Time runs imperceptibly, and yesterday's helplessToday, the baby is already quite an independent youngster. And as it is not sad to realize, his need for a mother is getting a little smaller. First of all, this applies, of course, breastfeeding. When the child turns about one and a half to two years old, the mother is faced with the question of how to wean the baby from the chest. In order for this process to pass most painlessly, the mother needs to know several physical and psychological characteristics, 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 represent the process of lactation. It is ignorance of what happens in the body of a woman in certain periods, most often leads to difficulties and complications of the process of weaning the baby from the chest. Lactation is divided into three stages of flow:
It is at the stage of lactation involution that the most reasonablethink about how to wean your child. Numerous researches of pediatricians confirm the fact that babies, who were excused at this time, practically never get sick for several months. And those children who were excommunicated at one-year-old age, as a rule, suffer several infectious diseases during the second year of life before their immunity learns to function fully. Be sure to pay attention to this, solving the question of how to discourage the child from breast.
When to wean the baby? Signs of lactation involution
In order for the child to wean from the breast smoothly and painlessly, the mother must be sure that lactation is in the stage of involution. It can be determined by the following features:
For the child to wean from the breast to coincidestage of involution, pay again attention to your condition. In order to be absolutely confident, conduct the following experiment: leave the baby with relatives for at least a day. If during this time the breast is not filled to such an extent that painful sensations may appear. In the same case, if in the first 12 hours you feel a strong filling and painful sensations in your chest, it is too early to interrupt feeding: it will not benefit you or your baby. In addition, be sure to consider the following fact. You can not stop feeding at the first sign of the onset of the stage of involution. It is at this time that there is an increased production of immunoglobulins and antibodies so necessary for the baby, which will protect the baby from the occurrence of possible diseases. Nature thus prepares the baby for an independent life, without physical symbiosis to the mother.
When is it contraindicated to wean a child?
In addition to the stage of lactation, there are several cases,when weaning the child from the breast is extremely undesirable and, moreover, can harm his health and development. Having decided 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 a period when weaninga child from the breast is extremely undesirable. During the active stage of teething, the immunity of the child is significantly weakened, and, without the support of antibodies and immunoglobulins, the child can get very sick. In addition, during the growth of teeth, the baby experiences physical and, as a consequence, moral discomfort. My mother needs breast and 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 the baby himselfand absolutely painlessly refuses breastfeeding. For most mothers, the question of how to wean a child is very, very relevant. For many years, women have tried a variety of ways to wean the baby from the breast. Some of them are very effective, others do not bring any result, and still others openly harm the child's psyche. A young mother may become confused while facing a choice. We asked a breastfeeding consultant to tell our readers about the most popular ways to wean a baby from a breast. You yourself can appreciate all the pros and cons of each method of how to wean the baby from the chest, and choose the most suitable for you and your crumbs.
- 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?
Since the child is sent out of the chest by doing thisthe process is the least painful for both mom and baby? The most important rule, which must be observed, is the following: in no case can abruptly interrupt breastfeeding. The number of feedings must be reduced gradually. Every three days, replace one breastfeeding with a supplement. In addition, it is necessary to shorten the duration of breastfeeding. The last thing you need to exclude night feeding. In the event that a child refuses to eat a mixture or drink regular milk, try giving him a expressed breast, but from a bottle or cup (depending on the age of the crumbs). If the kid stubbornly and stubbornly refuses the bottle, ask the father or grandmother to give him a bottle. Often the baby agrees, while from the hands of his mother he does not want to take a bottle. If the baby is still stubborn, try to skip one feeding. In the end, hunger will do its job. Also very important is the question of how to wean the baby from the breast at night. After all, at night, the problem of depriving a child of breastfeeding is most acute. Almost all children wake up at night and cry. And, as a rule, the best means of calm is the chest. The child gets used to this ritual of calm, as something natural and self-evident. And in one "fine" night, not having found the usual breast, a crumb to arrange a real hysterics. All attempts by his mother to calm him often lead to the opposite result. In this case, the ideal option would be that the child will try to reassure the pope or one of the relatives. Of course, my mother will not easily hear the crying of her crumbs and not soothe him at the same time. But only a certain firmness and perseverance will help you succeed in such a difficult business, as weaning the child from breastfeeding. There is much debate about when and how to wean the child from the breast. Komarovsky (pediatrician) claimed that feeding a child is advisable only up to a year. However, as recent studies have shown, such early excommunication is possible only 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 in the mother. With a sharp cessation of feeding before the onset of the involution stage, the following methods 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 is necessary to add: the most important guarantee of success in how to wean your child from a breast is your firm belief in the need for this action. If the mother has any doubts, the attempt is doomed to failure in advance. We wish you and your children to pass this important phase of growing up quickly and painlessly. We advise you to read:
