How to Tell if Your Baby Is Ready to Wean From Nursing
Weaning: When and how to stop breastfeeding
When's the right time to stop breastfeeding your baby, and what's the best way to do it? Read on for plenty of practical weaning advice
Once you lot've established breastfeeding, how long should you lot continue? Iii months? Six months? A year? Or several years?
The World Health Organization (WHO) and other health bodies recommend that babies are fed entirely on breast milk for their commencement six months of life and continue having their mother'due south milk alongside other foods – known as complementary foods – until at least the historic period of ii.ane
This is because breast milk isn't only food. A natural comforter if your child is worried or tired, it also contains immunity-boosting components that increment dramatically in number whenever she'due south ill.2
Anthropologists estimate the natural age for humans to terminate breastfeeding is even higher than ii. Looking at factors including tooth development, body weight, comparison with other primates and historical evidence, some say information technology could be two to 4 years, while others believe our ancestors might accept been breastfed until the ages of six or seven.3
Today, more than 60% of mums in developed countries give their baby some formula or complementary food before the age of six months,4 even though WHO guidelines don't recommend this.
When's the correct time to start weaning my baby?
Weaning is the process of stopping feeding your infant with chest milk. Ideally, the start step towards weaning your babe is introducing complementary foods alongside your chest milk around the age of half dozen months. The weaning process continues until breast milk is completely replaced by other foods and drinks.
"Afterwards half dozen months, your baby begins to demand college levels of certain nutrients – such as iron, zinc and vitamins B and D – that she can't become from your breast milk or her ain reserves alone," explains Britain wellness company and nurse Sarah Beeson.
"Just solid nutrient will simply complement your baby'due south milk intake to start with, and replace it gradually. Breast milk will remain her major source of nutrients for many months to come."
A typical seven-month-sometime still gets 93% of her calories from milk. Even at xi to 16 months, milk may still provide around one-half her daily calorie intake.five
"Mums sometimes remember chest milk isn't important in one case their babe has started eating solids, just in fact there'due south no amend milk for her, even so old she is," says Sarah.
Indeed the unabridged weaning process tin can take as long as mum and baby want it to: "When to stop breastfeeding is your selection," says Sarah. "Don't feel pressured by what friends are doing or what family unit members – or fifty-fifty strangers – say. All that matters is what feels correct for you and your baby."
How to cease breastfeeding
Whenever y'all determine to beginning weaning your kid off breast milk, it's all-time to do information technology gradually. Stopping breastfeeding suddenly could put you at run a risk of engorgement, blocked ducts or mastitis, as well equally being an sharp alter for your babe'south digestive and allowed systems to cope with. It may likewise be difficult for you both emotionally.
Do I need to stop breastfeeding?
Sometimes mums mistakenly think they need to terminate breastfeeding when they don't. If y'all're returning to work, breastfeeding tin can exist a great style of maintaining intimacy during a large change in both your lives. You tin can express milk for your baby at work and keep nursing sessions every bit a special time together at the commencement and stop of the day. Or if you need to travel without your baby, you could express milk to take or send abode.
If you lot get sick, information technology doesn't always mean you need to stop breastfeeding either – read our advice on breastfeeding while you're ill and be sure to consult with your healthcare professional.
Stopping breastfeeding earlier six months
If you lot feel unable to keep breastfeeding until the six-month marker and want to try female parent-led weaning, start by cutting out one breastfeed a day and replacing it with a bottle of formula.
"Ideally, start with the mid-mean solar day feed. Babies are remarkable and can identify the scent of their mother'due south milk nearby, so ask your partner or a relative to requite your baby the bottle while you are in some other room," says Sarah.
"Be mindful of good hygiene when preparing feeds. It may exist that your infant takes fewer feeds of expressed breast milk than from the breast during a 24-hour catamenia. Don't strength her to take more than milk than she wants."
Y'all'll probably find your breasts feel full and tender as your body adjusts to producing less milk. If this becomes uncomfortable, endeavor expressing a little breast milk – simply enough to salvage the discomfort without stimulating your trunk to make more.
Once your body is used to this new book – unremarkably after a few days – cut out another feed each twenty-four hours. Repeat until you're no longer breastfeeding and your baby is fully weaned.
"I had complications after my commencement birth which meant I lost a lot of weight very rapidly and I too suffered with mastitis. My supply was depression and at three months, I needed to stop," says Jennifer, mum of two, Britain. "I swapped one feed at a time so didn't struggle too much physically, but I plant it hard mentally."
If you want to maintain the intimacy and health benefits of breastfeeding, just need to cut back, endeavour partial weaning, where just some of the feeds are replaced with formula.
Stopping breastfeeding after half-dozen months
As your baby starts to take solid foods at around six months, y'all volition notice that her breastfeeds naturally become less frequent over fourth dimension. Within a year she volition probably be down to a couple of feeds a mean solar day, complemented by meals and healthy snacks.
However, if you'd similar to cut dorsum further, exercise it gradually, dropping i breastfeed at a time and offering your babe formula milk instead if she is less than 12 months old. Cow'south milk should wait until she is at least a year old.
"My son was downwards to three breastfeeds a twenty-four hours and having 3 meals plus snacks when I decided to start weaning him. I gradually replaced each feed with a bottle of formula – leaving the nighttime one until final, at eleven months," says Ruth, mum of i, United kingdom. "The slow pace meant I had no bug, merely a fiddling fullness for a few days."
There are various ways to distract your child from the change in her feeding patterns. Some mums offer a drink and a snack instead, which you could share to bring a feeling of closeness. Yous could also modify your daily routine, play a favourite game, or replace a feed with a caress from you or your partner. Some children will take longer than others to feel happy with the change, only things will get easier over time. If yous're having whatever difficulties with weaning, it'due south always helpful to seek back up from your healthcare professional.
Stopping breastfeeding naturally over time
If you choose to let your toddler decide when to stop breastfeeding (known as baby-led weaning or natural-term breastfeeding), the weaning procedure is likely to be dull and gradual. Over the months, her feeds volition probably become shorter and less frequent, while some mums study their child simply losing interest ane day.
"My daughter cocky-weaned at iv," says Sarah, mum of ane, U.k.. "She gradually slowed down and hardly fed at all from three-and-a-half. Then she seemed to forget when we were on holiday. Half dozen months on, she sometimes wants to latch on, but knows the milk is gone."
Your trunk should accept plenty of time to accommodate, and so y'all're unlikely to experience any uncomfortable engorgement. You may detect it tough emotionally, though, so brand fourth dimension for plenty of cuddles and bonding moments.
"Infant-led weaning was right for me because my son had never had formula or a bottle. I didn't desire to stop suddenly and deny him," says Kelly, mum of i, UK. "He lost interest at ii-and-a-half. Information technology was the all-time scenario for us, although I was quite emotional."
What if I need to stop breastfeeding speedily?
Although information technology's best non to stop breastfeeding abruptly, sometimes information technology'south necessary for health reasons, or because y'all and your baby tin can't be together.
If your babe has been breastfed until this point, yous'll almost certainly need to limited milk to avoid your breasts becoming uncomfortably engorged. Some women find a breast pump easiest for this, while others prefer to do information technology by hand. Again, merely express enough to ease any discomfort – you don't want to encourage your body to produce more milk.
While your breasts may experience swollen and tender at first, they volition adapt. Your breast milk contains something called feedback inhibitor of lactation (FIL). When your baby stops breastfeeding, FIL tells your trunk to slow production, but it may take a few days or fifty-fifty weeks for your breasts to adjust.
Taking paracetamol or ibuprofen tin can help to relieve any pain (although ibuprofen has contraindications for those with asthma). Ever follow the manufacturer's and pharmacist'south guidance and consult a healthcare professional about any medications yous demand to take.
"I had to requite upwardly breastfeeding of a sudden when my daughter was viii months old considering I needed to accept strong painkillers," says Peggy, mum of 1, Switzerland. "I found it very hard – she kept looking for my breast and crying. I held her tightly against me for reassurance while giving her a bottle. Later on a month, she seemed OK with information technology."
Can I continue breastfeeding if I want to go pregnant again?
While breastfeeding is a natural contraceptive, it's not foolproof. And it'southward unlikely to exist effective after vi months, or if y'all're non exclusively breastfeeding. This ways you could conceive while still nursing your child.
Pregnant breastfeeding mums sometimes receive conflicting advice virtually whether to wean. Tandem feeding two children of different ages is certainly possible and when your new baby arrives, your body will produce milk to fit each of their needs.
Some mums find that their older child weans naturally during the pregnancy or drops certain feeds. This may be due to changes in the composition of your milk during pregnancy, which mean that it tastes dissimilar and less sweetness.six If your breastfeeding kid is under a yr old when she starts to wean, keep an eye on whether she continues to gain weight.
You should accept advice from your healthcare professional if you desire to proceed breastfeeding while pregnant if yous have previously had a premature birth, a miscarriage or are suffering whatsoever haemorrhage.
If you need medical help to conceive, y'all may find that doctors will not administer sure fertility drugs or treatments if you're breastfeeding. Discuss all the options before making a decision on weaning.
The final word on baby weaning
Whenever and however you stop breastfeeding, exist gentle with yourself and your infant. It's a large shift physically, hormonally and emotionally for yous both, so practise information technology with idea and care.
"While my torso coped with weaning fine, I felt very emotional. It was something we'd shared for so long and it had come up to an end," says Jane, mum of two, Us. "I was working long hours, five days a week, and breastfeeding fabricated me feel very relevant in their lives. Just when that stopped, we soon plant other ways to bond."
Source: https://www.medela.com/breastfeeding/mums-journey/weaning
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