How to wean a child from breastfeeding correctly. Three ways to wean a child from a pediatrician Wean at 2 years

How to wean a child breastfeeding? What age is suitable for this procedure? These questions arise for many mothers when the children turn one or a year and a half. There is no ideal time or age for weaning. Modern WHO recommendations advise feeding children up to one and a half or two years, if desired, it can be longer. Be sure to keep breastfeeding for up to a year. Its further continuation depends on the desire of the mother and baby, their health.

Dismiss or not?

Breastfeeding after a year has two components. This is additional nutrition for the baby, and a moment of close communication with the mother. Breast milk during this period is not able to meet all the nutritional needs of the baby. After a year, children already eat almost all “adult” foods, therefore they will not starve without breast milk. But it retains antibodies that can protect the baby from various infections.

The psychological moment of feeding for a one and a half year old or two year old child is more important than nutritional. The baby considers his mother's breast as a way to calm down, entertain when he is bored. Many children cannot fall asleep without sucking milk before bed. This is an important moment of communication between the baby and the mother. But is it really necessary? If both like it, nothing should interfere. When a mother feels discomfort, she needs to decide whether to stick to such a regimen, or is it time to start weaning her baby from breastfeeding.

There are several reasons why mothers want to stop breastfeeding:

• Emotional and physical fatigue, bad dream, due to the constant need to breastfeed the baby.
• Health problems.
• The need to go to work.
• The opinion of relatives and friends.

If the mother is tired, daytime sleep and rest do not work, or she has older children, the baby should be gradually weaned from the breast. The same applies to health problems incompatible with breastfeeding. In such cases, you have to refuse it abruptly, which does not affect the mother and baby in the best way. When there is a need to go to work, you can save morning and evening feeding, but you should not give breasts at night, otherwise the mother will not be able to sleep. You should not pay attention to the opinion of relatives if it diverges from your own. It's not their baby, it's yours.

Methods of weaning

There are several ways to wean your baby from breastfeeding correctly. Some are considered obsolete, not accepted by most pediatricians. Others are still controversial. It cannot be said that they are ideal. Here are some well-known weaning methods:

• Breast bandage
• Lubrication of the nipples with irritants
• Mother's departure for a few days
• Medical methods
• natural involution
• Gradual weaning of the baby.

Bandaging the chest, smearing the nipples with onions, mustard, garlic or pepper was once advised by grandmothers. In our time these folk methods considered not the best. When bandaging, blood circulation in the mammary glands is disturbed, lactostasis occurs. It can even lead to mastitis. Irritants lead to damage to the nipples, harming both the mother and the baby. Many mothers try to leave the child for a couple of days with dad or grandmother so that he weaned from the breast. This method is effective if the baby is used to being without a mother for some time from infancy. In other cases, this situation will lead to unnecessary stress.

Medical methods of artificial cessation of lactation are suitable in cases where the child's weaning should be abrupt. For example, an urgent need to stop breastfeeding due to illness of the mother. Tablets can only be prescribed by a doctor, they have a number of contraindications, cause unwanted reactions.

Before weaning a baby from breastfeeding, the mother must decide whether to do it abruptly or gradually. According to Dr. Komarovsky, weaning should not be delayed. He prefers abrupt methods of stopping feeding. Some other pediatricians advise waiting for natural involution. But this process can take up to 3-4 years. You can try to start gradually weaning the baby from the baby's chest after a year or a half. Let's take a closer look at these methods.

Natural breast involution

Supporters of prolonged breastfeeding believe that the mother should wait for the natural involution of the mammary glands. What it is? In most women, 18-20 months after the completion of pregnancy, the glandular tissue in the mammary glands gradually begins to be replaced by fatty tissue. The level of prolactin in the blood falls, the amount of milk decreases. Sensations such as chest pain, a feeling of fullness disappear. With long breaks between feedings, the mother no longer needs to express herself. It becomes more difficult for the baby to suckle to get milk. Gradually, he gets tired of it, he independently and painlessly throws his chest.

How long does natural involution last? This process is very individual. Some mothers feel a significant decrease in milk production as early as 9-10 months after childbirth. For others, after a year, its tide is so large that even a 3-4 hour break in feeding causes discomfort. It is in such cases that weaning after a year or two is a problem. After all, not only is it difficult for a child to get rid of the habit of eating milk, but the mother does not feel very well after weaning.

What to do if the natural involution drags on for up to two or three years? Mom should say to herself: “I can breastfeed the baby for as long as I want. Who can stop this?" Then the situation will no longer be a problem. If, for one reason or another, a woman wants to stop breastfeeding, or she cannot breastfeed her baby for medical reasons, you can try to wean the baby from breastfeeding gradually.

Weaning after a year

When a child turns 12 months old, you can think about how to wean him from breastfeeding gradually. First you need to firmly insist that you should not ask for a boob for any reason. The baby is already big enough, you can calm him down or entertain him in other ways. When a baby asks for breasts out of boredom, it is better to play with him, read a book, fold a pyramid. Children are quickly distracted and forget their original request.

When a child is naughty, it is worth understanding why he does it. The reason may be the same boredom bad feeling, diaper discomfort, fear of strangers. If the mother manages to satisfy the need of the baby, the desire to suck on the breast will disappear on its own. The exception is illness. At this time, it is not recommended to wean the child from breastfeeding, it is better to wait for his recovery. It is not advised to stop feeding during the summer period, as the risk of intestinal infections increases.

Weaning a baby from breastfeeding during the day is not always easy. Mom needs to show firmness and not succumb to his whims and persuasion. It is already possible to explain to a child in a year or a year and a half that the breast will be given only at bedtime. After a week or two, he will clearly learn this rule, and will stop demanding milk throughout the day. Then you need to smoothly move on to the next stage, weaning sucking at the breast before going to bed. Methods vary, here are some tips:

• Feed your baby well before bed
• Give your baby milk or bottled water
• Read a book to a child
• Sing a song or put on soothing music
• Carry the baby in your arms, but do not breastfeed
• Put the baby in the crib, gently stroke the head
• Leave for a couple of minutes, referring to employment.

All these ways to wean from breastfeeding after a year can be combined with each other until you find the best one for your child. When he learns to fall asleep on his own, you can gradually remove the morning or afternoon feeding. After the baby wakes up, it can be picked up. Try to feed or drink it right away. It is desirable that after waking up the baby does not see the mother lying next to him. It will be associated with breastfeeding. Therefore, it is better to wake up a little earlier than the baby and leave. It's okay if he whimpers for a minute.

Weaning a baby from the breast after two years

The process of stopping breastfeeding can take more than one month. Especially in cases where the mother does not show sufficient hardness, or she has a lot of milk. Weaning from breastfeeding at 2 years old can be difficult. At this time, many women go to work or are simply tired of constant feeding, they do not have enough time for themselves. Perhaps a second baby should soon appear in the house. Or the older child goes to school, which requires additional attention from the mother.

A two-year-old baby is not a one-year-old child, he understands a lot. With all the value of mother's milk, it no longer has nutritional value at this age. Children eat almost all foods from which they obtain nutrients. If a mother fed a child up to two years old, he received a sufficient supply of antibodies, his immunity is already ready to cope with diseases on his own. Breastfeeding now for a child is basically a moment of psychological intimacy with the mother.

In the process of weaning from breastfeeding, you need to actively include dad. If he deals with the child in the evenings or on weekends, letting his mother go for a walk on her own, the baby will learn that his mother is not the only person close to him. You can instruct the father to feed the baby before bedtime, put him to bed. Then the habit of sucking at the breast when falling asleep will quickly be lost. If dad does not have the opportunity to pay enough attention to the child, connect grandparents. You can send the baby to visit them for a while, then after returning he can forget about the breast.

Breastfeeding a newborn baby is the most natural state for every new mom. By this, she gives him her love and protection, strengthens the immune system, maintains close tactile and psychological contact, which is very important and necessary for proper development baby. But even with the most successful breastfeeding, there comes a time when a mother begins to wonder how to wean her already grown and strong child from breastfeeding.

Video: when to wean a baby?

Options, methods and methods of weaning

You can wait for the natural involution of the breast - a state when the breast ceases to produce milk on its own, the glandular tissue of the breast is gradually replaced by fatty tissue and the breast returns to its pre-pregnancy state.

Or, focusing on the state of the sucking need of the child, wait for his complete self-weaning from the mother's breast.

But, not every mother is able to go through this whole long process. Many factors affect here - physical and emotional fatigue from long-term feeding, unpleasant or painful sensations in the chest in the process of feeding a grown-up child, his frequent "hang" on the chest, very similar to the "hang" of a newborn baby, improper grip or just pampering the baby at the breast.

Other reasons to stop breastfeeding may be the need to go to work, business trips, hospitalization or poor health of the mother, or simply public opinion. Long-term mothers today, unfortunately, often cause bewilderment or even censure among others rather than universal approval.

Depending on the urgency of weaning, you can choose one of the ways to wean a child from breastfeeding. They differ from each other both in the speed of weaning, and in "stress" and trauma for mother and child.

You can stop breastfeeding by:

• Grandma's way;
• medical method;
• Soft or natural way.

Video: how we completed breastfeeding:

Weaning from the chest "grandmother's way"

How did our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers wean children? A very simple method, but extremely sharp and traumatic for both mother and baby, was to tightly tighten the chest with a sheet, while sending the child to relatives for a while.

For the baby, this method was a double shock - there is neither a beloved breast, nor a beloved mother. And my mother, in addition to psychological discomfort from the long absence of the child and worries about him, added a whole bunch of physical ailments - a terrible pain in her breasts overflowing with milk and heat, always accompanying severe engorgement and the appearance of seals in the chest. When using this method, you can bring the breast to inflammation of the glandular tissue - mastitis, often leading to surgical intervention.

Of course, it is possible to wean a child from the breast in this way. But at what cost ... the risk of complications with the health of the mother and a huge stress for the baby. The feeling of regret from this way of stopping feeding the baby can stay with the mother for a long time, if not forever.

Weaning "by medication"

The medical method of weaning, as a rule, is offered by doctors (gynecologists or family doctors from the clinic). To do this, they issue medications that suppress the production of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for lactation in the female body. In particular, one of these drugs is "Dostinex". We should not forget about the possible side effects from taking a drug that violates hormonal background your body - nausea, headache, dizziness, insomnia.

Also, the drug Dostinex will not work effectively enough without the maximum reduction in the number of attachments to the breast, followed by their final cancellation. This is especially true of night and morning feedings of the child. How to cancel feeding mom decides for herself, but this is not done in one day. The most common tricks to distract a baby from breast sucking are:

• Spreading the chest with brilliant green, mustard, tincture of wormwood or motherwort and other “horror stories and mustards” for a child is psychologically very difficult for a child to perceive in terms of trust in such a beloved and dear object from birth as a mother’s chest;
• To distract the child from the requirement to suckle as much as possible - the help of grandmothers, nannies, dads and, in general, all family members who come up with all kinds of entertainment for the child will come in handy here;
• Hugging, kissing, carrying a child in her arms more often, providing him with other tactile sensations from contact with his mother as a replacement;
• Do not expose your breasts in the presence of a child, do not wear open blouses or necklines, do not provoke a child to demand a breast.

In this case, the chest does not need to be bandaged - just put on a comfortable and not tight bra without stones.

Moms take note!

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When you feel fullness and fullness in the chest, it must be expressed, but a little bit, only until a feeling of relief. This does not allow the painful condition of the breast in the mother and does not provoke an increase in lactation. Gradually, the breast stops producing milk, and the baby stops demanding breasts.

Weaning a baby to suckle in this way is less problematic for mom and baby. The child continues to communicate with his mother, trusting relationships remain, weaning occurs more gently and not too quickly, as in the case of using the "grandmother's method". But medical hormonal intervention in female body However, it should only be used in exceptional cases.

Weaning from the breast “softly or naturally”

Soft weaning is a rather lengthy process, taking up to six months or more. This is not involution and not self-weaning, but a conscious gradual cessation of feeding, depending on the child's readiness for this process. What is required for this or what steps you need to go through:

1. Gradually cancel all disorderly and not so necessary for the child daytime feedings - when the child is simply tired, bored, requires comfort or communication, trying instead to devote more time to other activities - games, walks, entertainment;
2. Gradually cancel daytime feedings of the child "in a dream" and "near sleep", replacing them with reading fairy tales, songs or motion sickness;
3. Gradually cancel the morning feeding "on waking up", waking up earlier than the child and preparing porridge for breakfast;
4. gradually cancel evening feeding “before bedtime”, feeding the child with a hearty dinner and continuing to distract him with fairy tales, tactile contact and motion sickness;
5. Gradually cancel the remaining night feedings, moving on to stroking the baby and hugging in a dream.

The emphasis in the listed stages is placed on the word "gradually" ... that is, until the first stage is fully mastered, it makes no sense to move on to the next one. Therefore, natural weaning is the most optimal way, allowing the child to calmly adapt to new, changing conditions for him to communicate with his mother, mother's breasts and the world around him.

Mom also gradually moves to a new level of communication with the child, while not experiencing physical discomfort from painful sensations in the chest and without undergoing a sharp change in hormonal levels.

Lactation decreases slowly and surely, the amount of milk decreases in response to a decrease in the number of applications per day. This method is the least traumatic for all its participants, but it requires a lot of calmness and patience from the mother, as it is quite extended in the time period.

Choosing from all the methods of weaning that exist and are currently practiced, it is much easier to complete breastfeeding, focusing on the readiness of the child himself.

The emotional attitude of the mother to the termination of feeding also matters.

If the mother has doubts about whether to stop feeding, then the mother herself is not yet ready enough for this process.

By the end of breastfeeding, everyone should be ready - the child, and the mother, and even the mother's breast. How we wean our child from breastfeeding depends on the future psychological comfort and physical health of mother and child.

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What is the age range for doing this? We also learn the advice of experienced mothers on how to wean a child from sucking at the breast.

The process of breastfeeding can take years.

Kristina, 25 years old: “I think that the optimal age to stop breastfeeding is somewhere around 1.5 years. My daughter has already gone to kindergarten at this age, so I decided. We did it pretty easily."

Of course, the ideal time to stop breastfeeding is when the baby has given up on their own, but few mothers wait until that time.

Statistics say that in last years Only 50% of women breastfeed, and most breastfeed until 1 year of age. Only a few keep this invaluable product in the second year.

Signs that the baby and mother are ready for weaning

1. The baby has doubled its weight since the day it was born.
2. Receives all kinds of complementary foods.
3. A baby can survive without breast milk for 12 hours or more.
4. The child does not suck on the pacifier, fingers, bottles.

In order to wean a child from breastfeeding, there is three ways:

• separation of mother and child;
• medical method;
• planned, gradual, soft.

"Soft" way of weaning

One of the safest methods in terms of maintaining psychological comfort is systematic weaning.

Weaning of the baby should not be in the following periods: the child is sick, feverish, the baby is teething, the vaccination period. It is better to wean a baby from the breast in the cool season. You can not take away in the summer, in hot weather.

How to properly and gradually wean a baby from the breast?

1. If you have eliminated these four points, then you can safely prepare for weaning. You should start by giving up one feeding. It is better for mom to choose from which one.

   Distract the baby with games, walks in the fresh air. Include dad and grandma in the weaning process. The child should feel your care, love.

2. Observe the child for three days. As a rule, refusal of one feeding by babies is well tolerated.
3. After three days, we move on to giving up two feedings already.
4. And so, gradually, we remove completely daily feedings.
5. We will talk about refusing to feed in the evening and at night below.

Do not replace breasts with bottles and nipples. So you will not get rid of the desire of the child to suck. Use cups, drinkers.

Hold your baby more often. Do not undress in front of the child.

Natalia, 30 years old:“When I started weaning my baby, I tried to surround her with care. We walked longer, distracted by games.

Of course, it is more difficult to wean when the child is already over a year old, and he understands a lot. On the one hand, it is difficult to explain that “you can’t sishu”, but you can agree with some kids.

Some mothers smear the nipple with green. It can be said that my mother's breasts are "sick" and should not be touched. Also, some women cover the nipple with a band-aid. I would not recommend this method, since then tearing off is painful and traumatic for the delicate skin of the areola. With these "cruel" methods, not everyone succeeds in weaning from the chest.

How to wean a baby from the breast at night?

Probably the worst thing for any nursing mother is the problem of how the child will fall asleep without a breast. After all, most children fall asleep while sucking, as this is a very energy-intensive process. How to wean a child from night feedings? Consider some tips:

1. Create rituals in which the child will fall asleep - a fairy tale before bedtime, evening kefir, turned off the lights. You can leave a night light that the baby will specifically choose for himself.
2. Often children love to fall asleep to their mother's lullaby.
3. Bathe your child before bed. You can use soothing herbs - chamomile, valerian root.
4. You can replace the sucking process with motion sickness in your arms, pressing it to your chest.
5. Try to put the baby separately, in your crib. When the baby sleeps with you, he smells milk and will be even more capricious.

If the child began to eat poorly, rolls up strong ones, then wait a bit with weaning. So, until the baby is ripe for this.

At night, 2 - 3 hours before bedtime, you can feed the baby with porridge, give kefir. Sleep better on a full stomach. Weaning at night is a long process, be patient.

"Pill" against women's milk or how to quickly wean a child from the breast?

If it is difficult for you to endure for a long time and prepare for a gradual weaning, but you want to quickly discourage this habit from the baby, then modern market there are drugs to suppress lactation as soon as possible.

A prominent representative of this group is the drug Dostinex.

Its action is based on a decrease in the production of the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for the production of milk. The drug has a selective effect, does not affect other hormones.

Its disadvantage is side effects which occur in 70% of cases. This is a rapid heartbeat, headaches, nausea, vomiting, deterioration in general well-being, apathy.

This drug is taken ½ tablet with an interval of 12 hours for two days. The courses are used only for the treatment of disorders associated with excessive production of prolactin.

Elena, 25 years old:“I learned from my gynecologist how to stop breastfeeding with Dostinex. 2 months after giving birth, I had to go to work. One tablet solved my lactation issues. True, there was a very severe headache and weakness throughout the body, but this went away in just a couple of days. The milk is gone."

Another drug from this series is Bromocriptine. It also reduces the secretion of prolactin and suppresses physiological lactation. Unlike Dostinex, it must be drunk in a course. Has more pronounced side effects.

If we compare these drugs with a price position, then Bromocriptine is two times cheaper than Dostinex.

Weaning by weaning

This is one of the less enjoyable ways to wean. It consists in the fact that the child is sent to live with his grandmother or other relatives for a few days. During this time, the child not only loses his breast, but also does not see his beloved mother. This can cause a sharp psychological discomfort in the baby and, as a result, stress and hidden resentment towards the mother.

Komarovsky E. O .: “When a child is weaned from the breast, you can send him to his grandmother for a couple of nights. Nothing wrong with that. So the child will learn to fall asleep without a breast. But keep in mind, here you need to look at the degree of attachment of the child to the mother. If you know that your child will not be able to get along with his grandmother and will cry, then it’s better not to risk it. ”

Of course, weaning is stressful not only for the child, but also for the mother.

In a nursing woman, her chest may begin to hurt, harden.

If you notice a sharp soreness of the mammary gland, redness of the peripapillary region, fever, consult a doctor immediately. Perhaps mastitis develops.

You can manage these symptoms in the following way:

• if you feel swelling of the mammary gland, then you can express it manually or with a breast pump until the condition is relieved;
• apply the cabbage leaf for a couple of hours, softening it before that. It's better that it be cold. This will relieve the symptoms;
• you can drink No-shpu or;
• a warm shower will also help in facilitating the emptying of the breast;
• gentle massage of the mammary glands from the base to the nipple.

These symptoms occur, as a rule, with a sharp interruption of lactation. Therefore, a smooth abolition of breastfeeding is recommended.

To prevent a lot of milk from coming, you do not need to express often. It is necessary to do this only with strong pain syndrome and swelling of the glands.

Weaning is a complex multi-step process that both mom and dad need to be involved in. The most important thing is that the child feels your care and love. Do not scold the baby if he cries, is naughty at the moment of life. Keep calm and the question of how to wean will be decided soon.

Breastfeeding is an important necessary step in the development and development of the child. Breast milk contains the necessary elements for the growth of a newborn, it protects the baby from diseases, forms and strengthens the immune system.

Ending breastfeeding can be a painful process if not considered. physiological features lactating woman and baby. You can not stop feeding abruptly, this leads to stress for the child and mother. Wait for lactation involution to begin. Then weaning the baby from the breast is much easier.

Stages of breastfeeding

• The formation of lactation begins during pregnancy and lasts for the first months after the birth of the baby;
• Mature lactation is a calm and favorable period of feeding, when the baby receives all the necessary nutrients from breast milk. It lasts until the baby is 1.5-2 years old;
• Involution is the final stage of lactation, when the amount and value of milk decreases. This is the most favorable period for the start of weaning the baby from the breast.

When to stop breastfeeding

To minimize stress, it is necessary to choose the right time to stop lactation. Some mothers give up breastfeeding too early. Moreover, they do it abruptly and with the use of drugs.

Don't take pharmaceutical products without consulting a doctor!

Today, the World Health Organization recommends that breastfeeding mothers maintain lactation for up to two years. However, if the process of breastfeeding does not cause inconvenience to the baby and mother, then breast milk can be given until the age of three.

To wean a child from breastfeeding, wait for the involution to begin. At this time, instead of milk, the body produces a small amount of colostrum, and the breast decreases in size.

As we found out, involution begins at 2-3 years. At this age, the sucking reflex disappears in the child. Therefore, weaning the baby from the breast during this period is much easier.

After three years, the child begins self-weaning. If you wait for this period, then the process of stopping breastfeeding will be safe and painless. However, such prolonged breastfeeding can cause discomfort to the mother.

Ten ways to wean a baby

1. If you decide to wean the baby from the breast, then you can leave home for a while (4-7 days) and leave the baby with dad or grandmother;
2. Drink less liquid. This will reduce the amount of milk produced. Breastfeeding will be more difficult for the baby;
3. Reduce the duration of feeding;
4. Gradually reduce the number of applications. Skip feedings, switch the child to another interesting activity (play together, tell a story, etc.);
5. Zoom in physical exercise take up an active sport. This will remove excess fluid from the body. In addition, exercise and sports will allow you to quickly get in shape and lose weight after childbirth;
6. Refuse to express milk, as pumping stimulates lactation;
7. To stop nightfeeding, gradually replace breast milk with water or formula, feed the baby heavily at bedtime with formula or porridge;
8. Refrain from eating foods that improve lactation and stimulate milk production;
9. Cover your chest so that the baby does not see the source of nutrition, do not go to bed with the baby at night;
10. Teach your baby to fall asleep without a breast. Sing a lullaby or tell a story, swing on your hands. For some time, a father or grandmother can lull a child to sleep.

Menu at the time of cessation of lactation

An important role for a nursing mother is played by a properly selected menu. The diet can both increase and decrease lactation. If you want to reduce milk production, then on the left are the foods and drinks that are not recommended, and on the right are the drinks necessary in the process of weaning the baby.

Seasonings and spices also reduce lactation. However, spicy food is unhealthy. Plus, it makes you thirsty. And heavy drinking again causes a rush of milk, even if it is almost gone!

For the period of weaning, fasting days can be arranged. Limit your consumption of meat and vegetables. Drink special herbal infusions and decoctions. Get exercise.

When not to stop breastfeeding

The well-known television pediatrician Komarovsky singled out several points when weaning can only bring harm to the baby.

• The kid is naughty for a long time. Hysteria and whims during weaning are normal things. You should wait a bit, and the baby will calm down on his own in 15-20 minutes. In addition, the child can be distracted by a game or a story. However, if the baby is naughty for hours, then he is not yet ready for weaning;
• During an influenza epidemic. It is known that breast milk is the best protector of the baby from diseases. It forms and strengthens the immune system of the newborn. Therefore, the cessation of feeding during such a period exposes the child to a great risk of getting sick;
• In hot summer, it is also not recommended to stop feeding, as this time is favorable for the spread of intestinal infection. Only breast milk can effectively protect the baby;
• A stressful situation is a change of scenery and moving, the mother's going to work and a long separation from the baby, admission to the kindergarten. At the moment of changing the familiar environment, the emotional state of the baby is unstable, and weaning can only aggravate the situation;
• During an illness in the chest. Breast milk will help you recover faster and rejuvenate. After the illness, you should wait at least a month before weaning the child; If teeth are cut. Weaning will only add to the discomfort and worsen the emotional state.

Every baby is different, so there is no set time frame for stopping breastfeeding. Listen to your baby and yourself. If the baby calmly falls asleep without a breast, does not often ask for milk, then he is psychologically ready. Don't be discouraged if you can't wean your child right away. Wait two to three weeks and try again.

Many mothers of boys and girls who are 2 years old come to the conclusion that it is time to wean them from breastfeeding, but at the same time they face certain problems. Once upon a time, our grandmothers fed children up to 3 years. Now experts say that this is correct and recommend sticking to this trend. The most important thing is the mood of mom and baby, both should be ready for this event.

How to wean from breastfeeding at 2 years?

Of course, weaning the baby from the breast should be gradual. To wean from breastfeeding, try to start with daily feeding, replace it with another product that the baby should like. A pediatrician can also give you advice on this topic. By replacing daytime feeding, you thereby gently bring your son or daughter at 2 years old only to morning and evening meals.

How to wean a child from breastfeeding?

1. If your son or daughter at 2 years old reaches for the breast during the day, then in order to wean him from breastfeeding, try to distract him with games and toys. Replacing daily feeding should take a week or two, depending on how the baby behaves. In order not to cause discomfort and stress, he does not need to abruptly cut off daytime feeding, because the breast for the baby is not only a source of nutrition, but also a means of calming.
2. Make some changes, at 2 years old, start feeding the baby in an unusual place, do not change clothes in front of him, let him see the source of what he wants less often. Exceptions to daytime feeding are the fright and excitement of the baby, in these cases it is necessary to give him a breast and he will feel protected and calm down.
3. In the process of weaning, the mother should not leave the little one with other relatives for a long time, this will be a double stress for him.
4. Good way, allowing you to wean from breastfeeding in 2 is mother's milk in a bottle. Try pumping milk from your breast into a bottle, cuddle him like you would during a feed, and give him a bottle. Perhaps you will pass this trick, the baby, having felt the familiar taste of milk on the tongue, will continue to drink from the bottle.

Attention! No need to wean the baby when he is sick or in hot weather, when you are so often thirsty. It is not recommended to interrupt breastfeeding if he has been vaccinated or the first teeth have appeared. In any stressful situation, he calms down with his chest.

After you have managed to wean from feeding during the day, you will have to continue night feeding until 2 years.

In order to slightly reduce lactation, you should review your menu and exclude foods that increase it. If the breasts are swollen, you can express with your hands or with a breast pump, this will significantly reduce pain in the mammary glands. If lactation does not go away and milk still comes in large quantities, you should seek the advice of a doctor.

How to wean from breastfeeding after a year?

• If your child willingly eats kefir, sweet curds and cereals during the day, it’s fine, you don’t need to let him drink lunch with a breast, offer an alternative sweet drink.
• Often the chest acts as a comforter, if your baby is upset, frightened, bumped and crying, he doesn’t need to poke his chest right away, try other ways of comfort. You can distract, hug, play, show something interesting in the window, for example, a dog, a cat.
• If you see that the child is really ill, you should not deny him this pleasure.

How to wean a child from breastfeeding at night?

The most difficult question is how to wean from breastfeeding at night. The kid wakes you up every night, groans and asks for breasts, and if you don’t give him what he wants, he can arrange a real concert. Almost all mothers with the advent of the child begin to sleep very sensitively, and wake up from any sigh or rustle of the baby.

• It is at this moment, when the baby has not yet woken up, but is already tossing and turning in search of a breast, try to stroke him on the back, shaking a little, he may fall asleep, and the start of weaning will be laid.
• If the stroking option did not work, then to wean him from breastfeeding, try giving him just a drink, perhaps this is the problem.
• An option can be a high-calorie porridge before bedtime, so the baby will not feel hungry at night and will not wake up.

If the process of weaning from breastfeeding is favorable, neither the mother nor the child will experience any discomfort. Sometimes, to stop lactation, women need to tie their breasts, this will help to suppress the retention of milk.