Weaning
Taking away is important not only for the child, but also for the mother, and not only physically, but also emotionally. A mother who attaches great importance to breastfeeding, after she ceases to feed, may become depressed - as if she has lost affinity for the child or has become less necessary to him. This is an additional reason why weaning should be carried out as gradually as possible.
How to wean from the chest, when from the mother little milk. When the mother has little milk, it is easy to take the baby from the breast. Usually there is no need to tie up breasts or reduce the amount of fluids consumed. The mother simply stops giving the baby a breast and waits. If the chest overflows and causes unpleasant sensations, you can feed for 15-30 seconds. This will relieve tension, but does not stimulate the chest. If the chest is refilled, you can repeat the procedure. If the mother produces an average amount of milk, we need to wean the baby more gradually. But there is still no need to tie up breasts or limit the amount of fluid. Try to skip every second feeding. If the breasts are not overfilled after a day or two, stop all regular feeding, but if you have unpleasant sensations, from time to time apply the baby to your chest.
Emergency weaning ( if you can not consult a doctor).You may need to urgently take the baby from the breast, for example, if you are seriously ill or you need to leave the city on an urgent matter.(Because of the mild or moderate severity of a mother's illness, it is usually not necessary to take the baby out of the breast.) One method is to limit the consumption of fluids for the mother along with a tight bandage on the chest and applying ice bags. This is a very unpleasant procedure. It is better to empty the chest when it overflows, either manually or with the help of a breast pump. If you consult a doctor, he may prescribe special injections for several days, which reduce the production of milk.
Gradual transition from the chest to the cup at the end, the first year. If a mother produces a lot of milk, how long does she have to breastfeed? It is best and natural until the child is ready to go to the cup.in different children this happens at different ages. Most of the children who are breastfed are ready to be taken between the ages of seven and ten months.(Unlike children who are artificially fed and who do not want to give up the bottle after the first year of life.)
It's good to start offering milk in a cup from the age of five months, so that the child gets used to not showing obstinacy. By six months, teach him to keep the cup himself. Then sometime in the second half of the first year, usually between 7 and 10 months, you will notice that the baby is less willing to take the breast. And the periods of feeding are getting shorter. If, in addition, he already drinks well from the cup, we can conclude that he is ready to wean. Now offer him a cup during all the feeding and increase the amount of milk in it, if he agrees to drink, but continue at the end of the meal to feed him with the breast. Then skip that breastfeeding when it seems the least interested, confining only to a cup. Usually it's breakfast or daytime feeding. In a week, if the child does not mind, cancel one more breastfeeding, and a week later - the last. Do not rush the child. He is not yet ready to give up breastfeeding forever. Sometimes due to illness or the appearance of teeth, he will want to return to the previous method. This is quite natural, and you can not be afraid to go to meet him. If you remember, what incredible pleasure brought him breast-feeding right after birth, you will understand why he wants to return to him when life begins to seem gloomy. Better if during the weaning there are no other serious changes in the life of the child( for example, moving to another house or trying to accustom it to a pot).
If the withdrawal occurs gradually, there are usually no problems with the maternal breast. However, if the breasts remain very full all the time, the mother needs to feed the child from time to time for 15-30 seconds to relieve tension. Do not feed for five minutes - this is too strong stimulates the chest.
Sometimes the mother is afraid of giving up breastfeeding, because the child drinks less cup of milk from the cup than from the breast. So you can endlessly delay taking away. I would stop breastfeeding if the child drinks an average of 120 grams at a time, or 350-500 g per day. After he ceases to give the breast, he will gradually increase the amount of milk drunk to half a liter and more. This is quite enough, because by this time he will receive other food.
I believe that it is preferable to take the baby out of the breast by the year, if he is ready for it. After a year, a child rarely requires a breast, and if required, to fall asleep or for some other reason. If you continue to breastfeed, when he already does not need it, the child develops excessive dependence on the mother.
Gradual transition to artificial feeding in the first six months. Many mothers can not or do not want to breast-feed until the year when they are ready to switch to a cup. For example, when there is little milk. The child cries of hunger and does not gain weight. Such a hungry child rarely stubborn when he is transferred to artificial feeding. The speed of the transfer depends on how much milk the mother has.
If you find that you quickly reduce the amount of milk and the baby remains hungry, and you can not consult a doctor, prepare the mixture. Let's take a bottle at each feeding after the breast, and let him drink as much as he likes. Skip breastfeeding at 6 pm. Two days later, cancel and feed at 10 am. The following breastfeeding should be stopped every two to three days in this order: 2 am, 10 pm, 6 am.(If the amount of milk in the mother decreases very gradually, and the child does not show displeasure, it is better to switch to artificial feeding gradually, as indicated in the next paragraph.)
Suppose the matter is not in the amount of milk from the mother. The mother wants to feed the child for several months to lay a good foundation, but she does not agree to do this for a year. How many months in this case need to feed? There is no definite answer to this question. The physical advantages of breast milk - its sterility, easy digestibility - are the most valuable for the baby at first. But even in six months, and a year, breast-milk is not less useful. Positive emotions associated with breastfeeding, too, do not disappear suddenly. One of the reasonable terms of weaning is 3 months. By this time the child's digestive system was formed. He overcame the propensity to form gases. He has grown stronger and continues to quickly arrive in weight. But if the mother wants to stop breastfeeding at 4.5 or 6 months, or even 2 months, this is also possible. It is better not to wean your child in the heat.
If you are going to wean your baby early, then from two months old, accustom it to artificial feeding, giving him a bottle with a pacifier two or three times a week or even daily, if you want.
If the breast produces a lot of milk, the withdrawal must occur very gradually. At first, skip one breastfeeding, say, at 6pm, and instead give the milk formula. Let the child drink as much as he likes. Wait two to three days until the breasts adjust to the change, then skip feeding at 10 am, replacing it with the second portion of the mixture a day. Wait again for two or three days and cancel the night feeding. Now the baby gets the breast only at 6 am and 10 pm, and during each of the three remaining feedings - the mixture. Before you cancel the last two breastfeedings, you should wait three to four days before each feeding. Every time the chest is full, even if it's not time to feed the baby, give it a few seconds or a few minutes, strain the milk by hand or breast pump to relieve tension. In this case, you do not need to use a bandage or reduce the amount of liquid you drink.