Time flies by unnoticed, and yesterday's helplessA baby today is already a completely independent toddler. And as sad as it is to realize, his need for his mother becomes a little less. First of all, this concerns, of course, breastfeeding. When the child turns about one and a half to two years old, the mother faces the question of how to wean the baby from the breast. In order for this process to be as painless as possible, the mother needs to know several physical and psychological characteristics of both her body and the baby's body. And first of all, in order to successfully wean the child from breastfeeding, the mother must clearly understand the lactation process. It is the ignorance of what happens in the woman's body during certain periods that most often leads to difficulties and complications in the process of weaning the baby from the breast. Lactation is divided into three stages:
It is precisely in the stage of involution of lactation that it is more reasonablethink about how to wean a child from the breast. Numerous studies by pediatricians confirm the fact that babies weaned at this time almost never get sick for several months. And those children who were weaned at one year of age, during the second year of life, as a rule, suffer several infectious diseases before their immunity learns to function fully. Be sure to pay attention to this when deciding how to wean a child from the breast.
When to wean the baby? Signs of lactation involution
In order for weaning of the baby from the breast to go smoothly and painlessly, the mother must be sure that lactation is in the involution stage. It can be determined by the following signs:
So that the weaning of the baby coincides just rightto the stage of involution, pay attention to your condition once again. In order to be absolutely sure, conduct the following experiment: leave the baby with relatives for at least a day. If during this time the breast does not fill to such an extent that painful sensations could appear. In the same case, if in the first 12 hours you feel strong filling and painful sensations in the breast, it is too early to stop feeding: this will not benefit either you or your baby. In addition, be sure to take into account the following fact. You cannot stop feeding at the first signs of the onset of the involution stage. It is at this time that the increased production of immunoglobulins and antibodies so necessary for the child occurs, which will protect the baby from the occurrence of possible diseases. Nature thus prepares the baby for an independent life, without physical symbiosis with the mother.
When is it contraindicated to wean a child?
Apart from the lactation stage, there are several cases,when weaning a child from the breast is highly undesirable and, moreover, can harm his health and development. Having made the decision to stop breastfeeding, be sure to pay attention to the factors described below:
- Do not excommunicate the baby from the chest in the early spring,when there is a thaw, since at this time, as a rule, the epidemics of ARVI and influenza begin. The kid, deprived of mother's milk, is much more vulnerable to viruses and his chances of getting sick significantly increase.
- Summer heat is also not suitable for cessation of breastfeeding, since at high temperatures, the risk of intestinal infection is much higher.
- Teething is the period whenIt is highly undesirable to wean a child from the breast. During the active stage of teething, the child's immunity is significantly weakened, and, left without the support of antibodies and immunoglobulins, the child can become very ill. In addition, during the period of teething, the baby experiences physical and, as a result, moral discomfort. He also needs his mother's breast as moral support.
- If your baby is sick or after his illnessless than a month has passed, my mother, too, should wait with the cessation of breastfeeding. The same is true in cases when one of the people living with the baby was sick.
- Exit mother to work, a child's trip to a day nursery,the appearance of a new family member, the move should also not coincide with the cessation of breastfeeding. This fact is explained by the fact that all changes in the life of the baby, as a rule, cause him a state of stress. A deprivation of mother's milk will be an additional stress factor, which will only exacerbate the situation.
- Another very important factor, which necessarilyIt is necessary to pay attention before excommunication - this is a stable emotional state of the child. If the baby is constantly naughty and crying, Mom also should wait for a more favorable time, so as not to aggravate the situation even further.
Methods of weaning the baby from the breast
It is very rare that a babyindependently and absolutely painlessly refuses breastfeeding. For most mothers, the question of how to wean a child from the breast is very, very relevant. Over the years, women have tried a variety of ways to wean a child from the breast. Some of them are very effective, others do not bring any results, and others are frankly harmful to the child's psyche. A young mother can be confused when faced with a choice. We asked a breastfeeding consultant to tell our readers about the most popular ways to wean a child from the breast. You yourself can evaluate all the pros and cons of each method of how to wean a child from the breast, and choose the most suitable for you and your baby.
- Many mothers, on the advice of older peopleprefer to smear nipples with some bitter substance, for example, mustard. This method can be very effective, but do not forget that for a baby this can be a real tragedy. Try to imagine yourself in the place of crumbs: mother's breast since birth was for him not only a source of nutrition, but also gave a feeling of peace and security. And now, once again, running up to my mother, the child feels bitter in his mouth. This can cause severe emotional stress.
- Another way to stop feedingchild's breast, is the lubrication of the nipples with green. In this case, the mother explains to the child that the breast hurts and the milk is no more. This also sometimes works, but do not forget that little children are always very sincere and strongly empathize with someone else's pain, especially the pain of my mother. If your crumb is too emotional, do not make him worry.
- Very often in response to a question from my mother about howto stop breastfeeding, she hears advice to leave home for a week or two. This method is very controversial: on the one hand, it really helps the baby to quit the breast faster. On the other hand, the child may feel abandoned and not needed by his mother. Of course, the broken emotional connection with time will be restored, but the nerves of mom and baby will be badly damaged.
How to properly wean the baby?
So how to wean a baby off the breast by doing thisthe process is the least painful for both mother and baby? The most important rule that must be followed is the following: under no circumstances should you suddenly stop breastfeeding. The number of feedings must be reduced gradually. Every three days, replace one breastfeeding with supplementary feeding. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the duration of breastfeeding itself. Last but not least, it is necessary to exclude night feedings. If the child categorically refuses to eat formula or drink regular milk, try giving him expressed breast milk, but from a bottle or cup (depending on the age of the baby). If the baby is stubborn and stubbornly refuses the bottle, ask dad or grandma to give him a bottle. Often the baby agrees, while he does not want to take the bottle from his mother's hands. If the baby is still stubborn, try skipping one feeding. In the end, hunger will do its job. Also a very important question is how to wean a child from breastfeeding at night. After all, it is at night that the problem of depriving a child of breastfeeding is most acute. Almost all children wake up and cry at night. And, as a rule, the best means of calming is the breast. The child gets used to this ritual of calming, as to something natural and self-evident. And one "fine" night, not finding the usual breast, the baby throws a real tantrum. All attempts by the mother to calm him down often lead to the exact opposite result. In this case, the ideal option would be for the father or one of the relatives to try to calm the child down. Of course, it will not be easy for the mother to hear her baby crying and not calm him down. But only some firmness and persistence will help you succeed in such a difficult task as weaning a child from breastfeeding. The question of when and how to wean a child from the breast causes a lot of controversy. Komarovsky (pediatrician) argued that feeding a child is advisable only up to a year. However, as recent studies have shown, such early weaning is only possible if further breastfeeding is physically impossible (serious illness, mother's departure). And it is very important to know how to stop breastfeeding to minimize the risk of complications for the mother. When abruptly stopping breastfeeding before the onset of the involution stage, the methods described below are often used:
- Tightening of the chest. This method has not lost its relevance for many years. However, unfortunately, this method in 90% of cases leads only to the appearance of mastitis. This fact is explained by the fact that the tug of war does not affect the amount of milk produced. And even more so, its quantity does not decrease. A squeezing of the milk ducts causes only their blockage.
- Decrease in the woman's fluid is also notbrings nothing but harm. The amount of milk does not depend on the amount of liquid drunk. Moreover: a woman who drinks 3 liters of fluid a day, lactation will stop much faster.
- The use of drugs that reducelactation. Sufficiently effective method, however it is absolutely unacceptable to take any medications yourself. It is much more reasonable to decide how to wean the child from the breast, together with the doctor. It will help to choose the right drug at the optimal dosage.
And in conclusion it should be added:the most important guarantee of success in how to wean a child from the breast is your firm belief in the necessity of this action. If the mother has even the slightest doubt, the attempt is doomed to failure. We wish you and your children to quickly and painlessly go through this important stage of growing up. We recommend reading:
