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How to wean a baby from the breast in 5 steps?
To wean an older child from breastfeeding, you need to be patient, because you have to act consistently.
Before starting the process itself, it is important to consider a few points:
At first, nothing will work without the right psychological attitude of the mother herself. This is a difficult time and a fair amount of determination will be needed from the mother.
Secondly, the support of the whole family of grandmothers, the father of the child, etc. plays a significant role.
Thirdly, you need to be patient and not force things. Weaning should occur gradually so that the process does not become traumatic for the child. Otherwise, there is a risk that the opposite effect will be achieved. It is necessary to maintain goodwill and not be angry with the child, at the same time insisting on your own.
Reduce daily intake
The first step on the path to weaning from breastfeeding is to reduce daily attachments. At the same time, it is important to create a “soft” psychological atmosphere for the child. There is no need to provoke images in his mind that are somehow related to feeding: this means that when a child is present, you should not change clothes, walk in underwear, it is better to wear T-shirts instead of clothes with fasteners, etc.
In the presence of a child, it is also not worth sitting for a long time doing nothing. In the mind of any infant (as well as an older child), a mother sitting or lying idle is a direct signal to start feeding. If a woman is constantly on the move (doing some business, etc.), the incentive is much weaker. It is on this feature of the child’s psyche that the so-called methodology is based. “moving target”. From an active mother, the child asks for a breast much less often. Already at this stage, it is important to be decisive, if the child asks for a breast, it is necessary to answer that now there is no time for this, and it will be possible to attach at the end of the case. After just a week or two, this will become habitual for the child, and he will stop often asking for a breast.
In a child up to 3-5 years old, the basis of consciousness is congenital or acquired reflexes. Therefore, it is important to avoid all situations, one way or another reminiscent of feeding. So, if the child is used to the fact that, for example, feeding occurs during the mother’s phone calls, it is better to go out to answer the phone in another room, or end the conversation as soon as possible.
If the child persistently asks to kiss the breast, at first the mother should pretend that she did not understand. If this does not help, you should divert the attention of the child, switch it to something interesting. For example, look out the window, read a book. If this did not work, then the child should not be denied at this moment.
Your day and the child should be planned so that there is no time left for breastfeeding. It should be filled with games, walks, etc. It is necessary to maintain physical contact with the child without feeding: massage, hugs. It may happen that the child asks for breasts on the street or at a party. In this case, it is better to offer him his favorite food: cookies, fruits, etc.
If we are talking about a one and a half to two year old child, it is not only possible, but also necessary to agree that feedings take place only at home, and only at a certain time. This will help eliminate situations where the child asks for breasts at a party, in the store. Still, you should not put the child in excessively difficult conditions: many hours of walking or going to the store will lead to the fact that the child will get tired. A tired child, of course, will not comply with the agreements.
Daytime sleep without breasts
The first step is passed, indiscriminate breastfeeding during the day is stopped. The next step on the road to success is putting your baby to naps without feeding. The easiest way to achieve this is if the mother leaves the house for a while while one of the family members puts the child to bed. The main thing is to keep calm. So it will be easier for both the child and the mother herself. If the person who stays with the child shows gentleness and goodwill, the child will very quickly get used to the new “scheme”.
The next step should be the laying of the child by the mother herself. As practice shows, the method of increasing time intervals is effective. In this case, the mother promises to return now and goes out of the room for a short time. Then, after a few tens of seconds, he returns and puts the baby to sleep with the breast. Gradually, the time intervals should increase.
It is necessary to inform the child where the mother is going, and the reason for leaving the room should be significant, for example, to cook food, wash clothes. If the child, without waiting, goes to the mother himself, one should not swear. It is necessary to explain to the child that he waited for the return of the mother in his bed.
In this way, the child will learn to fall asleep without a mother.
After waking up, the child may require a breast. In this case, you need to act in the same way as in the first step, to distract the child with something. Eating, drinking, interesting occupation does not play a role.
How to remove evening feedings?
The goal is achieved, the child falls asleep and wakes up during the day without feeding. Once this pattern has become stable, you can begin to wean from evening feedings. And it should be done in the same way. For bedtime weaning to be as effective, you need to develop some kind of “ritual” of actions before bedtime (this may include brushing your teeth, telling stories in bed, etc. The last in this chain should be the process of breastfeeding) . Over time, evening feeding will fall out of this row by itself, and the child will stop asking for breasts.
If we talk about the readiness of the mother’s body to stop lactation, we must be based on subjective feelings. If the mother feels quite well during the day without feeding (the breast does not fill up, there is no discomfort, pain, etc.), then lactation can be abandoned without any harm.
8 Mistakes Every Breastfeeding Mom Needs to Know
It is possible that the process of weaning will be smooth, but at the same time effective. But it may also happen that the process of weaning at a certain moment will stop at one point and the child will begin to resist. This happens if the mother forces things and leads the process too fast.
If you continue to act by the same methods, there is a high risk of the opposite effect. If suddenly there is strong resistance on the part of the child, it is best to wait a little, wait for time, and only then continue the process of weaning.
Here are 8 common mistakes breastfeeding mothers make when weaning:
You can not set specific terms for weaning from the breast. It is not known in advance when the weaning will take place and how quickly the final result will be achieved. Therefore, you should not rush things. Everything should go smoothly and smoothly.
It is not necessary to wean a child from the breast if he is sick or is just recovering from an illness. Illness is stressful for a child’s body. It shouldn’t be made worse. This is fraught with unpleasant consequences.
Also, you can not wean the baby from the breast during bright transition periods. Or on the eve of such events: the mother’s going to work, entering kindergarten, etc. It is important to start weaning a few months before or a few months after important events. Otherwise, a series of changes can become too difficult for the child’s psyche.
If the child is in a state of stress: fright, if he hit, was without a mother for a long time, it is not worth refusing to give the child an attachment to the breast. In addition to the fact that the child receives nutrients, in this way he also calms down.
Often inexperienced mothers practice a fairly common means of weaning – abrupt departure. In addition to being rather unreasonable, it is also dangerous for the child’s psyche. The departure of the mother for a long time becomes a serious stress for the child. The result, most likely, will be that upon the return of the mother from an imaginary business trip, the child will begin to demand the breast even more actively and often.
In no case should you smear the chest with bitter substances (mustard, brilliant green). Neither mother nor child should expect anything good from such a practice. The skin of the chest is soft. Mustard or brilliant green can cause a chemical burn. For the child, the consequences will be even worse. The mother’s breast for a child is a symbol of calmness, confidence and security. Therefore, if a child suddenly realizes that something is wrong with the breast, his confidence in the safety of the home world will be shaken. This can be fraught with the most unpredictable consequences, and they will manifest themselves, with a high degree of probability, in adulthood.
The idea that taking drugs and reducing lactation will help wean the child from the mother’s breast is erroneous. In a year or two, the child no longer needs mother’s milk so much. For him, breastfeeding is a way to communicate and a way to get maternal attention. Therefore, even if there is no milk in the breast, the child will still require attachments. However, the feeling of attaching a child to a “milk-free” breast is much more uncomfortable for the mother. Therefore, there is no point in taking special drugs that inhibit lactation.
Do not replace nighttime breastfeeding with bottle feeding. If you use sweetened water (as they usually do), the child will most likely develop tooth decay. To prevent this from happening, only water can be given to the child at night.
The process of weaning a baby from the breast must be observed very carefully and carefully. If suddenly a child begins to show obvious signs of stress, for example, he sleeps restlessly, there are problems with speech (stuttering), bites (if this has not happened before), does not leave his mother a single step, this means that the course of weaning is going too fast pace. If the mother starts having problems with the nervous system (bad sleep, anxiety, etc.), then the process is too fast for her.
If for at least one of the participants in the process, he responds with unpleasant sensations and consequences, you need to slow down and wait for some time. We can talk about a week or two, but the own nerves of the mother and child are much more expensive than this insignificant period of time.
Thus, it is by no means worth it to carry out weaning from the breast at an accelerated pace. If there is a need to wean from breastfeeding, this should be done carefully, at a moderate pace, paying attention to the general condition of the child and your own. This is the only way to achieve effective and painless weaning from the breast.