Making Weaning From Breastfeeding Easier for You and BabyWeaning from breastfeeding is an eventual step for all breastfeeding babies. All good things must come to an end, right? Whether it’s something you’re itching to do or feeling a bit reluctant about, he can’t live off your breast milk forever! Weaning from breastfeeding takes place at all different ages and stages – anywhere from six months to a year is pretty common in most cultures, although some mothers and their babies opt for extended breastfeeding (beyond one year). It all depends on your particular feelings about breastfeeding, and what’s working for you and your baby. Stopping breastfeeding usually happens one of two ways – either you decide it’s time to stop (typically called “parent-directed”), or your baby does (“baby-directed”). Parent-directed weaning from breastfeedingThere are a lot of reasons why you might want to wean your baby. Some of the most common reasons for stopping breastfeeding include returning to work, having a specific nursing time table in mind, and becoming pregnant (or wanting to become pregnant) again.For other moms, it might be difficulty nursing, illness, or even loss of interest in nursing. While there are ways to keep breastfeeding in almost all of those situations, if you decide it’s time to wean, there are a few ways to go about it. Start by dropping one feeding per week, starting with the one your baby seems to care about the least – this is usually an afternoon or early evening session, when things are kind of busy and your baby is probably distracted during feeding time anyways. You’ll want to give your body enough time to gradually adjust to producing less milk, so that you don’t end up with clogged milk ducts. Trust me, you’ll be glad to do this! Sometimes, your body still wants to produce milk; if this is the case, you could try a couple of things: - Some moms swear by holding bags of frozen peas against their chest to minimize the swelling. - You could try a couple of my tricks for engorgement – just make sure you do this only enough to relieve discomfort; otherwise, your body will think you’re trying to up your supply again, and thwart your efforts. - DON’T bind your breasts; doctors have found that this is a pretty surefire way to clogged ducts, which could lead to mastitis (a breast infection). Baby-directed weaning from breastfeedingAnother approach is to let your baby decide when he’s ready to stop nursing. This could also take place at any point – although if your baby is under a year, you’ll want to make sure you’re dealing with a true interest in ending breastfeeding, and not a nursing strike.This is usually a good option if both you and your baby are enjoying nursing, and you’re not super-enthused about stopping breastfeeding – it gives you an opportunity to extend breastfeeding a bit, and to go with the flow rather than following a set timetable. This method sometimes ends up being a combination of both baby-directed and parent-directed – following the cues of your baby (his interest in nursing, his comfort level as you replace a nursing session with a liquid supplement), try to follow the one-week rule so that you can make those physical reductions as well. Another way you can do this is often referred to as “don’t offer, don’t refuse” – in other words, if your baby doesn’t seem to want to nurse, don’t offer him your breast; but if he does seem to want it, don’t prevent him from nursing. This is a pretty gentle approach, but it won’t be a quick one – just make sure you’re up for a longer process. Some final thoughts on how to stop breastfeedingThere are a couple of important elements to note, regardless of how your weaning from breastfeeding experience goes down:- Emotionally, make sure you’re finding other ways to bond with your baby – cuddling together, reading, playing, tickling – so that he doesn’t feel like you’ve pulled the rug out from under him, wondering why you don’t want that time with him anymore. (This is another good reason to wean slowly.) - Each dropped feeding should be replaced with the same amount of another liquid – formula if your baby is under one year of age, cow’s milk (or soy milk or another doctor-approved milk alternative, if your baby has allergies) for babies one year of age or older. - This is a great time to help get Dad involved – have him give the baby the liquid feeding replacement, and let him take over the activities you might have typically done before you nursed, like putting him to bed. Not only does this make it less confusing for your baby – so he doesn’t feel like you’re withholding your milk on purpose from him – but it also keeps your baby from smelling your milk or making you let down again, especially as you’re first going through the process and/or if your breasts typically fill up when you’re around your baby. I know this is an emotional process for many of you, so take careful consideration when you decide your path – and feel free to chat with me, your doctor, your family and friends whenever possible to make this easier. Good luck! Return from Weaning from Breastfeeding to Extended Breastfeeding
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