Nursing a child is one of nature’s simple joys but like all stages in life, it has to eventually come to an end. Weaning your baby from breast milk is a gradual process and one that should be undertaken with patience. Weaning a child simply means switching the baby’s diet from breast milk to other foods.
What age is suitable to start weaning?
It could be anytime according to the parents preferably two months and above but pediatricians recommend after six (6) months when the child has had maximum nourishment from breast milk and can then seek other nutrients that would be helpful to the body system.
This transition has to be a slow process for the mother’s sake as well as the child. Rushing it, is simply not advisable, when the baby suddenly stops feeding at once, the breasts get swollen with milk and this would cause pain for the mother, a baby who is not weaned slowly would also not be given the chance to adapt to a new method of feeding properly, so try and take your time.
If you’re still unsure of the time to wean, the baby’s behavior can be a pretty loud indicator, when the baby is uninterested in feeding and instead plays with the breast or when his/her meal time is getting shorter than before, this is a sign that it might be time to move to other foods. Here are some few tips to start the journey;
Drop minor feeding sessions: These could be the times during the midday or those random hours when the baby is breastfed, those minor feeding sessions should be stopped one after the other and other nutritious soluble food should be substituted for breast milk during those feeding hours.
Don’t wean at uncertain periods: When the baby is teething or you’re moving to a new house or any other periods where everything is still in disorder, those are the worse times to start weaning. There should be a kind of normalcy in the environment before you start weaning your baby. It should be a stable time for both the baby and yourself.
Substitute nursing for other bonding activities: Sing a song, read a book, play-act with your baby at those times he/she needs attention. Try to distract your child with other things when they insist on being breastfed, all the other activities would move the baby’s focus from nursing and soon the child would be able to adapt.
Be patient with the transition: Take it one day at time and move your pace accordingly, weaning a baby will take time but will also be worth the work at the end. Take care of yourself too by putting cold compresses on your breasts if they’re engorged or swollen due to the increase of milk. It helps to reduce the pain and also makes the whole process go easier on you.
Types of soluble foods alternatives
Fruits purees (bananas, avocado and apples are some examples)
Soft fruits and baby cereals
Iron fortified formula
These are a few options to start with when you begin to wean your baby, and when your baby is finally weaned off breast milk, congratulate yourself, it is yet another amazing milestone in motherhood!
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