Abruptly wean off breastfeeding. How long does “soft” weaning last? Weaning a child over one year old from breastfeeding

No matter how long a mother breastfeeds her baby, she still certain time, she is faced with the question of how to wean her baby. At the same time, every woman wants to carry out weaning so that for the baby everything is as simple and painless as possible. Below we will discuss how to practice cessation. breastfeeding and what young mothers need to remember so that natural feeding can be completed easily and without problems.

When to start this process?

One of the most important advice Regarding when it is better to wean a child from breastfeeding, it sounds like this: you need to make this decision yourself. There is no need to listen to advice from friends and relatives about when to quit. After all, weaning from breastfeeding occurs at different time, and due to various factors, every mother tries to wean her baby at certain period.

Some people can’t wait to finally stop being closely dependent on the baby, some strive to quickly restore their “pre-pregnancy” shape, others need to join the work schedule at some point. However, there are also less clear reasons why a child is stopped breastfeeding at a certain period. For example, you can still hear the belief that after some time milk becomes not only useless for the baby, but even harmful. There is no doubt that you should not believe such incomprehensible theories.

For those for whom the question of when and how to wean a child correctly from breastfeeding is relevant, you need to rely on the evidence of science and medicine. Therefore, it is important to understand exactly how milk production occurs in the body. It is produced due to the influence of the hormone. If the mother feeds the baby regularly, the amount of milk does not decrease even after long time. And if the mother’s nutrition is complete, then the composition of mother’s milk will be as rich as in the first months after the start of feeding.

Therefore, weaning a child from breastfeeding is carried out no earlier than the baby turns one year old, of course, if there are no emergency reasons. If you follow WHO recommendations, then you need to stop natural feeding no earlier than the baby turns 1.5-2 years old. However, when weaning, you need to be guided first of all individual characteristics. It is very important that both mother and child are prepared for this process.

Feeding is a process that unites a woman and her baby. Therefore, she must be psychologically prepared for the fact that such contact will be broken.

It is not recommended to stop natural feeding too early, because until the age of 1-1.5 years the baby may not be ready for this. Moreover, in such a situation there may appear Negative consequences and for the mother, whose risk increases under such conditions lactostasis , the appearance of painful lumps in the chest. With premature weaning, early restructuring occurs in the body, which is fraught with the development hormonal disorders, as well as prolonged release of milk from the breasts after stopping feeding.

Emergency weaning

Situations may arise in life when it is necessary to stop breastfeeding as an emergency. For some reasons, natural feeding has to be stopped completely, but sometimes it is enough to stop it for a certain time by taking a break.

If it is possible to resume lactation after a break, it is imperative to do so, especially if the baby is not yet 1-1.5 years old.

Emergency weaning is necessary if the following reasons occur:

• open form ;
• hepatitis ;
• oncological processes;
• treatment with drugs incompatible with lactation;
• purulent .

If you have mastitis and use medications that are incompatible with feeding, you can stop lactation only for a while. To maintain milk production, it must be expressed regularly during treatment. When treatment is over, the woman can continue to breastfeed her baby. Gradually, milk will begin to be produced in the same volumes, and the baby will again begin to receive enough of it.

How do you know when it's time to stop feeding your baby?

When answering this question, you need to consider it from the perspective of both mother and baby, since this process is not easy for both.

So, for a woman, the main factor indicating her readiness to stop breastfeeding is the lack of breast filling for a long time - from 12 hours.

There are several ways to determine how long milk has not been produced. For mothers of babies who go to kindergarten, it will be very easy to understand that the milk is not coming. If a mother does not feed her baby at night, then if there is no milk in the breast during the day, you can understand that it is decreasing. In this case, the woman should not feel pain in the mammary glands, and lumps should not form in them.

Sometimes it is difficult for a woman to restrain herself from feeding her baby during the day. In this case, you can leave the baby with one of your relatives so that there is no temptation to feed the baby.

If the mother is unable, for certain reasons, to apply the methods described above, then you can feed the baby from only one breast throughout the day, and watch the other.

Provided that the breasts do not fill within 12 hours, you need to count from 8 to 12 weeks, and after that the time will come when the woman’s body is completely ready to stop lactation.

But determining whether the baby is ready for weaning is more difficult. But still, every mother feels what exactly and when her baby needs, so it is she, sometimes even intuitive level, it will be easiest to determine when the child is ready to wean.

However, every mother should think correctly in this case. An important criterion is the baby’s refusal of bottles, pacifiers, and pacifiers. Breastfeeding should be done from 1 to 3 per day. Moreover, this exact amount should be constant for 1-2 months. As a rule, such a period begins and, accordingly, weaning from breastfeeding at 2 years. True, you should take into account the individuality of the process and understand that this can happen a little earlier and a little later.

When should you postpone the completion of the GW?

It is important for every mother to understand not only how to wean a child from breastfeeding correctly, but also when not to rush into it. After all, such situations also happen.

You should not start weaning from breastfeeding if the baby is experiencing a period of stress for certain reasons or this may happen in the near future. For example, this does not need to be done if there is a move coming soon, the mother plans to go to work and invite a nanny to look after the child, the baby is going to go to a nursery, etc. All of these changes are stressful for the little person. The weaning process should be carried out either several months before expected stressful situations, or 2-3 months after such events.

According to Dr. Komarovsky and other pediatricians, you cannot stop feeding even when the baby is experiencing crisis period. This happens when the child turns one year old, after a year, at three years old.

Also, you should not stop feeding immediately before vaccination and after this process. During the warm period of the year, such changes are also not recommended, since at this time there is a risk of developing intestinal infections increases sharply. After stopping breastfeeding, the baby becomes especially vulnerable to such infections.

If a young mother is already mentally and physically ready to stop natural feeding, and the baby is put to the breast no more than three times a day, you can complete this process.

You can stop lactation gradually or immediately and abruptly. However, it is gradual weaning is preferable for the baby, as he tolerates it less traumatically. Without a doubt, when contact with the mother becomes less close due to the cessation of feeding, the baby will feel it.

But it is still important that the woman is confident and does not hesitate in her intention. The baby will immediately feel the mother’s doubts, and this will further aggravate the difficult process.

Frequency reduction

When the frequency of feedings decreases, this is already the stage of weaning. At this time, it is important for the mother to completely eliminate all moments that provoke her to feed the baby. For example, you should not change clothes in front of a child so that he does not see the breast and does not try to suck on it. Sometimes children may simply ask for breastfeeding - not for satiety, but to play, or simply out of boredom. In this case, you should distract the baby.

Weaning yourself from falling asleep with your breast during the day

Children who are accustomed to falling asleep with their mother's breasts need to be gradually weaned off this. First, you should teach your baby to sleep without breastfeeding during the day. Several times you can try to “talk” the child by putting him to bed and leaving, saying that mom needs to do something. Returning in a minute, assess the situation: if the baby demands the breast, it must be given. However, every day the period of mother's absence should increase, and after some time the baby will get used to falling asleep without his mother.

Sometimes the child may catch up with the mother when she leaves. In this case, you should not get angry, but calmly take the baby back to the crib.

Weaning yourself from falling asleep with your breast in the evening

When the child gets used to falling asleep during the day without whims about the breast, you gradually need to start teaching him to fall asleep in the same way in the evening.

Provided that the baby no longer requires mother's milk during the day, you need to reduce the duration and number of night feedings. But if, on the contrary, you have to feed your baby more and more often at night, this means that it is too early to think about how to stop breastfeeding. You need to step back a little and wait.

Unpreparedness for weaning can also be determined by the fact that the baby sucks regularly lower lip, finger, any object. This is how his inner feelings and unwillingness to stop being in close contact with his mother are expressed.

How can you not act?

There is no need to succumb to the persuasion of grandmothers and smear mustard on your chest. Such actions will cause serious stress in the baby, and, moreover, mustard getting into the gastrointestinal tract can have a bad effect on the stomach.

The baby should not be deprived increased attention during the weaning period. Since this change in the baby’s life is very serious for him, the mother should hug and kiss him more and more often, stroke his head, and play with him. Such attention will help the baby find peace and reduce stress and anxiety.

You cannot be angry with your child if something goes wrong. Indeed, in most cases, weaning does not go “according to plan” - often something goes wrong, and you have to start all over again. But in any case, it is important not to be nervous, but to calmly assess the situation and try to make this time easier for the child.

When does milk stop completely?

As a rule, with the smooth end of feeding, lactation gradually stops. Therefore, the question of what to do with breast milk after weaning is, as a rule, not relevant. Provided that milk is released and the woman skips feeding, it needs to be expressed. Pumping is carried out only until a feeling of relief appears. When expressing, the amount of milk decreases every day. After expressing, it is recommended to make a cold compress or apply cold cabbage leaves to the breast.

The duration of breastfeeding, according to the recognized authority on breastfeeding issues - the World Health Organization (WHO), is possible up to one and a half, and sometimes up to two or more years. In this case, the baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months, and then receive safe and adequate complementary foods to meet all the body's needs for proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins, microelements and essential amino acids. Long-term breastfeeding has positive influence on the health and intelligence of the child in the future. Children who are breastfed for more than one and a half years are less at risk of developing allergic dermatitis(including childhood eczema), childhood and intestinal infections, leukemia, diabetes and obesity, they are less likely to develop anemia, and the baby’s immune system is more stable and high activity in future. Infants who have been breastfed for a long time adapt better to children's team and get sick less often, and also, according to research by scientists from the University of Oxford, have higher intellectual capabilities due to the presence in breast milk of substances that stimulate the maturation and differentiation of brain neurons.

Long-term lactation is also beneficial for a nursing mother, reducing the risk of developing hormonal disorders and benign or malignant neoplasms mammary gland and other organs reproductive system women (uterus and ovaries). It is also important that the very process of breastfeeding a child maintains psychological and physical contact between mother and baby, promoting better understanding and a strong subconscious connection in the future.

Weaning healthy child at timely introduction And correct tactics increasing complementary feeding is easy, due to the fact that by the age of one year, the baby receives three different dishes complementary feeding and two times - breast milk (with morning and evening feeding). This feeding regimen can be maintained for a long time, for example, up to two years or more - until lactation involution. During this period, the baby’s sucking reflex begins to fade and the number of breastfeedings gradually decreases (first the morning feeding is removed), and then there comes a moment when the baby stops putting himself to the breast in the evening.

Reasons for temporary interruption of lactation

Some mothers interrupt breastfeeding due to taking medications that can negatively affect the child’s health, but in most cases this is not the reason for stopping lactation and weaning the child, especially in infancy:

Usually today there are opportunities to select medicines, which can be taken during lactation;

According to WHO experts, most drugs prescribed in standard dosages cannot provide negative influence on infants, penetrating into breast milk in small quantities. These include: antitussives, local aseptics, antipyretic drugs and some antibiotics.

If a drug is used that is not approved for use during this period and provided that it is prescribed for only a few days, it is necessary to temporarily transfer the infant to artificial feeding with preservation of lactation;

During these days and an additional few days (from one to three) after stopping the medication (you should consult your doctor about the timing), the baby should be fed the mixture from a spoon, from a bottle with a tight nipple, or from a cup. During this period, a nursing mother should definitely pump and, if possible, not worry, assessing the current situation optimistically (more or less). In the future, provided that lactation is maintained, the mother will be able to continue feeding the baby for many more months, and it is incredibly difficult to restore stopped lactation, although all rules have exceptions. With a positive psychological mood By frequently putting the baby to the breast, it is possible to resume natural feeding.

• with lactostasis (milk stagnation) or mastitis;
• with pronounced cracks in the nipples;
• during exacerbation of chronic somatic disease;
• for acute infectious diseases;
• herpetic rashes on the nipples of the mammary gland.

Often women stop lactation on their own when their breast shape changes or another pregnancy, which is not the reason for weaning the baby from the breast.

Absolute contraindications to breastfeeding are:

• open form of tuberculosis;
• spicy mental illness mothers;
• decompensation with chronic diseases heart, kidneys, lungs and liver;
• HIV infection;
• hyperthyroidism;
• especially dangerous infections.

Important to remember:

1. A change in living conditions (quick weaning) for a baby is a stressful situation, which is more severe in infants (from three to six months to a year).
2. Before you start weaning your baby, you need to clearly understand the outcome of this - complete cessation breastfeeding without its resumption.
3. Gradual weaning of the baby from the breast is the basis for the physical and mental well-being of both baby and mother.

Therefore, you should not stop breastfeeding if the child is sick, especially with infectious and inflammatory diseases or acute intestinal disorders, difficult teething, due to the fact that in most cases the baby refuses any other food, and breast milk in this case is for him. the safest food and medicine at the same time. It is also not recommended to stop breastfeeding after a preventive vaccination in the heat, because during this period the baby’s body is most susceptible to various infections.

But situations may arise when a child after a year or older often breastfeeds during the day and/or at night, refuses to take other foods after the introduction of complementary foods, which leads to the child’s psychological dependence, a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body, and the development of anemia - it is necessary gradual weaning of the child from the breast. At the same time, periodically during the day the baby is distracted by playing, walking, leaving in the care of a well-known person close to him - dad, grandmother, offering as an alternative breastfeeding complementary feeding dishes, gradually replacing the number of breastfeedings. At night, it is not worth strengthening the child’s habit of eating at night, and giving the child formula, kefir or milk, and if the baby asks for breastfeeding only at night, also leaving the baby for some time at night with his family, and communicating with the child during the day as always .

If this method is not effective, you can use a more radical one - leaving the baby completely (for several days) in the care of family members (grandmothers, fathers, aunts).

An example of correct and comfortable weaning for mother and baby (after one year) is weaning from morning or evening feeding, depending on the mother’s work schedule (if there is a need to go to work) or at the mother’s choice (if she is in maternity leave). If the mother has free morning hours, it is necessary to start weaning the baby from the breast with evening feeding. It is better to replace first the morning or one of the afternoon feedings (for infants), while in the evening hours it will be easier for the mother to choose time and be alone with the baby, and after feeding the child will calmly fall asleep, which will greatly simplify the traditional problem - the ritual of falling asleep.

The basis for comfortable weaning is to reduce the amount of feeding. To do this, before putting the baby to the breast, give 50-60 grams of mixture (for children up to eight months of age), baby kefir or fermented milk mixture(babies older than 8 - 9 months), and then attach the baby to the breast and feed. It is better to feed your baby from a spoon or cup rather than from a bottle. Over the course of 2-3 days, increase the amount of kefir or mixture to 100-150 grams before gradually replacing morning or afternoon feedings (in infants). After this, you can begin to supplement the baby during evening feedings. With such a gradual and gentle rejection of natural feeding There is a gradual decrease in the mother's milk and then disappears completely, but this process may take a month or more.

Hasty weaning

If a situation arises when you have to hastily wean the baby from the breast to stop lactation in a few days, you need to tightly bandage the chest. To do this, immediately before bandaging, you need to completely express the milk, put a thick layer of cotton wool under and above the breast and tighten the breast with a wide bandage. The bandage cannot be removed for several days. In case of severe pain, breast swelling, or a significant increase in temperature, it is allowed to express milk with repeated tight bandaging. During this period, a woman should limit her fluid intake as much as possible - milk gradually disappears. Sometimes you have to take medications - drugs that affect the hormonal status of a woman with mandatory consultation with a doctor and according to his prescription.

It is important to remember that when breastfeeding abruptly stops, the baby’s body ceases to receive protective substances from the mother’s milk with a parallel increasing load on the immature digestive tract, which significantly increases the risk of penetration of pathogens of the infectious process and motor disorders digestive tract, weakening immune system and development allergic reactions. Also, the baby is deprived of close physical and psychological contact with his mother, but from this position, it is easier to wean six month old baby, the older they are, since the older baby has a harder time with weaning, due to the fact that in this case the process of close contact with the mother during natural feeding is important. Therefore, the mother needs to play more with the baby, bathe and feed him, so that the child can more easily cope with this loss. When feeding your baby with a bottle, you need to hold him close to you in the same way as when breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding must end sooner or later, and then the question arises of how to wean the child from the breast. This can be done different ways. It all depends on the reasons why the baby needs to be weaned, his willingness to no longer breastfeed, 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 breasts and whether tugging is necessary, what a famous person thinks about this topic children's doctor Komarovsky and World Organization Health (WHO). These opinions have similarities and some differences.

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

According to traditional pediatric standards dating back to Soviet times, but used by many of our pediatricians, complementary feeding of children begins at 4 months. And this is regardless of artificial nutrition The child is either exclusively breastfeeding. Thus, already at 7-8 months, a child has three full meals a day, and by 9 months, four meals a day. If the child eats his entire allowance, then breastfeeding is allowed. You can give it some water to drink. Thus, by the age of 9 months, some women breastfeed 1-2 times a day. And by the age of one year, the child easily stops sucking the breast. A woman's milk gradually and painlessly burns out.

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

Those who adhere to this point of view believe that weaning is not a problem at all if you try to feed on a 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 your breast all the time.

How to stop breastfeeding correctly and quickly according to Komarovsky

So, the doctor advises that if you have a clear intention to stop breastfeeding, simply do not breastfeed your child. Replace it with formula, water, etc. Depending on the age and needs of the child. And this is not, in his opinion, bullying of the baby. He will cry for 1-2 days, and he will get used to it. Parting with the breast will not be a terrible stress for the child.

But what can really undermine his psyche is if you don’t give the breast when he wants to suck it, but after 10-20 minutes of his crying you give up and still give it. Such methods of weaning a child from the breast are the most traumatic and lengthy. If you have already decided to finish, then you need to firmly hold on to your position and not give in. Usually children quickly forget about the breast if you don’t remind them about it.

What does WHO say about the natural end of lactation?

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

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 GW period. In this case, weaning from breastfeeding in the summer is undesirable; this should not be done because high risk get an intestinal infection.

In addition, it is not at all necessary to deprive your baby of the breast if you:

• I don’t like his “excessive” affection for you;
• The baby often wakes up at night.

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

So when should you wean your baby and how? WHO recommends gradual, consistent and gentle cessation of breastfeeding. Its stages are approximately as follows.

1. Eliminate daytime feedings that are not associated with sleep.

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

3. Eliminate or, for starters, reduce the number and duration of nightly breastfeeding.

If the child is capricious, bites the breast and constantly hangs on it, it means that you are in too much of a hurry. This is how a child who is urgently weaned behaves and is not yet ready for it. If you experience lactostasis, this is a sign of the same thing.

Will it help in in this case Dostinex or another anti-lactation drug? Getting rid of milk - yes, it will help. After you strain lactostasis. It’s just that the child is unlikely to refuse even empty chest. He will suck on it, which is very painful and unproductive.

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

Is it possible to wean a child from breastfeeding in the heat while traveling 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 child live in the city and drink good water and eat properly, then there is no difference - the mother gradually weaned her in summer or winter. It's absolutely safe.

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

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

1. Agree with the baby. At this age, children already understand a lot. You can promise instead of breastfeeding interesting toys, an extraordinary walk to grandma’s, reading a book, playing, etc.

2. Switch his attention away from the chest. Do not wear revealing clothes, do not change clothes in front of him, and do not remind him of his breasts.

3. Do not go to bed next to your child. Even if you sleep together, let your husband lie next to you, and at night, if the baby wakes up, rock him to sleep, give him water from a bottle or sippy cup.

4. B daytime be busy all the time so that he does not have the desire to suckle. In this way, you can effectively reduce the number of daily breastfeedings. And without harming the child’s psyche.

How to wean a child from breastfeeding - this question once comes to the mind of every mother. The connection between a nursing girl and a baby is very close, so the weaning process should be as gradual as possible and very individual. In this article, we will tell you how to properly wean a child from breastfeeding: how to understand that mother and baby are ready, what not to do, and how to minimize stress for the baby.

Benefit breast milk It is impossible to overestimate: it has been scientifically proven that no formula can replace human milk in composition.

The World Health Organization recommends feeding children until they are approximately two years old.

And even in this case, when weaning from breastfeeding, two conditions must be met: the mother’s readiness and the baby’s readiness. Of course, it also happens that the child himself refuses to breastfeed. Another situation is the mother’s illness or taking medications that are incompatible with feeding. In this case, you have to stop feeding immediately. But this is a necessary measure; in most cases, the girl has enough time to carry out the weaning calmly, without unnecessary stress for the baby. In the next chapter, we will discuss in detail how to wean your baby off breastfeeding correctly.

How to properly wean a baby

It is believed that by one and a half to two years the baby is psychologically and physiologically ready for weaning. The child’s diet is very extensive, and mother's milk takes up a very small part. Often it is used only for comfort or to put one to sleep. How do you know if your baby is ready to stop breastfeeding or not? First of all, start with yourself. Some mothers, starting to wean their baby early, find themselves in stressful situation, because all this time they had close contact with the baby during feedings. In addition, it is also important how ready your body is to stop lactation.

When the child is one and a half to two years old, female body experiences involution of the mammary glands. This is a natural condition in which milk production stops and breastfeeding ends without problems. Symptoms of involution: within a few hours without feeding the baby, the breasts become a little full, you do not feel pain or engorgement; after feeding, you feel tired, discomfort in the nipple area, as if feeding is draining your strength. If you feel your body is ready, reduce your intake of fluids and foods that increase lactation, exercise, and do not express milk. With a gradual reduction in the number of feedings, the milk leaves gradually, but with abrupt excommunication Problems including mastitis and abscess are possible.

We have discussed the girl’s readiness to stop breastfeeding, and now let’s talk about the baby. How to stop breastfeeding your baby to minimize stress? Remember that for a baby, breastfeeding is always a big stress. At this time, it is worth surrounding him with doubly care and love, showing that he is the most important thing in life for you. Other important rule- gradualism (of course, if we are not talking about a sudden abolition of breastfeeding due to illness). Canceling feedings may take several months, but it will go off with a bang.

Scheme for weaning a child after one year

Let's look at an approximate diagram of how to stop breastfeeding a child without consequences for his psychological and physical health. Start with daytime feedings. If you breastfeed during the day, try to avoid this by distracting your baby with games. Wear closed clothes so that the baby does not see the breast. Replace daytime feeding at bedtime with rocking, singing songs and telling stories. It’s good if dad or grandma help you, because the child does not associate them with the breast. Once you stop breastfeeding during the day (which may take a month), try not to breastfeed at night. Various tricks will be used, including the help of relatives. At night, you can offer your baby kefir, water or yogurt. Lastly, night feedings are canceled: rock the baby in the crib, offer some water to quench his thirst, sing songs.

In most cases, such gradual weaning bears fruit, and the baby experiences the lack of milk calmly, even if before that he could only fall asleep with the breast. If at some point the child begins to be capricious, hangs on his mother and urgently asks for the breast, sucks fingers and various objects, he is probably not yet ready to wean. Set aside this moment for a couple of weeks and try again, but very gradually. How to wean off breastfeeding after a year if a girl is sick or takes medication? To do this, you will need the help of loved ones. Perhaps it is better for the mother to leave for a couple of days so that the baby can more calmly cope with the absence of breasts. Believe me, he won’t be as capricious with his beloved dad or grandmother as he is with you alone. The same applies to the abrupt cancellation of feedings in babies under one year old.

There are some situations in which pediatricians strongly recommend postponing weaning from breastfeeding:

• Time before and after vaccination.
• Stress in a child’s life: change of place of residence, mother going to work, going to kindergarten, etc.
• If a child is sick, his immunity is reduced, and weaning from breastfeeding will further undermine physical and psychological health.
• Summer, when the risk of infectious diseases increases.

In addition, you should not use some traditional methods during weaning: for example, tightening the breasts (the risk of mastitis is very high) or smearing it with mustard, brilliant green, etc. If the baby really wants the breast and is not ready for weaning, he will also suck on the mustard breast, which will negatively affect his work. digestive system. In some cases, attempts to smear something on or tighten the breasts may be perceived by the child as a betrayal of his beloved mother.

Long new year holidays, which the whole family spends at home together, often becomes the last straw that makes the mother think about weaning the baby. These days, the walker “hanging” on the chest is constantly seen by dads, grandparents, and acquaintances who come to visit, usually missing at work, and this picture is at odds with their ideas about the proper upbringing of children. But before you decide to take a responsible step, you should weigh everything carefully.

Weaning between one and two years: weighing the pros and cons

If someone decides to wean a child before the age of two, then the task ahead is not the easiest. Perhaps this is the most difficult time to stop feeding, because, on the one hand, the baby really needs the breast, on the other hand, he can already insist on his own.

Attempts to wean from the breast can meet with sharp resistance from the child or cause stressful reactions, because most children between the ages of one and two need to kiss their mother’s breast several times a day. Over time, this need becomes less. But just over time.

The need exists regardless of whether the mother is going to satisfy it or not. This is a property of the child, not the mother, and the mother, with her strong-willed decision, cannot make this need simply disappear. She won't go anywhere simply because her mother decided not to feed her. And if the mother refuses to satisfy this need, it begins to manifest itself in some other areas, most often with various neuroses, obsessive states, whims-hysterics, sucking various items and others in the same spirit. If mom satisfies this need naturally— she gradually leaves. For example, most mothers notice that the number of feedings seriously decreases around the age of two years.

At the same time (if the child is not yet ready to wean), even an attempt to wean can have a very negative impact on the life of the family and significantly spoil the family climate. So, when you are planning to wean a child after a year, you should first of all decide why exactly the mother decided to wean.

Try writing down a problem that is bothering you on a piece of paper. For example, this is lack of sleep. Calculate how many hours a day you sleep in total. Write it down possible solutions. You can sleep with your child during the day when he is sleeping (rather than trying to do cleaning or cooking). You can transfer the care of the child to your husband or relatives who are ready to help for a certain time, and during this time you can rest, and so on.

Consider carefully whether you want to wean the baby completely or whether you would be satisfied with reducing the number of feedings. In any case, the preferred course of weaning implies that the process moves gradually, under the control of the mother. And a sensitive mother at any stage can stop him or take a step back if this is suggested by considerations of the health and moral state of herself and the baby. When the child is ready for weaning, it can be carried out forcefully, in a few days; but if you just think about it in the background frequent applications- gradual weaning will take several months.

What not to do when weaning

Maybe mom will be able to carry out the weaning smoothly and gently. But it also happens that at some point the child begins to resist - this will happen if the pace taken by the mother turns out to be too fast for him. If at such moments the mother “puts the squeeze” on the baby, continuing to act according to her own plan without taking into account his reaction, then the most likely answer is a rapid rollback when, under pain of being deprived of the breast, the child “hangs” on her even more than before. Therefore, if the child reacts strongly negatively, it is better to stop, giving the child more time to adapt, rather than risk the entire path traveled.

Do not put it specific deadlines and especially do not choose a specific date when the child will already be weaned. If you are already set, but the child is not ready yet, someone will definitely remain dissatisfied, and stopping feeding should still occur by agreement of both parties.

You cannot wean your baby from the breast if he sick or recovering from an illness; if something happens in a child's life major changes- moving, entering kindergarten, mom goes to work. If such a situation is planned, then weaning should occur several months earlier or later, so that the total volume of changes occurring simultaneously does not become too difficult for the child’s psyche.

Do not deny the baby the breast if he has clearly suffered a bright shock or emotional stress: hit, got scared, mom was away from home for an unusually long time, and so on.

One of the popular tips for more quick weaning is departure. But if the child is not used to being separated from his mother, then the disappearance of both mother and breastfeeding at once can have a very bad effect on the baby’s condition. And when mom returns, the baby may demand her attention even more persistently.

Nipple lubrication something bitter (mustard) or frightening (brilliant greens) can burn or irritate the delicate skin of the chest. And for a child this can cause severe stress. For your baby, the breast is the personification of confidence, calmness and kindness, and a “trouble” that happens to the breast can turn the child away from his mother and shake his ideas about the reliability of the home world.

About the dangers of stopping lactation by using medicines Quite a lot is known today. I will only add: when a child is about one and a half years old, the assumption that it is enough to take a few tablets and the child will stop feeding is completely unjustified. A baby of this age is no longer put to the breast to receive milk, but primarily to receive mother’s love. And simply the absence of milk will not cool him down. At the same time, sucking a breast that has almost no milk gives the mother more discomfort than sucking the breast. Therefore, the mother’s task is not to “remove milk”, but to reduce the number of times the baby latch. Milk production will decrease according to milk supply on its own.

If mom is trying to replace night feedings bottle of milk or sweetened water, this can lead to childhood tooth decay. Therefore, if you need to replace night feedings with something, then use plain water.

Finally, don't overlook the child’s condition and your own. If the baby shows signs of stress (stutters, sleeps restlessly and often wakes up at night, does not stick to his mother during the day, bites - especially if this has not happened before), this means that the cessation of feeding is progressing too quickly for the child. And if the mother herself feels very tired, nervous, and her chest is very full, it means that the weaning is happening too quickly for her.

If you realize that weaning has negative consequences for one of you, take a step back, return those feedings that you last refused! Believe me, the baby’s nerves and your own are more valuable than the two weeks that you will “lose.”

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Discussion

Before a year, you just have to quit breastfeeding.

most good age for weaning, in my opinion, it’s 1.5 years

My sister weaned my nephew when he was one year old and there were no problems. But we were artificial. And they didn’t know what a problem it was to tear a child away from the breast.

I already want to wean. It's becoming unbearable. Not only has he crawled into our bed to sleep, but he also wakes up every hour at night. Ask for the breast, but don’t eat it, just hold it in your mouth. To be sure, apparently, mom won’t run away from him. I just want to get some sleep at night! P.S. We are almost 10 months old.

But here I’m not ready. The little one may have given up. Murashiku is one and three years old. He is my last and I want to prolong all the delights of motherhood.

And we are 8 months old...what do you think? Isn't it time to wean?

Comment on the article "How to wean a baby: 8 mistakes mothers make"

Will it be easier? Breast-feeding. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years: hardening and development, nutrition Will it be easier? Section: Breastfeeding (does it happen that children sleep worse after stopping breastfeeding). She herself abruptly refused breastfeeding even before...

Breastfeeding: tips for increasing lactation, feeding on demand Try to feed always after sleep, always before bed, and always feed both breasts for Weaning: folk signs. Breastfeeding is a special period in life...

Discussion

Of course, 6 months. - very little. From 3 months you can already give juices, from 4 months there are purees. Read the age on the jars. From 5 months already big choice The puree begins.

I didn’t manage to wean, although I really needed to: I went to work full time at 4.5 months of Vatrushka, fortunately our dad was at home with her until 9 months, I fed in the morning, came at lunch, in the evening and fed all night, so for 3 months, then I was exhausted by hourly feedings at night and we decided to slowly stop - by that time Vatrushka was already 7.5 and she was eating solid foods perfectly.

First, I removed the daytime feedings, then the evening ones, and lastly the nighttime ones, it took us 3 weeks for everything, dad put her to bed in the evening, 3 days with a fight, on the 4th excellent, since then my daughter sleeps all night in her room, in her crib, slept with us before weaning.

Yes, I forgot, my daughter did not recognize and still does not recognize bottles and pacifiers.

So, summary: try to supplement your feeding until at least 6 months, intensively introducing complementary foods, although maybe you have a normal child who accepts a bottle? :)))

anyway good luck!

How to wean a child from breastfeeding? (continuation). When is baby weaning contraindicated? If you have decided to wean your child between the ages of 1 and 2 years, you will need to act consistently.

Discussion

It seems to you that it will be more difficult further.
As long as the baby needs milk, it’s great that he falls asleep easily at night and wakes up only a couple of times. After weaning, it is unlikely that it will become easier to fall asleep and it is possible that you will wake up more often, but calming down will become more difficult without breastfeeding. This is all, of course, if the child is not yet ready for weaning.
Then it grows up and falls off on its own. I wouldn’t excommunicate at that age, you definitely won’t sleep better

I gradually replaced the night ones with kefir.
first she offered a bottle of kefir, then, if it didn’t work, she offered her breasts. And so every time. Then the same with evening feeding. Or vice versa - I don’t remember right now

Tempo during weaning. Breast-feeding. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years old: hardening and development, nutrition and illness This is my first experience of weaning... Do you think the child’s temperature might rise, maybe from stress?

Discussion

Take care of yourself too - find something to do for fun, 15 minutes according to the number of previous feedings) Good luck!

I read an article on Maternity.ru, it says that if you wean early, the baby can become seriously ill within six months. I weaned me at 2 years old because I became pregnant, and I seemed to bear everything normally. I advise you to read the article.

Section: Weaning (when ovulation may begin after the baby is weaned). Before weaning, my child did not eat anything other than breast milk; it was with great difficulty that I managed to do anything in Weaning a child from one to two years old.

Discussion

We were away a week before two years. We are now 2 years and 11 months old and I am four months pregnant. And my period began the next day after weaning (it coincided, and we fed very little before that - only at night and at night)

I became pregnant with my second at exactly 2.2, even without weaning. I would have fed both of them now if I hadn’t gone to the hospital at 4 months of pregnancy.

Weaning. Breast-feeding. Questions for weaned mothers: please tell us how children who have been weaned behave in What does a 2-year-old child eat per day? Just give me an example of your diet and I'll translate it to...

Discussion

Len, here's your point by point :)
1. wakes up 1 time, max. 2, to pee - and immediately climbs back into bed and falls asleep. On her own, without any persuasion or anything like that. If you don’t drink much at night, you may sleep until the morning.
2. see clause 1. You can also sing songs, stroke your back, hold your hand and all that.
3. in different ways. Then I just hold the hand and after 5 minutes I pass out, or I can spend hours reading books. It depends. Some people simply leave him in the crib and the baby falls asleep on his own. We haven't gotten to that point yet.
4. We fell asleep and so with others, so - but most likely, yes.
5. 10 hours at night, 1-2 hours during the day.
6. They eat food :))) but mine doesn’t complain about appetite. And despite the fact that I ate a lot even when I was pregnant, I began to eat even more when I stopped. Almost adult portions. Yes, in the morning he immediately asks for porridge. Because he doesn’t eat at night (and there were a lot of breasts at night before).
Sour milk is good. You can give kefir. Milk is not absolutely necessary, although she can start drinking it - mine is still on guard duty, she hardly drank it, but now she drinks a lot. (I just dilute it by half, otherwise my tummy hurts) Porridge can actually be made with water, but it tastes better with milk. I make Nordic oatmeal. This is from the morning. For lunch - soup or something meat or fish with a side dish (potatoes, pasta, rice, buckwheat...). Dinner is approximately the same as lunch, but without meat. afternoon snack - cottage cheese or yogurt, cookies. Well, drink during the course. of the day - juice, compote, milk, kefir, water. Fruits during breaks or for an afternoon snack or for lunch-dinner-breakfast. In general, as you can see, adult menu- and our portions are also large, sometimes I eat more, just where everything fits...

I weaned myself at 1.5 years old, when at 20 weeks of pregnancy my milk gradually disappeared. I immediately began to fall asleep easily; I didn’t specially train myself to read, so as not to enslave myself. That is, he holds your hand (and often without it, I just sit next to you) and falls asleep. At night he wakes up to pee and immediately falls asleep on his own (he doesn’t even really wake up... either I come crying, or he comes to us, if we don’t hear, I put him on the potty, push him onto the bed and the child passes out.. twice during the night, then, closer to the morning, he refuses to fall asleep so easily, or he falls asleep and immediately wakes up - I go to sleep in his room, but on another bed - for some reason he categorically stopped sleeping with me - on GW he slept with me. Mine now eats porridge or noodles in the morning in the morning milk (200-300 ml), for lunch, pureed vegetables and meatballs or similar (homogenized, otherwise it takes a very long time to chew), a few cookies or 1-2 fruits on the tray, for dinner 200 g of agushi cottage cheese, sometimes I add French puree or dumplings.It often happens that he skips some meals - the child is quite thin, although he moves a lot.

In my experience, on such a day big baby It is quite possible to distract from the desire to suck boobs immediately. Sometimes it was possible to distract her altogether, sometimes she let her finish the job and took her boob not immediately, but after a while, usually up to 2.5 years - no more than 0.5-1 minute. If she asks for boobs out of hunger, I tried giving her boobs for a couple of minutes, and then immediately occupied her with food (if she immediately offered food to a hungry woman, she might throw a tantrum - “no! Boobs!”) If she hit herself or something hurt, she gave her boobs immediately without conversations. In general, if you behave calmly and naturally, then somehow the number of daily feedings begins to gradually decrease. She also very actively demanded breasts if I took a motionless position, especially if she was bored (for example, I work at the computer). But even here you can try to occupy her with something (for example, I have adapted to turn on a cartoon on a small screen when I work at the computer) or try to take a stationary position less often (for example, reduce telephone conversations during the day or talking on the phone while moving).

The amount of “adult” food eaten at this age, in my opinion, does not depend on how often the child suckles. My daughter now eats no more than she ate before weaning. And, by the way, he also eats everything in large quantities at grandma’s or at a party, but at home it’s like a bird pecks and runs. My mother even told me that I probably don’t have time to feed the children, since they are hungry all the time :) As soon as they enter her house, they immediately run to the kitchen, even if they ate at home before leaving :) Many friends say that their children They eat much better when visiting than at home.
My sister’s daughter is generally small and eats only milk (cow’s) and a little dairy products. When at 2 years old she ate endlessly at the breast and almost nothing else, my sister also thought that if we weaned her, it would be better to eat. But she still doesn’t eat almost anything :) (she’s already 5 years old).
And my friend’s son didn’t want to eat breasts (and abandoned them at 9 months), and now in a day it’s good if he eats a couple of spoons and 1-2 chips. And that’s it :) He doesn’t even eat when visiting. Skinny, like kashchei, but he hardly gets sick at all and is very active :).

If there is no dystrophy, the child is developing normally, then do not worry. Most likely, what she eats is enough for her. Everyone has their own metabolism. And if she lived with her grandmother, she would soon stop eating there too :)))

I couldn’t wean it off for a long time... Until I ended up in the hospital for a week
(in October 2003 - Dima was 2 years 8 months old). Before this, there was no prospect of weaning..... It seems to me that if the child does not abandon himself, there are two options - give the child (to grandmothers, aunts, etc.) or go somewhere else; time - 4-7 days

Breast-feeding. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years: hardening and development, nutrition and See other discussions: Weaning in ten days. How to wean a child from breastfeeding? (continuation of continuation).

Discussion

We are also allergy sufferers, we weaned at 1.9 (I went to work part-time at 7 months, full-time at a year and a half - feeding was not a problem). I also had thoughts of quitting breastfeeding at about a year or so (the doctors insisted that it was easier to keep track of a child’s diet than a mother’s and child’s, but I was already going crazy from all these doctors and from a two-month terrible diet (buckwheat, black bread , green vegetables and turkey - that's all I could eat), which I planted on my health and which in the end turned out to be unnecessary) - I'm very glad that I didn't do it. I finished feeding her when there was almost no milk and Zhenya ate little and I thought that I could feed her some more. But my husband insisted very strongly, even to the point of divorce:
And you are still such babies, don’t worry about work, it’s all very solvable and keep feeding :-)

I think it’s too early for you to leave, work feeding is not an obstacle (I fed until a year and a half, now I think it could have been longer) - of course, it was a bit difficult, because It was impossible to get enough sleep at night (mine woke up not 5-6, but 10-12 times a night), but nevertheless, I managed to combine work and feeding for more than six months, and even in childhood. The child went to kindergarten while still an infant (she still ate me for 3 months after she went to kindergarten)
It seems to me that you can try to reduce the daytime feedings and leave the nighttime feedings in full. True, such a number did not work for us - i.e. she managed quite well without breasts all day long if I wasn’t around - but as soon as I came into view, she began to demand her due :)
In general, think carefully - winter is ahead, it’s time for infectious diseases and colds, maybe you will still be able to combine work and feeding, and call it a day by spring?