruit puree | Vegetable puree + minced meat + fruit juice | Fermented milk products (kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese) + supplementary milk | Mother's milk |
| 9 months | Mother's milk | Same | Same | Baby cottage cheese + yogurt or kefir | Mother's milk |
| 10 months | Same | Multi-component grain milk porridge with pieces of fruit | Vegetable puree + meat or fish balls + fruit juice | Children's kefir (cottage cheese) + children's cookies | Same |
| 11 months | Fermented milk baby drink (or baby formula) + breast milk supplementation | Same | Same | Children's yogurt with pieces of cookies + cottage cheese + bread | Mother's milk |
| 1 year | Fermented milk baby drink (or baby formula) + breast milk supplementation | Same | Boiled or stewed pieces of vegetables with steamed meat cutlet + fruit juice | Children's cottage cheese with pieces of fruit + children's cookies + kefir | Fermented milk baby drink (or baby formula) + breast milk supplementation |
| 1 year 1-2 months | Transition to a common food table with three meals a day. Gradual complete replacement of breastfeeding in the morning and at night with fermented milk products or infant formula, followed by their abolition. | ||||
With this approach, the woman’s lactation gradually fades away on its own, and the child receives more nutritious and tasty foods, which provokes breast refusal over time and weaning on its own.
Important! It is better to wean your child off breastfeeding gradually, with the least amount of stress for him. The correct feeding system in the first and second year of life will help with this.
Exclusion from 1 year to two years
A one-year-old child is already familiar with basic food products. But still, children continue to receive additional nutrients from mother's milk. When getting used to traditional food, constipation often occurs. Therefore, do not rush to suddenly remove feedings. Breast milk will help avoid digestive problems.
With the beginning of the introduction of complementary foods, a smooth end to breastfeeding begins. The idea is that eating traditional foods will eventually replace breastfeeding.
Where to start:
- Replace breastfeeding not with an adapted formula, but with complementary foods. After a year, formula or expressed milk is no longer of great importance for the child’s nutrition.
- Get used to eating from a spoon and drinking from a cup. You should not start using a bottle for supplementary feeding. After all, soon you will have to wean yourself off it. The child is already able to learn to use cutlery.
- Gradually remove feedings throughout the day. Start by applying throughout the day. The first to go are meaningless applications out of boredom, for consolation, to quench thirst.
- The next step is to remove feedings around naps. Teach your baby to fall asleep and wake up without a breast. Introduce a new ritual for falling asleep: sing a lullaby, tell a story, read.
- Stop falling asleep at night and waking up without breastfeeding. Ritual is of great importance. It will take some time to form. The actions during the ritual should be the same every time. Then the baby will gradually get used to it and accept the conditions of the “game”.
- Wean off night feedings. At this age, the child may wake up at night due to not eating enough during the day. Make sure he gets enough nutritious complementary foods during the day and drinks enough water. At night, instead of breastfeeding, you can offer him some water. But under no circumstances should it be a mixture, kefir or compote. Still, at night the gastrointestinal tract should rest.
Weaning after two years
A two-year-old child still experiences attachment to the breast, but not to the same extent as before. His horizons have expanded, and he finds much more interesting things than his mother’s boobs. At this age, the baby often self-weans from the breast. He may remember to apply 2-3 times a day, or he may start playing and forget about it altogether. Breastfeeding is no longer food for him, but rather closeness with his mother.
This is perhaps the most suitable age to stop breastfeeding. And most often it goes easily and quickly. However, the opposite also happens. Some children exhaust their mother with frequent attachments or nighttime “suctions.” Then the nurse needs to reconsider the relationship in the mother-baby pair. Most likely, she does not show her authority and allows the child to manipulate her. For example, a baby receives breasts on the street, in response to screaming or crying, on demand, etc. But at this age there should already be certain limits on the issue of breastfeeding. Mom must establish and unwaveringly adhere to them.
Where to begin:
- Make the final decision on excommunication. At this age, you can already come to an agreement with the child. But if he feels doubt, fear or pity from his mother, then the weaning process can be considered a failure.
- Distract, switch attention from the chest to other leisure activities or objects.
- Conduct the weaning process kindly towards the child. There is no need to be angry with the baby if the weaning process is delayed. Mom’s actions should be soft and decisive. Move at a pace that is comfortable for you and your child.
- Do not provoke situations that remind your baby of breastfeeding. Try not to expose your chest, wear closed T-shirts, and avoid open necklines.
- Put your child to bed on time. To avoid delaying bedtime without breastfeeding, put your baby to bed when he really wants to sleep.
- Be patient. During the first 3-4 days of weaning, especially from going to bed, the baby will resist. Mom needs to pass this test. The baby will feel his mother’s confident attitude and understand that everything is under control and is going as it should. Every day the laying down will be more and more calm.
The value of breast milk does not decrease after a year of feeding. It also synthesizes a large number of substances useful for the baby. In addition, immune defense factors for the child increase.
Modern ways to properly stop breastfeeding
Medicine does not stand still, and special drugs have now been invented to artificially suppress lactation in a nursing mother. A special hormone, prolactin, is responsible for the formation of breast milk. In a nursing mother, it is secreted in large quantities and stimulates the formation of mother's milk in the acini of the mammary glands. Modern medications suppress the production of prolactin, which sharply reduces lactation. When sucking, the baby realizes that there is not enough milk and is forced to make up for the lack of energy with breast milk substitutes or regular food.
Read also:
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Of course, this method is no less traumatic for the baby, since weaning occurs abruptly and unexpectedly. However, unlike suppressing lactation with pressure bandages, the drug method does not provoke lactostasis, which means there is no risk of developing inflammation and suppuration.
