How To Properly Wean Your Baby From Breastfeeding In 5 Steps? 8 Mom Mistakes

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

How to properly wean your baby from breastfeeding in 5 steps? 8 mom mistakes

Content:

• How to wean a baby in 5 steps?
• 8 mistakes to be aware of

How to wean a baby in 5 steps?

To wean an older child from breastfeeding, you need to be patient, because you have to act consistently.

Even before starting the process itself, it is important to consider a few points:

• First, nothing will work out without the correct psychological attitude of the mother herself. This is a difficult time and a fair amount of determination will be required from the mother.
• Secondly, the support of the entire family of grandmothers, the child's father, etc. plays an important role.

• Thirdly, you need to be patient and not force events. Weaning should be done gradually so that the process does not become traumatic for the child. Otherwise, there is a risk that the opposite effect will be achieved. You need to maintain goodwill and not be angry with the child, at the same time insisting on your own.

Reducing daily attachments

The first step towards weaning from breastfeeding is to reduce daily nipples. At the same time, it is important to create a "soft" psychological atmosphere for the child. There is no need to provoke in his mind images that are somehow related to feeding: this means that with a child 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, you should also not sit for a long time, doing nothing. In the minds 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 technique is based. "Moving target". The child asks for breast from an active mother much less often. Already at this stage, it is important to show decisiveness, if the child asks for breast, it is necessary to answer that now there is no time for this, and it will be possible to kiss at the end of the case. After only a week or two for the child, this will become habitual, and he will stop frequently asking for breasts.

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 that in one way or another remind of feeding. So, if the child is used to feeding the mother during phone calls, for example, it is better to answer the phone in another room, or end the conversation as soon as possible.

If the child insists on kissing the breast, the mother should first pretend that she did not understand. If this does not help, you should distract the child's attention, switch him 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 your child's need to plan so that there is no time left for latching to the breast. 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 baby asks for breast 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 baby, 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 when the baby asks for breast at a visit, in the store. Still, you should not put the child in overly difficult conditions: walking for many hours or going to the store will lead to the child becoming tired. A tired child, of course, will not comply with the agreement.

Daytime sleep without breast

The first step has been passed, and the indiscriminate breastfeeding during the day has been stopped. The next step on the road to success is putting your baby to sleep without feeding. The easiest way to achieve this is if the mother leaves the house for a while while someone in the family puts the child to bed. The main thing is to stay calm. It will be easier for both the child and the mother herself. If the person who stays with the child shows gentleness and benevolence, the child will very quickly get used to the new "scheme".

The next step is to lay the baby down by the mother herself. As practice shows, the method of increasing the time intervals is effective. In this case, the mother promises to return now and leaves the room for a short period of time. Then, after a few tens of seconds, he returns and puts the baby to bed with the breast. The time intervals should gradually 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 should wait for the mother's return in his bed.

In this way, the child will learn to fall asleep without the mother.

Upon awakening, the baby may demand breast. In this case, you need to act in the same way as in the first step, to distract the child with something. Food, drink, interesting occupation does not matter.

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 start weaning from evening feeds. Moreover, this should be done according to the same scheme. For weaning from feeding at night to become equally effective, you need to develop a kind of "ritual" of actions before bedtime (this may include brushing teeth, telling stories in bed, etc. The last in this chain should be the process of latching on to the breast) … Over time, evening feeding will drop out of this series by itself, and the baby will stop asking for breast.

If we talk about the readiness of the mother's body to stop lactation, we need to rely 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 all breastfeeding moms need to know about

It is possible that the weaning process will be smooth but effective at the same time. But it can also happen that the weaning process at a certain moment will stand at one point and the child will begin to resist. This happens if the mother forces events and leads the process too quickly.

If you continue to act in the same way, there is a great risk of the opposite effect. If suddenly there is a strong resistance on the part of the child, it is best to postpone, wait a while and only then continue the weaning process.

Here are 8 common mistakes nursing mothers make when weaning:

1. You cannot set specific dates for weaning. It is not known in advance how long weaning will take place and how quickly the end result will be achieved. Therefore, one should not rush things. Everything should go smoothly and smoothly.
2. You should not wean a child from the breast if he is sick or is just recovering from a previous illness. Illness is stress for the child's body. It shouldn't be aggravated any more. This is fraught with unpleasant consequences.
3. Also, you can not wean a baby from a breast during bright transition periods. Or on the eve of such events: mother's going to work, entering kindergarten, etc. It is important to start weaning a few months before, or several months after, important events. Otherwise, a series of changes may become too difficult for the child's psyche.
4. If the child is in a state of stress: fright, if he has hit, has been without a mother for a long time, you should not refuse to attach to the breast. In addition to receiving nutrients, the child also calms down in this way.
5. Often, inexperienced mothers practice a fairly common means of weaning from breast - 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 is likely to be that when the mother returns from an imaginary business trip, the child will begin to demand breast even more actively and often.
6. In no case should you smear your chest with bitter substances (mustard, brilliant green). Neither mother nor child should expect anything good from this practice. Breast skin is tender. Mustard or brilliant green can cause chemical burns. For the child, the consequences will be even more difficult. 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.
7. The idea that taking medications and reducing lactation will contribute to the weaning of the baby from the mother's breast is wrong. In a year or two, a child no longer needs breast milk so much. For him, latching on to the breast is a way of communication and a way to get maternal attention. Therefore, even if there is no milk in the breast, the baby will still require attachments. However, the sensation of latching the baby to the “dairy-free” breast is much more uncomfortable for the mother. Therefore, there is no point in taking special drugs that inhibit lactation.
8. Do not replace nighttime breastfeeds with bottle feeds. If you use sweetened water (as is usually done), your baby is more likely to develop tooth decay. To prevent this from happening, the child can only be given water at night.

The process of weaning a baby from the breast must be observed very carefully and carefully. If suddenly the child begins to show clear signs of stress, for example, he sleeps restlessly, has problems with speech (stuttering), bites (if this has not happened before), does not leave the mother even a step, this means that the weaning process is too rapid pace. If the mother begins to have problems with the nervous system (poor sleep, anxiety, etc.), then the process is too impetuous for herself.

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. It may take a week or two, but the mother's and the baby's own nerves are much more expensive than this short period of time.

Thus, weaning off breast at a forced pace is by no means worth it. 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.

The author of the article: Lapikova Valentina Vladimirovna | Gynecologist, reproductologist

Education: Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology received at the Russian State Medical University of the Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Development (2010). In 2013 completed postgraduate studies at N. N. N. I. Pirogova.