How to wean a child from breastfeeding? When will your first period come? Things to consider. Daytime sleep without breasts

Weaning from breastfeeding is an important stage in the life of mother and baby. The World Health Organization recommends feeding children up to 1.5-2 years. But longer feeding is not considered something seditious if it suits mother and child. It is not recommended to wean children until they are one year old; during this period, they really need mother’s milk. It is still one of the main sources of nutrition, even if the baby already eats all types of complementary foods.

Emergency weaning of a baby

Weaning children under one year of age from mother's breast permitted only under strict indications. These include:

• Purulent mastitis or inflammation of the mammary glands
• Open forms of tuberculosis
• Syphilis
• Oncological pathologies requiring immediate treatment
• Decompensation chronic diseases kidneys, liver, or of cardio-vascular system in which breastfeeding can threaten the life and health of the mother
• Diabetes.

Breastfeeding should not be started if you have HIV infection, as the virus is transmitted through milk. Emergency weaning can be temporary or permanent. If the mother is acutely ill and cannot feed the baby due to the medications she is taking or the danger of infecting him, she can express milk during her illness. Expressing will allow you to maintain lactation and resume feeding in the future. It also reduces milk stagnation and serves to prevent mastitis and lactostasis.

To reduce lactation during emergency weaning, doctors recommend that mothers limit drinking to 500-700 grams per day, if this does not harm their health. For many infections, fluids should not be restricted because they help remove toxins from the body. If the mother does not intend to resume breastfeeding, milk should not be expressed completely, only to relieve tension in the chest. It is not recommended to tie the breasts, this interferes with blood circulation, leads to stagnation of milk, and increases the risk of inflammation.

If lactation cannot be stopped using natural methods, special medications are prescribed. After all, gradual weaning in an emergency situation is unacceptable. Before weaning your baby from breastfeeding for urgent reasons, consult your doctor. Ask: “Can I resume feeding, or should I stop completely.” In many cases, there is a chance to maintain lactation. The main thing is to take it with your doctor correct solution which will benefit the baby.

Rules for natural weaning

Many mothers wonder how to wean their baby from breastfeeding after a year or two. There is debate online about whether this should be done abruptly, or whether it is better to do it gradually. Will weaning from mother's breast be stressful for the baby, or will he bear it calmly? For example, Dr. Komarovsky advises weaning children abruptly, without delaying the process for several months. Many mothers find this cruel. Some women find the process of abrupt weaning difficult also because milk stagnates in their breasts, which causes discomfort.

If the mother decides to wean the baby gradually, it is necessary to systematically reduce the number of feedings. The process can be broken down into several stages:

• We remove daytime feeding that does not depend on sleep
• Removing feeding after nap
• Remove feeding before nap
• Remove feeding before bedtime
• We remove feeding after a night's sleep.

In order for weaning to be correct and not drag on for many months, each stage should be short. The most difficult thing to do is remove daytime feedings, especially when the baby is used to calming down near his mother’s breast. This period may take 1-2 weeks, depending on the age at which weaning begins. The remaining stages can be completed in a few days. If you feel fullness in your breasts, you can express milk.

How to wean your baby off breastfeeding during the day

For many mothers, it becomes a problem how to wean a child from breastfeeding at 1 year old, since he often asks for the breast during the day. If there are no special indications to wean the baby urgently, you can continue to breastfeed him. After a year, gradually teach your baby that milk is food; you should not ask for the breast for any reason. At this age, a child is easily distracted interesting activity, game, conversation or song. Communication with him should be more varied. Then the baby will no longer be so dependent on the breast, and further weaning will be painless.

You can try to wean your baby off from daytime feedings quickly. One day decide that the baby eats milk only before and after bedtime. If a child asks for breastfeeding, try to distract him by playing or talking. Show that you are busy and don’t have time to feed the baby. After one and a half years, many children easily forget about their requirements and get distracted. If the child insists on his own, try to be firm. It is advisable that the baby does not fall into hysterics, then it will be difficult to calm him down.

Issue 7. HOW TO WEAN A CHILD? Breast-feeding

Weaning - Dr. Komarovsky, Ksenia Solovey

Issue 8. What not to do when weaning? Breast-feeding

Weaning. SIMPLY AND EASILY!!!

Try to walk more with your baby, teach him that you don’t feed him outside. Take your child’s favorite treats with you – cookies, fruit, juice or compote in a bottle. On a walk, the baby is more impressed, so he is more easily distracted. Some mothers practice going away for a few days or leaving home. For children who willingly stay with their fathers and grandmothers, this method is quite suitable. They gradually unlearn the fact that for any reason they need to run to their mother and ask for the breast. But babies, who are rarely without their mother, will experience separation hard. After returning, they will become even more attached to the breast, because they calm down near it.

If you manage to distract your baby several times a day and the baby forgets about his request, then you are close to success. Soon the baby will stop asking for the breast during the day and will be satisfied with just milk before bed. And complete self-excommunication is not far off. If difficulties arise, postpone weaning for a while, do not reduce the number of feedings. Perhaps your baby is not yet completely ready to part with the breast. Abrupt weaning will upset him, you will have to listen to his tantrums for several weeks.

Weaning before and after naps

A month has passed and your baby no longer asks for breastfeeding during the day. But he cannot fall asleep without her. How to wean your baby off breastfeeding before nap time? Try to use other ways to sprinkle the baby. Read a book to him, turn on music or sing a song yourself, watch a video together. If your baby's desire to suckle is caused only by your presence, leave him for a while. Say that you urgently need to do something, you will be back in a couple of minutes. At first, absences should be short so that the baby does not have time to cry. Then time lengthens. One day, the mother will return and find her baby sleeping peacefully.

Many children wake up crying and calm down only when they suckle at the breast. You can try to immediately pick up the baby in your arms and carry it into the kitchen. It is advisable that the mother does not lie next to the child when he opens his eyes. It's okay if he whines and mom will come when he calls. Hungry children can be offered something to eat or drink milk from a bottle immediately after their nap. Some babies sleep well outside in the summer. If they wake up during a walk, they have time to get distracted by looking at their surroundings. Try to put your child to sleep during a walk at least once a day. This method of weaning after a nap is also acceptable.

Weaning at night

It is most difficult to wean your baby from mother's milk at night. Children from one to two years old still wake up often. Many women find it easier to feed and calm them than to look for ways to wean them from this habit. As a result, children eat at night until they are 2-3 years old. If it doesn't bother anyone, there's no need to worry. But often mothers become overtired, and night feedings become torture for them. A radical way of weaning is to leave the baby with dad or grandma for several nights, and sleep in another room. But most mothers prefer more soft weaning. You can distract your child at night and fall asleep with the help of water, milk or consistent baby formula.

To prevent your baby from asking for mother's milk before bed, you can replace it with a bottle of baby formula or water. It is best if the father gives it, because the mother is associated with the breast. Be sure to read a book to your baby before going to bed and carry it in your arms. When children have trouble falling asleep, it is advised not to play with them too actively in the afternoon. In the evening, it’s a good idea to bathe your baby in a warm bath with chamomile and lemon balm, which have a calming effect on the nervous system. A short walk promotes sound sleep.

Children eat mother's milk for the longest time in the morning, immediately after falling asleep. If all other stages have been completed, do not rush to remove this feeding. Let the baby better adapt to the new conditions of his life. Another month will pass, and he will show less interest in sucking. If you are determined to wean, try to caress the baby in the morning, carry him in your arms, and give him milk to drink. Perhaps he is just a morning person and does not like to sleep for a long time. Then you can wake up with him, feed him porridge in the kitchen and start the game. Most likely, the child will fall asleep closer to noon. Fall asleep with him to rest.

What not to do when weaning your baby

Among the many tips on how to wean off breastfeeding at 2 years of age or earlier, you can hear some downright stupid ones. For example, lubricate the nipples with brilliant green, mustard or pepper. This will not only upset the baby and burn his mouth, but will also harm the mother. Do not bandage your chest tightly. Doctors have long agreed that such manipulation only increases the likelihood of lactostasis without affecting the amount of milk at all. Don't finish natural feeding up to a year, unless there are clear medical indications for this.

Is it right to wean your baby in the summer? There is a well-established opinion that during this period the risk increases intestinal infections, and mother's milk protects the baby from them. If the baby is less than two years old, this situation is relevant. After all, maternal antibodies will not reach the baby if you replace milk with formula. The immune system older children are already well formed and the time when gradual weaning is carried out does not play such a big role.

You should not stop breastfeeding when your baby is sick. Health problems in themselves are stressful for a child; it is not worth exposing him to additional worries. In addition, maternal antibodies will help the baby cope with the disease faster. It is also not recommended to stop feeding when moving, on vacation or in the country. Children in infancy feel insecure in a new environment; maternal warmth helps them cope with an unusual situation.

A few words in conclusion

There are many recommendations on how to wean children from breastfeeding. Each mother must choose her own way. Before taking such a step, you need to listen to yourself and understand whether mother and baby need it. After all, women often decide to wean at the insistence of relatives and friends, who assure that the baby is already too big. First of all, you need to listen to yourself and do as you see fit. There is no single rule for how many years or months you can breastfeed a child. Every mother should tell herself: “I can feed my child as much as he and I want.”

It happens that it’s time for mom to go to work. In this regard, she is worried about how to wean her child from breastfeeding. Don’t worry, your grown-up baby will do without milk during the day, and night feedings will help him better adapt to the absence of his mother nearby. long time. Some mothers feel tired and attribute this to breastfeeding. Try to just relax, sleep with your child during the day. You can’t redo all the things at home, and the moments of closeness with your baby that breastfeeding gives you won’t be repeated. These are the ones you will remember many years from now, when your child grows up.

Weaning a baby from breastfeeding can occur in at different ages baby. In search of suitable methods, nursing mothers part with their babies for several days, tighten their breasts, and smear them with brilliant green or mustard. But regardless of the baby’s age, there are ways to wean him as carefully and calmly as possible.

Breast milk is an important source of energy and nutrients. This judgment is relevant both in the first year of a baby’s life and throughout the entire feeding period.

According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), a child should be fed exclusively with mother's milk for the first six months of his life. Further, natural feeding continues in parallel with the introduction of complementary foods. You can breastfeed your child up to two years of age or older. It depends on the wishes of the woman and the baby.

When is weaning really necessary?

But such an ideal situation does not become the reality of all mothers. Life makes its own adjustments, and sometimes the decision to wean is born contrary to the wishes of the mother and child. There are a number of objective circumstances that prevent the continuation of breastfeeding. If they are neglected, you may face significant risks to the health of the baby and his mother. Such situations include:

• treatment with drugs incompatible with lactation. When it is not possible to choose a safe analogue, it makes sense to temporarily or permanently stop feeding the baby. If short-term medication is required, the woman can, if desired, maintain lactation during the treatment period. This will allow her to continue breastfeeding after recovery;
• long-term therapy involving toxic drugs. If serious and long-term treatment is indicated for a nursing mother, and it is impossible to find a harmless replacement for the prescribed drugs, it is worth stopping feeding;
• long-term hospitalization of mother or child. Separation from the baby due to his or her mother’s illness can drag on for weeks and months. In addition, physical and psychological condition does not always allow a woman to maintain milk production in the absence of a child.

If we talk about specific diseases, absolute contraindications to continued breastfeeding on the part of the mother are:

• HIV infection;
• active form of tuberculosis;
• septic conditions;
• malaria;
• kidney disease and renal failure with azotemia;
• severe depressive states and psychological disorders.

If a mother knows that she has heart disease, hyperthyroidism, purulent mastitis, Rhesus or group blood conflict with her baby, breastfeeding can be carried out only after the approval of her attending physician.

When weaning can be avoided

It happens that a mother wants to stop breastfeeding her baby for other reasons. They are closely related to the child’s behavior disorders and the characteristics of his upbringing. Then, often after weaning, problems in the relationship between the mother and her child do not disappear. On the contrary, the situation may even worsen.

Appetite problems

By the age of one year, the child should already be able to fully eat food from a plate. Breast milk remains an important addition to his diet. It does not lose its value and nutritional properties, even when the baby turns two, three years old and at any other period of his life.

But sometimes the benefits of breast milk are overshadowed by the belief that breastfeeding after one year is the reason poor appetite grown up baby. Frequent sucking, “hanging” on the breast, partial or complete refusal of adult food worry the mother and make her think about how to stop breastfeeding. After all, the woman sincerely believes that completing lactation will solve the issue of decreased appetite.

However, before such an important step as weaning a child, it is worth understanding the cause of the situation. If an infant almost completely refuses complementary feeding, it is important to evaluate his hemoglobin level. To do this you must submit general analysis blood. An obvious decrease in food cravings often accompanies anemia. In this case, weaning is dangerous for the child, because he will completely stop receiving nutrition. He needs treatment and his mother's milk will support him during the healing process.

At normal indicators hemoglobin loss of appetite is associated with a lack of food interest or disordered eating habits. If such a baby is weaned, he may begin to eat out of despair. Or maybe not start. And not because he is being harmful, but because of the absence in his consciousness of the connection: “hunger - food from the plate.” These children need time to learn the rules of eating behavior. Mother's milk will give you confidence that during this period the baby will not remain hungry.

550 ml of mother's milk covers a child's daily need for energy by one third, protein by 38%, vitamin A by 45% and vitamin C by 95%. A growing baby usually receives this amount of nutrition during nap feedings and during the night.

Frequent waking up at night

Sometimes the decision to wean a child at 1 year of age is related to the mother’s desire to finally get a good night’s sleep. There is an opinion that after feeding is completed, the baby will completely stop waking up at night. But that's not true.

Of course, a child can be taught to sleep all night long. And there are many ways to do this, but they are not always useful for the baby. Some parents actually notice an improvement in their baby's nighttime sleep after weaning. And other children continue to wake up at night. But before, the mother had a “magic” way of calming herself down - the breast. Now it will take more effort to rock, sing, and comfort the awakened child.

Night awakenings are the norm for healthy children in the first years of life. They don't wake up because they want to latch on to the breast. The reason lies in the peculiarities of infant sleep cycles.

Mom goes to work

If the child of a working mother over a year old, in her absence he safely eats regular food. And in the evening, at night and in the morning he is applied to the chest. This significantly enriches his diet and maintains health.

In addition, close contact with the mother during feeding helps the baby make up for the hours of separation. Even in case of a business trip, there is no urgent need to curtail lactation. And if you feel fullness in your breasts, you should simply pump it with your hands until you feel relief.

Child goes to kindergarten

Some kindergartens are reluctant to accept babies who are fed breast milk. It is believed that they are strongly attached to their mother and cannot do without her. And even more so to fall asleep on your own.

However, it is important to understand that breastfeeding a newborn and an older child are significantly different. At 1.5-2 years old, the baby usually already has experience of falling asleep without his mother.

When weaning and admission to kindergarten coincide, the baby faces double stress. He may refuse to fall asleep due to distrust of the new place and people. And the lack of breastfeeding will deprive him of the opportunity to calm down with the usual and in an accessible way. In this case, the baby needs to be given time and a stable environment created that will support continued breastfeeding.

Weaning Your Baby: 6 Steps

The need to end the baby’s relationship with the mother’s breast can appear at any age of the baby. But, in general, the weaning algorithm will be approximately the same for different stages of a child’s life. How to wean a child from breastfeeding? Consider six steps.

1. Remove intermediate applications during the day. We are talking about sucking when the baby is upset and wants to be comforted. “Pity” feedings are replaced by hugs, kisses and other types of sympathy. This also refers to chaotic attachments out of boredom. It is worth distracting and occupied the child with something exciting. If the mother suspects that sucking is caused by a feeling of hunger or thirst, it is worth promptly offering a suitable alternative to the breast.
2. Remove feedings during the day when you wake up. As soon as the baby shows signs of awakening, you need to distract him from thoughts about his mother's breast. It is convenient if someone other than his mother can be with him at this moment. After all, if she is nearby, it will be difficult for the baby to understand why she suddenly refuses him.
3. Eliminate sucking during daytime sleep. Rituals will help with this. The child must get used to a certain sequence of actions before going to bed. For example: they ate, washed, read a book, kissed, stroked, gave breastfeeding, fell asleep. Gradually, as you get used to it, you can remove one link - breastfeeding.
4. Replace latching on with waking up in the morning. The actions will be the same as in the second paragraph.
5. Stop feeding before bedtime. Here rituals will also come to the rescue: evening water procedures, lullaby, motion sickness and so on. First, there will be a link in this chain called “sucking”. Gradually it will be possible to reduce its duration, and then completely eliminate it.
6. Say goodbye to night feedings. As a rule, they “go away” in the very last place. In advance, you need to teach the child to calm down differently and fall back into sleep without the breast (kissing, stroking, humming, rocking).

The transition to each subsequent stage occurs smoothly and only after the successful completion of the previous steps. This will ensure the success of the entire event and allow the child and mother to calmly adapt to the new way of life. The duration of weaning depends on many factors, including the age of the baby. On average, this process can take from a couple of weeks to several months.

Until the age of two or three, children really need close physical contact with their mother. It is embodied in hugs, kisses, stroking, rocking in the arms. This need intensifies when babies finish breastfeeding. It is also important to consider that by the age of two, about 50% of children retain the need to suck on something other than to obtain food. Therefore, sometimes during weaning it makes sense to introduce an adequate breast replacement. For example, a pacifier.

Tugging and pills: what mothers should not do

When it comes to how to properly wean a child from breastfeeding, we mean not only the comfort of this process for the baby himself. A nursing woman should also monitor her well-being. It is important to avoid painful sensations in the breast area, its fullness and heaviness.

However, you can still find recommendations about breast tightening. Mothers believe that bandaging the bust can slow down or completely stop milk production. In fact, tight ligation can injure or compress the ducts, thereby causing stagnation of milk. If you do not remove it in time, an inflammatory process will develop in a few days - mastitis.

Milk secretion is associated with hormonal processes in a woman’s body. The more often you latch on or express, the more milk will appear. If just yesterday a mother fed her child several times a day, but today she sharply limited access to the breast, milk production is not interrupted. Therefore, if you suddenly stop emptying the gland as usual, there is a high probability of encountering stagnation. Additional pressure on the chest in the form of a tight bandage increases this risk.

There is no need to resort to drug cessation lactation. It is believed that after the pill the milk will disappear or it will become tasteless. And the grown-up child himself will refuse the breast. In reality, the drugs carry risks for a woman’s health and life: nausea, vomiting, headaches, myocardial infarction, seizures, stroke and death. At the same time, milk production does not stop. And the lack of breast drainage can lead to lactostasis and mastitis. WHO does not recommend this method.

What happens to the breasts

As the number of latches and their duration decrease, the mother's body receives less and less stimulus to produce milk. Its amount decreases smoothly and gradually. And eventually, it disappears.

No matter how long a mother breastfeeds her baby, at a certain time she still faces 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 talk about how to practice stopping breastfeeding and what young mothers need to remember so that breastfeeding ends 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 times for everyone, and due to various factors, each mother tries to wean her baby at a 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 a 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, unless there are emergency reasons for this. 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. It will be very easy for mothers of babies who go to kindergarten 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 exactly what her baby needs and when, so it will be easiest for her, sometimes even on an intuitive level, to determine when the baby is ready for weaning.

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 a move is about to happen in the near future, 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 for little man stressful. 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, this process can be completed.

You can stop lactation gradually or immediately and abruptly. However, it is gradual weaning that is preferable for the baby, since 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 in 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 a while 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 regularly sucks his lower lip, finger, or 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.

You should not deprive your baby of 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 misses 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.

It is difficult to explain the feelings a woman experiences when breastfeeding her baby. At this moment it is lining up emotional connection between mother and child, harmony in future relationships arises.

The child will grow up, needs will change, and a moment will come when the direct biological connection is interrupted. Then the woman is faced with the problem of how to wean her child from breastfeeding without stress.

Breastfeeding should not be weaned during the peak summer heat or winter cold. Adults have difficulty withstanding climatic stress, and a baby is a sensitive barometer that finds it difficult to independently adapt to climate changes.

The same applies to changing your place of residence.. When a family changes their region of residence, the child is forced to adapt to new living conditions; for this period it is better to postpone weaning from the mother’s breast.

When is it time to wean your baby?

As the child grows, pediatricians determine the time of introduction to the diet. additional products. A standard scheme for introducing complementary foods has been developed. The decision to change the diet is made by the doctor together with the mother. Natural weaning occurs as breast milk is replaced with other foods.

In any option of weaning from breastfeeding, except in emergency cases, the process will be delayed. Not a single pediatrician will say as an order “tomorrow we will wean!” This decision is made by the mother. Feeding can last up to three to four years. Do not forget that the process of lactation is used as a contraceptive. The hormone prolactin can suppress ovulation in a woman’s body.

Today they come to the fore social factors: going to work, changing place of residence, changing social conditions life. They push to the decision to refuse feeding.

Pediatricians insist on feeding the baby up to one year. This is good for the health of both mother and baby. But there are women who decide to extend the feeding period.

Rules for weaning after 1 year.

When this decision is made, tune in positive mood the whole family. Mother and baby will need the support of others. Even if all recommendations are followed, weaning from breastfeeding will take place according to the child’s personal schedule.

Tip: Don't set specific deadlines or dates. A child is not a clockwork mechanism. Even if everything goes smoothly and according to plan, at any moment the baby can change the course of things. Then change plans and adapt to his desires.

Rules for weaning after two years

Not all mothers breastfeed until this age. And when weaning two-year-olds, there are peculiarities of a psychological and emotional nature. The child is already eating “adult” food and is ready for social adaptation.

Children at this age need communication with peers. But some people cannot give up mother’s milk on their own and resist weaning on their mother’s initiative. Not because it is vitally necessary for the body, it has become a habit. The child does not understand why he should do this.

A natural way to gradually wean. Gentle and stress-free

1. Natural weaning should begin by reducing daily milk intake. Avoid feeding between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. You should not deny your baby breast milk during main meals.
2. You should change your uniform. If previously, for convenience, a woman wore blouses or dressing gowns with fasteners, then during weaning it is better to switch to T-shirts. Even feeling the buttons evokes memories of breast milk in the child’s mind.
3. Maximum active image life. Walk more fresh air, play active games. You can’t limit your baby’s physical contact. We need to let him know that his mother is nearby. Hugging him for any reason, stroking him, giving him a massage.
4. A lot can be agreed upon. Of course, if the child is not in a state of stress or sleep at night, you can explain to him the refusal to breastfeed. This will not solve the problem immediately, but the mother’s affectionate insistence will be heard over time.

Reducing daily applications

• We refuse feeding between main meals. For example, eliminate snacks between breakfast and lunch. At this time, take the baby for a walk, engage in active games;
• introduce complementary foods according to age standards. Replace breast milk intake with “adult” food;
• We replace one daily breastfeeding with formula or liquid milk porridge from a bottle;
• We replace feeding between lunch and dinner with warm tea or dried fruit compote.

Daytime sleep without breasts

It is worth cleaning up feeding after sleep. It is better that it is not the mother who is next to the baby when he wakes up. You can give him a bottle of compote instead of a breast, distract him with a toy or massage.

A walk or nap in the fresh air will help you avoid feeding before naptime. If the weather permits, it is better to take naps outside after an active walk.

Sucking a pacifier will calm a tired baby and give him the opportunity to fall asleep with the usual sucking process.

How to eliminate evening feedings?

Evening feedings should be replaced with rocking. For children over one and a half years old, a set of activities is suitable: a massage and a bedtime story. If a child is capricious and demands the breast, you need to involve one of your relatives. Another person, not the mother, should give a bottle of milk porridge. Do this substitution for at least a week until the child gets used to it.

Reduced lactation with gradual weaning. Drugs and other methods

Medicines are a remedy exclusively for mothers. We must not forget that breastfeeding for a child is psychological comfort, and not just food. By artificially reducing lactation, the mother solves her biological problems. A child, with a decrease in the amount of milk, may feel deceived in his expectations.

This method should be carried out under the supervision of a gynecologist or family doctor. It is the doctor who recommends a drug that will reduce lactation. All of them are aimed at reducing prolactin production. Change hormonal background women.

• The drug "Dostinex" 649 - 1898 rubles, made in the USA.

Sold in tablets of 2 or 8 pcs. packaged. The dose of the active substance in one tablet is 0.5 mg. Take ½ tablet, twice a day, for two days. The drug is contraindicated in arterial hypertension, pregnancy, proeclampsia.

The drug is not very effective unless measures are taken to ensure the baby’s psychological adaptation to a decrease in milk supply.

• The drug "Bergolak" 285 - 848 rubles, production: Russia.

The drug is sold in tablets of 2 or 8 pieces. packaged. Suppresses the production of prolactin during established stable lactation. The drug is taken ½ tablet twice a day, every 12 hours, for two days with food.

Contraindications: age under 16 years, severe heart disease, stomach ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding, rare forms of galactose intolerance, usually hereditary. All contraindications are taken into account by the doctor when prescribing the drug.

• The drug "Agalates" 449 -1239 rubles, made in Israel.

Sold in tablets of 2 or 8 pieces. packaged. The dosage of the active substance is 0.5 mg. Take 1 mg. (2 tablets) of the drug once. Contraindicated in uncontrolled arterial hypertension, severe liver dysfunction, psychosis, age under 16 years, simultaneous use with macrolide antibiotics.

Products that can reduce milk supply:

• black pepper and other hot spices;
• herbal tea from mint or lingonberry;
• sage tincture or adding dry herbs to tea;
• a decoction of horsetail and sage in a 1:1 ratio;
• parsley juice or tincture.

Methods for rapid weaning

The technique of abruptly stopping feedings is used in case of emergency.

This may be associated with some diseases of the mother, but not with all diseases.

• "Breast bandage method"- not recommended by modern medicine. This method does not lead to a rapid decrease in lactation and can cause mastitis;
• "Pumping method"- this is when a mother pumps instead of feeding. This helps relieve pain in the chest and prevents lumps from forming. We must not forget that you do not need to express yourself completely, otherwise this will provoke the reverse process - increased lactation;
• "Drug cessation of lactation" stops the production of milk by a woman’s body for two – three days. All drugs belong to the group “ hormonal drugs».

Should I smear my breasts and with what?

The technique is based on the fact that in the child’s mind there is a bitter taste or bad smell will contact breastfeeding, and he will not ask for tasteless milk. Substances for lubricating the breast are divided into groups: food products, medicines, herbal tinctures.

Food products:

Medicines:

• brilliant green;
• furatsilin solution;
• “No-spa” tablets, solution in water;
• medical bile;
• drops "Hilak forte".

Herbal tinctures:

• motherwort;
• aloe;
• sagebrush.

Not all products are safe for babies. Mustard can burn the mucous membranes of the mouth. Hilak Forte drops, on the contrary, will improve digestion and will not cause harm. Practice shows that the method works selectively. Some children grimace, but endure the bitterness, continuing to ask for their mother’s breast.

Komarovsky's technique

Doctor's advice for weaning:

• reduce the amount of liquid you drink per day. This means not drinking additional volumes of liquid, as was done in the past, to increase milk supply;
• reduce sucking time. Distract the baby with a toy or even interrupt the sucking yourself;
• do not pump;
• move actively throughout the day. This will reduce the body's milk production;
• do not eat foods that provoke lactation: beer, walnuts, tea with milk, carrot juice, dairy products;
• spoil the taste of breast milk: eat garlic, drink motherwort or hawthorn tincture.

The doctor advises using pharmaceutical methods only under the supervision of a doctor, although he considers them more humane than folk remedies.

How to wean your baby at night

How to wean your child off nighttime breastfeeding after one year, but continue breastfeeding until two years of age. There is no need to force weaning. By the age of one year, the frequency of such feedings decreases on its own. Only in rare cases, especially demanding children, do not want to change their eating habits.

Effective techniques for weaning without harm to the child

1. Be the first to cancel daytime feedings at the baby's request, when it is too early to feed according to the daily routine, and the baby asks for the breast.
2. Reduce your breastfeeding time.
3. Replace snacks between main feedings with a game or a walk.
4. Eliminate feedings before or after naps.
5. As recommended by your pediatrician, introduce additional complementary foods.
6. Stop breastfeeding before falling asleep at night. Swing in your arms or tell a story.
7. Stick to a schedule and reduce the number of night feedings.
8. Wear closed blouses and T-shirts so that the child does not see the “food”.
9. Support your child psychologically. Talk more kind words, add hugs and touches.
10. Leave your baby with relatives. He must get used to short-term separations. Increase the time gradually.
11. Pediatricians recommend replacing one of the feedings with formula. The norm for a one-year-old baby is 1/9 of body weight.
12. Delight your child with his favorite dishes. Increase the amount of liquid you drink per day.

If you can't wean

Like any biological process, weaning from breastfeeding occurs individually. Often, only the mother’s decision is completely insufficient. Some children happily switch to complementary foods and forget about their mother’s breast on their own, and some children are closely dependent on the sucking process. It is almost impossible to break this connection without the child’s desire.

If aggression is observed in the baby’s behavior, then the weaning process should be suspended. Stay at one of the stages. When it is not possible to give up night feedings, but it was possible to replace daytime feedings, this stage should be extended.

If it allows physical state The child needs to be given a variety of complementary foods. The baby will add new tastes to his diet, this will help him refuse mother’s milk as food. If you fail, you need to try again after a while. Use methods that have not been used before.

What not to do

1. You cannot set specific deadlines; if the feeding process is established and there is enough milk, quick weaning will not work.
2. Wean during the period when teeth are being cut or the child is sick.
3. Stop feeding when the child is experiencing emotional distress.
4. Leaving the baby without a mother immediately and for a long time.
5. Apply folk remedies to nipples. This can cause burns to the baby's nipples and mouth and lips.
6. Replacing night feedings with a bottle of formula or sweet compote. This can cause tooth decay in the child.

• find a lactation consultant. These are specially trained medical personnel who will help practical advice individually;
• independently, without the recommendation and supervision of a doctor, do not interrupt feeding with medications. Hormonal medications can cause depression;
• During the period of weaning from breastfeeding, you need to carefully monitor the baby's behavior. If the weaning process moves very quickly, this will result in aggressiveness or anxiety for him. Bad night sleep, sobs are symptoms of emotional discomfort. A child may begin to bite, this is how he shows his anxiety; there is no need to ignore this symptom;
• increase physical contact - hug, kiss, stroke the child. This will let him know that his mother is nearby and will relieve emotional stress.

Advice from experienced mothers:

• feed heavily during the day. Leave the night for sleep;
• if you reduce daytime feedings, then start with “snacks”, leaving feedings before and after naps;
• tell stories and lull in your arms, replacing feedings before bed;
• find out what the baby likes from complementary foods and give when he asks for breastfeeding;
• do not smear your breasts with various nasty things, but cover your nipples with a plaster;
• smear some green paint and tell them that mom is sick;
• drink or eat foods that spoil the taste of milk. Effective in the last stages, for final failure.

Video on how to wean your baby from breastfeeding

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you how to wean a child from breastfeeding:

What mistakes should be avoided when weaning a baby:

The age of two is the time when many mothers feel the need to stop breastfeeding. This desire in most cases is dictated by the need to go to work or other circumstances. Some women just feel extreme fatigue, so they want to stop breastfeeding. When making such a decision, they ask: how to wean a child from breastfeeding at 2 years old? The child is used to it, so women understand that he most likely will not want to change the feeding method just like that. One way or another, this needs to happen. “Popular about health” will tell you several ways how this can be done.

According to doctors, breast milk has especially high value for a child under one year of age. At this time, the baby’s diet is still quite meager, so he receives most of the nutrients from his mother’s milk. In addition, it contains antibodies that help the child’s body cope with infections from the external environment. Pediatricians insist that a woman continue breastfeeding for at least a year, and preferably longer if circumstances permit. They advise, if possible, to do this before the baby is two years old. Why?

At 2 years old, the baby’s diet already becomes varied, babies eat almost everything - vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy products, cottage cheese, bread. Children's body already receives all the necessary substances from food, while breast milk by this time has lost its original value. Children from one and a half to two years old need the breast more as a means of communication with their mother, and not as a source of nutrition. They feel tactile contact, play with the breast, calm down with it, fall asleep, that is, children at 2 years old experience a purely psychological attachment to the breast. If a nursing woman is tired or has a need to go to work, then 2 years is the right age when it’s time to wean her baby from breastfeeding without depriving the baby of something valuable. But how to do that? Let's look at some effective ways cessation of lactation.

How to wean a child from breastfeeding at 2 years old??

It is known that our grandmothers did not use the safest means to stop lactation. Among them were the following: bandaging the mammary glands, smearing the nipples with mustard, garlic and other substances with an unpleasant taste and smell. However modern girls rarely resort to such methods. Firstly, breast bandaging is dangerous for the mother’s health. Stagnation of blood and milk will lead to mastitis, and this is a very serious disease. Why take the risk when there are gentler weaning methods.

We send mom to grandma for a week

This method is the simplest and most painless, but it is suitable if you have already left your baby with other relatives. As a rule, upon the mother’s return, the child copes quite calmly without breastfeeding.

This method requires a preliminary reduction in the number of feedings. That is, it should not be used abruptly, so as not to provoke lactostasis. Ideally, you should gradually get to the point where your baby suckles at the breast only before bed.

Medication method

If you want to wean your child quickly, consult a gynecologist about taking hormonal medications that reduce prolactin production. There are several drugs to stop lactation, but they have side effects.

Gradual reduction of lactation

If time allows, start preparing your baby in advance for parting with the breast. It requires effort and patience, but the result will be worth it. Gradually reduce feedings. Don't let your child just "hang on your chest" for fun. At 2 years old, children already understand everything, they can be explained that boobs are not a toy, they are tired. Allow breastfeeding only before daytime and nighttime sleep. Stop feeding at night, which will significantly reduce milk production. If you manage to do this, then a short-term departure will be very useful; the baby will endure it painlessly and forget about the breast.

How to reduce milk production?

To ensure that the mother does not suffer during weaning, you need to use techniques to reduce milk production in the glands. How?

1. Drink less fluid.

2. Do fitness (with physical activity, less milk comes in).

3. Don't pump.

4. Reduce the number of applications.

5. Avoid feeding at night completely.

Reducing the number of attachments will certainly affect the baby - his need for tactile contact will be unsatisfied. How to compensate for this?

Increase your time with your baby

Since the baby will lose his breast, which is a source of calm for him, it is necessary to pay more attention to the baby. Every time he asks for boobs, distract him, play together, hug and kiss. When putting your baby to bed, lie down next to him and stroke the baby so that he feels your warmth and closeness. This will help satisfy the baby’s psychological need for tactile contact.

It is easier to wean a child at 2 years old than a younger one, since he already has more understanding. You will have to show patience and perseverance. Relatives - dad or grandmother - can help with this. Let them also spend more time playing with the child and petting him, so that he feels psychological support from various sources, and not just from his mother and her breast.