2016-01-05
Joybynature.com Team
Jan
05

Image Source: Babyoye

Weaning usually turns out to be a positive experience for both you and your baby. It is a very important part of the child’s growth and maintenance of a proper weaning period should be as important as feeding the baby. It requires being a very gradual process and not an event as such. The mother should take care of the period of weaning as it marks the first growth step of the little one.

The following steps can help in weaning your child in the most comfortable way and also, keeping the health of the child normal and good:

  1. Create a Replacement

The child should have a replacement of milk that he/she gets from his/her mother and only then, can the process of weaning start. The child may feel irritable initially, but gradually he/she will become habitual that mom is no more interested in breast feeding. The main thing which needs to be taken care of is that the skin to skin contact between the mother and the child should not be lost and he/she should not feel distanced from the mother. You could find a drink that the child would replace for nummies. You could also experiment a set of drinks like hot coffee, hot tea, dairy milk, etc. which the child may like to replace for the mom’s milk.

  1. Limit Nursing sessions

The nursing sessions for the child should be limited and they should not be given excess of it as this would not help in the process of weaning. It is important for the child to know that their unlimited breastfeeding sessions are over. Instead of breastfeeding at the nap time, go in for the cuddles and co-sleeping with the baby and make sure that his/her tummy is full so that he/she does not demand for nummies.

  1. Surefire signs that your baby is ready

You have to confirm that the baby is ready for the weaning sessions as recommended by the doctors and according to the health of the little one. The decision should be mutual for mom and the baby as it involves both their bodies to change from a process that they have been following since a long time. So the mother should enquire the doctor and observe the child too to start the process of weaning.

  1. Let the Little one lead you

Nothing should be forced on the child, rather, let the child lead you to the end of this session.It is very important to note that whether the child is responding in a positive or negative way to the weaning of breastfeeding. It may happen that you wean his/her breast –feeding sessions and at the same time, there is nothing that the child is eating or drinking as a replacement. It may also starve him/her. 

  1. Switch up your routine

The baby should be allowed to play with his daddy or grandmother and the routines should be switched so as to let the baby know that mommy is not there and he can’t be breastfed.  There are chances that babies do better in the absence of the mother as there is nobody with whom they can be adamant about and that too, when he/she hungry. So, switching routines can definitely help the child get into the weaning process.

The above steps can literally help the mother win the weaning battle and also, make the baby self-sufficient of whatever solids he/she is able to take now. Soon, the baby would also get used to the short nursing sessions and gradually no nursing sessions. So, these steps can come to the rescue of the mothers who want to stop breastfeeding. She may have to resume work or there may be other reasons of why she would want to do so. It might take a toll of her health and also it is not healthy for an older baby.

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