Weaning From Breast Feeding

When your baby has stopped breast feeding and gets

all of his nutrition from other sources than the

breast, he's actually considered weaned. Even

though babies are also weaned from the bottle as

well, the term weaning often refers to when a

baby is stopped from breast feeding.

When weaning is a mother's idea, it normally

requires a lot of patience and can take time,

depending on the age of your baby or toddler,

and also how well your child adjusts. The

overall experience is different for everyone.

Weaning is a long goodbye, sometimes emotional

and sometimes painful. It doesn't however, signal

fo the end to the intimacy you and your child

have developed during the nursing stage. What it

means, is that you have to replace breast feeding

with other types of nourishment.

Starting weaning

Your the best judge as to when it's the right

time to wean, and you don't really have a

deadline unless you and your child are actually

ready to wean. The recommended time for weaning

is one year. No matter what relatives, friends,

or even complete strangers tell you, there is

no right or wrong time for weaning.

How to wean

You should proceed slowly, regardless of what

the age of your child may be. Experts say

that you shouldn't abruptly withhold your breast,

as they results can be traumatic. You should

however, try these methods instead:

1. Skip a feeding - Skip a feeding and

see what happens, offering a cup of milk to your

baby instead. As a substitue, you can use a

bottle of your own pumped milk, formula, or a

cow's milk. If you reduce feedings one at a

time, your child will eventually adjust to the

changes.

2. Shorten feeding time - You can start

by cutting the length of time your child is

actually at the breast. If the normal feeding

time is 5 minuts, try 3. Depending on the age,

follow the feeding with a healthy snack. Bed

time feedings are usually the hardest to wean,

as they are normally the last to go.

3. Postpone and distract - You can

postpone feedings if you are only feeding a couple

of times per day. This method works great if

you have an older child you can actually reason

with. If your child wants the breast, say that

you'll feed later then distract him.

If you've tried everything and weaning doesn't

seem to be working at all, maybe the time just

isn't right. You can wait just a bit longer

to see what happens, as your child and you have

to determine the right time to wean together.