Recently, someone I worked with saying that his wife was getting ready to wean their baby, who was just over one. He mentioned his wife was going to be sad. I had to ask the question, then why wean? He told me that she was ready and had done an amazing job. It just reminded me that there is so much that goes into breastfeeding other than science and food.
The decision to wean your baby from the breast can be simple or complex, how and when to wean is different for every family. Here are some suggestions to help you make weaning a smooth process. What are some good weaning tips that worked for you?
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It’s unfortunate that in our culture, far too often women wean because their child has hit a certain age, because they know someone (a mother, a grandmother, sister or friend) who has declared it was their time to wean, or because an uneducated practitioner gives bad advice. I wish that everyone could be more supportive of breastfeeding mothers and children and if they couldn’t muster support, at least keep their opinions to themselves.
I also think that women need to be able to make a decision without feeling guilty as well. Not everyone wants to breastfeed for 2 years or more. Every person is different and they are the only ones that need to feel comforable with the decision wether it is 3 weeks or 3 years.
Weaning is the process by which your baby moves or shifts from having breast milk to consuming semi-solid or solid foods. There is a gradual reduction in the intake of breast milk and/or baby formula and your baby more often starts taking more solid food. It is very important for your baby’s health and development.
Tips for successful weaning :
Always sit near your baby while he or she is feeding so that your baby does not choke.
Never force feed your baby.
Make sure that the food is in the right temperature. Do not make it too hot.
If your baby refuses to eat a particular type of food, consider backing off and offer it later on.
Offer your baby a wide range of foods so that he or she gets used to different flavours.
Introduce only one food at a time as it will be easier to detect if your baby is allergic to any particular food.
Encourage your baby to feed himself.
Try to make it a family affair as it can encourage your baby to eat with enthusiasm.
I think you can be ready to wean and still be a little sad. I felt that way with both of my children, who weaned a bit before their 2nd birthday. Intellectually I was tired of nursing and they were clearly outgrowing it and giving signs of being done. But the last few nursing sessions were still bittersweet.
I let my daughter decide when she was ready to stop, she was just over a year old. It was sad for me, too. I wasn’t ready to stop.
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Both of my children self weaned and I was still sad. When my first weaned at 18 months when I was 6 months pg I was sad because I almost wished I could turn back the clock and delay my second pg (it was very planned) so I could have gotten her a little further…that still bothers me some that I didn’t get her to her second birthday. When my second (and last) weaned I actually think I went through a grieving process because I knew my body would never nourish another child – it was hard.
Nursing was a challenge for me, but I knew it was best for my daughter so I stuck with it. I always thought I would be happy for it to be over, but when she decided to wean it made me very sad (much to my surprise).
Both my children also self weaned – my daughter at only 18 months when I was about six months pg with my second. I wasn’t sad at the time since I was having a difficult pg but I have carried some maternal guilt ever since that I wasn’t more encouraging to keep her going and that perhaps I should have spaced out my pg more to get her to that two years I feel is so important for bf. My son weaned at 24 months and I went through a real process of grieving when he weaned since I knew he was the last baby I would ever nourish with my body and that was very difficult for me.